Currently, I enjoy photography as a hobby, but would like to start taking more professional looking pictures. I usually take most of my photos of my family and friends and am interested in tips and techniques for good portrait photos. My mother is interested in purchasing a magazine subscription for me for Christmas and I was thinking that a good portrait photography magazine would be nice to have if there’s one out there. Last year, I got a magazine subscription that was basically all about the gear (cameras, lenses, filters, flashes etc) and it wasn’t what I was expecting. Any recommendations?

I do some portrait painting and have found inspiration in the paintings of famous portrait artists of the past, such as John Singer Sargent. 1940’s black and white movies have some great scenes that show lighting techniques.

Any techniques he used to do his photography.. please say.

Ansel has become world famous for his way of thinking of the correct exposure for a landscape shot (even though he worked with Fred Archer it’s Ansel that got the fame). It’s known as the zone system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_System