My Sunday Series on Outdoor Portraits remains on hiatus as I consider changing this day’s theme to Available Light Portraiture, which is what today’s post is about. This post also takes a look at one of the models who hasn’t appeared on this blog as often as some others. In this case it’s Tasha who I photographed once in my home and a few times later at group model shoots.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is practice.”—Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989)
Vladimir Horowitz was arguably one of the finest classical pianists of all time, yet even he practiced every day. Regular readers of this blog know that I believe that the best way to improve your photography by practicing. So maybe the headline should really be amended to say that glamour, like any photographic genre, requires practice.
Practice, Practice, Practice
I think you should photograph something, anything really, each day or at least every week so you can get to the point where you don’t have to think about how to operate your camera, you just make photographs. It’s one of the reasons, I keep a fully-charged digital camera of my desk because you never know…
When I take a camera on a admittedly these days, occasional PhotoWalk, even when shooting the oft-photographed O’Brien Park gazebo or Bingham Lake near my home, I almost always learn something about the camera that will result in my making better pictures the next time I venture forth.
If there’s any secret to my suggestion about practicing your craft is that you shouldn’t worry about producing masterpieces every time you go out with your camera in hand. You can use that camera as a sketchpad to explore possibilities and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes these “sketches” will be successful, sometimes not, but you will learn something from an analysis of these photographs. As Yoda once told Luke “There is no try, just do.”
How I made this Portrait: I photographed Tasha, an aspiring model, several years ago in my former home. One of the places where I liked to shoot portraits in the house was in the living room that had tall, narrow windows and produced interesting light that was different depending on the time of day and time of year. For this portrait, the camera used was a Canon EOS D60 and an EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens (at 53mm.) The camera’s pop-up flash was used to provide some fill. The exposure was 1/60 sec at f/4.5 and ISO 400 with a plus one-third stop exposure compensation. 
Tip: When shooting glamour portraits indoors, you should look for locations where the best light can be found. While this seems obvious, it seems that many available light portraits are made in locations where the photographer or their subject randomly decide to make it without considering what the lighting is or even what the background looks like.
You may have a location in your home like the one I used to make this portrait and never thought that such a likely or unlikely location would be a great place to make a portrait. Take a look around!
My book, Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography, is full of tips, tools and techniques for glamour and boudoir photography and includes information on the cameras and lenses used as well as the complete exposure data for each image. New copies are available from Amazon for $30.54 with used copies starting around ten bucks as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital forma