After more than 20 years and 6,466 portrait sessions, Richardson Studio has photographed thousands of people with different personalities, stories, professions, families, and reasons for stepping in front of the camera.
Some arrive excited and completely comfortable. Others are nervous before the photoshoot even begins. Some know exactly what they want their portraits to look like, while others rely on the photographer to help shape the entire experience.
Through all of those sessions, Richardson Studio has learned that great professional portrait photography is about far more than what happens when the camera shutter clicks.
Preparation matters. Lighting matters. Direction matters. Expression matters. Most importantly, the person in the finished portrait still needs to look and feel like themselves.
Here are some of the biggest lessons more than two decades behind the camera have taught the Richardson Studio team about creating great portraits.
1. Great Portraits Begin Before the Photoshoot
One of the biggest lessons Richardson Studio has learned is that the quality of a portrait session is often influenced by what happens before anyone steps in front of the camera.
What is the client hoping to create? Where will the photographs be used or displayed? What should they wear? What styles feel natural to them? What do they want their portraits to communicate?
Those answers can look very different from one photoshoot to another.
A senior may want to incorporate a sport, instrument, car, or hobby. A family may want portraits that capture the relationships between generations. An executive may need a professional headshot that communicates confidence and approachability. An entrepreneur may need an entire collection of branding photographs for a website, advertising, and social media.
That is why Richardson Studio incorporates photoshoot planning and wardrobe guidance into the portrait experience. The more the photographer understands before the session begins, the more intentionally the photographs can be created.
2. Being “Photogenic” Has Very Little to Do With It
After photographing thousands of people, Richardson Studio has heard some version of the same concern many times: “I’m not photogenic.”
But creating a great portrait should not depend on whether someone naturally knows what to do in front of a camera.
Camera angle, body position, lighting, expression, movement, and direction can dramatically change how someone photographs. Small adjustments that may seem insignificant in the moment can make a noticeable difference in the finished image.
That is where an experienced professional portrait photographer comes in.
Michelle Richardson directs clients throughout their photoshoot rather than expecting them to arrive knowing their best angles or how to pose. Her approach is tailored to the individual because the same direction will not work equally well for every person.
The goal is not to transform someone into somebody else. It is to create the kind of portrait that has led Richardson Studio clients to say, “It looks like me, but on my best day.”
3. Expression Can Matter More Than the Pose
A pose can be technically correct and still produce a portrait that feels flat.
Over thousands of portrait sessions, Richardson Studio has learned to pay just as much attention to expression as positioning.
The eyes, smile, facial tension, body language, and interaction between people can completely change the feeling of a photograph. With families, it may be the way two people naturally look at each other. With a senior, it might be the expression that finally lets their personality come through. In a professional portrait, even a subtle change in expression can influence whether someone appears confident, approachable, serious, or relaxed.
This is one reason Michelle pays close attention to the person rather than simply moving through a predetermined list of poses.
Great portrait photography requires knowing how to position someone, but it also requires recognizing the moment when the person behind the pose begins to show.
4. Great Lighting Is Never One-Size-Fits-All
Professional lighting does much more than make a photograph brighter.
The direction, intensity, and placement of light can influence dimension, facial features, mood, texture, and the overall polish of a portrait. What works beautifully for one person or type of photograph may not be the right approach for another.
That becomes especially important in a professional photography studio working with such a wide range of clients.
A dramatic branding portrait may call for a completely different approach than a family photograph intended for the living room. A professional headshot has different goals than a senior portrait. Even within the same photoshoot, changes in wardrobe, background, pose, or mood can call for adjustments to the lighting.
Experience makes it possible to recognize those differences and intentionally shape the light around the portrait being created rather than relying on the same setup for everyone.
5. The Best Portraits Still Have to Feel Like the Person
Beautiful lighting, professional styling, thoughtful posing, and high-end retouching can all contribute to a polished portrait. But Richardson Studio has learned that technical perfection alone is not enough.
The finished photograph still needs to feel authentic to the person in it.
That means paying attention to personality, personal style, expression, body language, and the way someone naturally carries themselves. It also means understanding that different clients want different things from professional portrait photography.
Someone creating an executive headshot may want to communicate leadership and confidence. A senior may want photographs that show several different sides of their personality. A mother may want a family portrait that captures a relationship she never wants to forget.
The photographer’s job is not to make every client look the same. It is to use technical skill and experience to create a polished version of the person who was already there.
6. A Great Portrait Becomes More Valuable With Time
More than 20 years in portrait photography has given Richardson Studio the opportunity to see something that cannot be measured on the day of a photoshoot: how the value of a portrait changes over time.
Children grow up. Seniors graduate and begin new chapters. Families change. Careers evolve. Businesses grow. Years that once felt ordinary eventually become part of someone’s history.
Richardson Studio has seen that progression through clients who return during different stages of their lives. Some relationships even extend back to Jeff Richardson’s earlier photography career, with Michelle now photographing the children of people Jeff once photographed as seniors.
It is also why the finished portrait matters.
Richardson Studio offers custom wall art, professionally designed albums, folio boxes, and photographic prints so clients can turn their favorite images into something tangible. Over time, those portraits can become more than photographs from a particular photoshoot. They become records of the people, relationships, and chapters that made up a life.
What 6,466 Portrait Sessions Have Taught Richardson Studio
After 6,466 portrait sessions, there is no single pose, lighting setup, camera, or technique that Richardson Studio would point to as the secret to great photography.
Great portrait photography is the combination of many things: thoughtful preparation, technical knowledge, understanding light, knowing how to direct people, recognizing genuine expression, and taking the time to understand the individual in front of the camera.
More than 20 years of experience has also reinforced something much simpler. The best portrait should not only be beautiful. It should still feel unmistakably like the person in it.
From its Bloomington, Indiana photography studio, Richardson Studio continues to apply those lessons across family photography, senior portraits, professional headshots, and branding photography, creating personalized portrait experiences for clients throughout Indiana.
