Lifestyle Photography

Everywhere one turns these days, they hear the term lifestyle photography. Have you wondered what the deal is with it and why is it worth it? So many people have. Lifestyle photography recreates real life situations in a controlled environment. Lifestyle shoots bring the personality of the subject into the shoot to convey more than simply the appearance of their face. With a lifestyle photo shoot, one can expect to incorporate aspects of their life such as hobbies, work, or entertainment.

Many portrait shoots in studios come out all the same just with a different face. You know what I mean... the same red background, same pose, on the same stool as the 10 people before you that day. This is the type of portrait that you will find any high school yearbook. The picture shows the face but tells nothing else about the person. This type of portrait is great for showing the features of your face in the best possible light but really leaves a viewer with more questions than answers as to the life of the subject.

When a person wants to show a picture and have people instantly know something of them, they need to turn to lifestyle photography. This way you, as the subject, will be able to pick some intricate part of your life to have included in your portrait shoot. These shoots can be great for business people also. Now they will have a centerpiece of conversation to use with clients. A professional portrait session of an executive doing volunteer work can build goodwill with a client that otherwise could never be done. A session with a single girl, bringing out her love of running, will be much more useful in social networking than a posed "cheesy" headshot. The uses are limitless but in the end always say more than "this person can smile".

A typical shoot with a lifestyle photographer is much more intense than a typical portrait studio. In a studio, the usual routine goes along these lines... come in, sit on this stool, and turn to your left please. Would you like a red or blue background? Drop your right shoulder, smile, click. That is it, and really doesn't take much longer than the time to read this. A lifestyle photographer is going to take at least a half hour to discuss your image with you. The list is going to include the aspects of your life that are relevant, the intended audience of the photos, size of prints you want, places and times that you do whatever activity is relevant. Then the photographer is going to suggest shooting locations. The shoot may be all on-location, at multiple locations, or even partially in the studio. The key is this person is going to take the time to know you and what will make it work the best. The actual shooting may take an hour or more.

Is it going to be more expensive? Well sure it is. You are going to be working with this photographer for hours not minutes. Quality always has a little more expense to it, but in the end... a 5 star dinner isn't a fast food meal now is it? Besides, for the price of a failed date or business meeting, you can have pictures that will assure many successful dates or business meetings.