What makes a portrait unforgettable? In this PPA Favorite Podcast Episode, Seth Miranda and Daniel Norton explore why authentic connection always matters more than perfect retouching or technical perfection.

They discuss how photographers develop confidence through experience, why live demonstrations help photographers grow faster, and how lighting should support the person rather than overpower them. The conversation also challenges today's trend of excessive retouching, encouraging photographers to create portraits that truly reflect who their subjects are.

Watch the full episode on PhotoVision for more portrait photography education and professional insights.

Is that true? Yeah. Yeah, I'd say so. I think that that's it. When you see somebody, that's why, I mean, I was fortunate that I didn't immediately start getting jobs shooting models that I thought I was gonna do from reading the book. Right. I worked with photographers. I saw how they did things. I saw how they worked with clients.

Mm-hmm. How they set up shoots, how they dealt with problems, how they worked with models. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And by doing that, they, I learned, and I think that's what people can kinda learn, and that's why we like the live version. Yeah. You know? Uh, the, because again, I'm not afraid- I am not afraid that somebody watching my video is gonna say, "Oh, well now I know how to do Daniel's lighting so I can take all his clients."

What you get in, uh, o- off the... Even if you're shooting product, it's not always just about shooting a person. There's, there's guys that are just amazing product photographers. I look at them, it's like, "Wow!" They're psychos though. Yes, they're all crazy. They're all, they're all just psychos. I used to share a studio with a guy, and I swear to God he would spend three days building a set- It's amazing

shooting Polaroids, 'cause this is back before digital. Yeah ... and then be like, "Nah," and take it down. I'm like, "Just shoot a roll of film." No. But he's like, "No, it's not perfect." No, no. When you get a, when you get a real hardcore product guy to shoot a portrait- Oh, yeah ... oh my... Yo. He's using like fingers. Like little tiny dots.

And I'm like, "Bro, she's gonna fall asleep. Like, what are you doing?" Yeah. But the... it's, it's... but it's also amazing to see their pa- their attention to the detail of the light. Yeah. And then you realize, like actually it's too clean, man. Yeah. I actually don't believe this image anymore. And, uh, beautiful. Right.

Yeah. "Is that the shot I'm supposed to strive for?" And that's dangerous. Yeah. They're not even getting a chance to get their perspective or style 'cause they think that's the end goal because it's shoved in their face nonstop. What I like that what we do is every time we shoot live, someone goes, "What, what presets are you using?"

We're not, 'cause it's just light. Yeah. "Oh, well, well, how did you... Are you retouching something in..." No, this isn't a real time retouching. We're just lighting to not have crazy texture in the skin. Like- Right ... we've been through it, bro. I did... One demo I did, remember I did... One demo I did before we built the new event space, I shot my own...

I shot my I shot my own mother, right? Okay. I said... It sounds so bad. Um- She's on board for it, it's okay. But, um, I told... I said I got her a makeup artist to make her feel better 'cause she's gonna be in front of a crowd, but I wanted to see every wrinkle I put on that woman's face, but I didn't wanna make her look bad.

I mean Yeah. I, and I, and I fear that, and that's why I think the shooting live is, is another step to being important. Yeah. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Like, I, I, I think- Yeah, I agree. Yeah ... me and you both get all bent out of shape if it's scripted, and we're like- Yeah ... like, "Just give me the thing, turn that on, and let's go."

Right. I do everything in one take. Yeah. I don't care what happens, because I'm gonna be on the next thing, and if I can't be authentic, then when you'd see me in person, what the hell am I? Yeah. I gotta be the, I got, f- get the... Oh, I'm sorry. Get the... Beep. Yeah. Yeah, we got to beep. Well, you know, on that, on that note, I mean, I think it's super important, because one thing that we ha- we have is that every person c- comes in front of your camera is gonna say, "Oh, I have freckles," or, uh, "My-" They hate something

And I was like, "What?" Oh, no, he wouldn't stop. And I just went off. And I was like- He's like, "What about a double chin? What about a big nose?" And it's like- Like, what, who are you around, first of all? Right. And it's like But it's like, here's this person in front of you. They're basically opening themselves up, right?

Yeah. It's very, it's very, um You know, it's scary for a lot of people to be that open and be photographed. You have to look at them and find something about them that you find, 'cause everybody has something, right, that, that makes them a beautiful person, and capture that. And if it's wrinkles, if it's scars, if it's everything else, that's awesome.

Let them understand it's okay and they don't need to be completely retouched. But that's- Learn that first ... that's a portrait photographer, though. Yeah. A lot of people think portrait photographer's like, "Just make them look beautiful." It's like- No ... listen, you gotta make them look like that person so that they portray that person.

I apparently, I didn't know. Oh, my God. I didn't get this memo. Yeah. There's no pores or blood vessels anymore. I didn't know this. I didn't know we evolved. But if you get them to a place where they're the best version of themselves, and they still feel like- Right ... that's the human that they're, that ... That's why headshots for actors are so important.

Right. You give them the best version of themselves, but they have to look like that person in the headshot when they walk in the room. Right. Otherwise, they are not getting that gig. Portraits, you wanna feel like that person ... The best portraits you've ever seen are the ones that no matter how famous they are, you feel like

Right away, you can recognize them. Yeah. You can feel them. You can feel where they're at in their life. Yeah. And then, you know, when they pass away, you go, "I feel like I knew that person." You know? Yeah. They, it ... Portraits are so connective, and I think a lot of new photographers, or even just ones that never hit a style, never get that.

in your pictures." And I thought, "Well, that's a weird compliment." But then I, then I'd look at other people's shots, and I'd be like, "Oh, yeah." Yeah. Like, "What are they doing here?" Like, this is what the person looks like. And, and as a model or an actor, you're trying to sell what you look like. You know, what you're capable of, but in a, as a new model with the fresh shots, that's what you're trying to sell, right?

Yeah. And that's what I decided to master, because it's what I like. I wanna bring out what's true in a person when I photograph them. Of course. I don't, I don't wanna create something fake. You know, unless that's what I'm doing. Obviously, sometimes that's what a shot is.