A photography studio will typically begin as a blank space, or an empty room. The photographer will then create backdrops and decide what to include and exclude from the photograph, such as models’ costumes and props. Let me introduce you to Brianne, who will be featured in the photographs I took. Brianna’s smile was already lightening up the room as we shot these photos. While I was just taking random shots, they looked great the entire time. It was easy because Brianna and I are so close, so it wasn’t as difficult as I had anticipated. These photos allowed me to capture her vibrant personality and how she is always upbeat, even when she is having a bad day or attempting to brighten someone’s day. Consider how you can truly portray your subject’s unique personality or a special characteristic the next time you shoot a portrait. We must go beyond thinking to ourselves, “I’ll have them smile and jump in the air because they have a happy-go-lucky personality.” We hope to show you how to avoid these overused strategies in this tutorial. Line everyone up in front of a nice background and say “cheese!” This is a common way to shoot a family portrait. But it’s difficult to see each person’s personality when they’re all striking the same contrived pose. Shoot your subject doing something they enjoy if you want to experiment with shooting portraits that have life to them.