When you make a picture–any kind of picture–you should think, “What word would I use to describe this picture?” From what I’ve seen on the interwebs, lately, the word most people seem to choose for their portraits is simply “sexy.” If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then surely we should expand our vocabularies to include more words and elicit more expressions and moods. Even if sexy is the word you’re going for, look it up in a thesaurus and use other words to get there.

If you talk with your subject about this and discuss various words to depict in your pictures, I promise you’ll not only get pictures that show more moods and feeling, but you’ll also have a lot of fun and make better cheerful/happy/excited/giggly/bubbly/joyful pictures, too. (see how many words you can use to get a smile?)

Portrait Tips come out each week, and you can see them all right here.