One of the most common forms of advertising photography is portrait photography. The portrait can be of anything â€" a model emoting his true feelings while using the product in question or availing a certain service. Or it can also be of the product itself. Since a portrait helps focus better on the subject â€" whether it is a model or the product itself â€" therefore portrait photography is one of the most frequent kind of advertising photography that clients are usually interested in.

Since portrait photography is such a common thing in advertising parlance, therefore many budding commercial photographers show keen interest in this kind of photography. They want to learn the nuances of portrait photography â€" they want to understand the concepts and techniques of this form of advertising photography. Things that the novice photographers ought to know are â€" the various lighting techniques, germane backdrops, the use of shades and lighting set ups.

The most critical element in all kind of photography is light. And when it comes to advertising photography, it is very very crucial to have the perfect lighting set up. Especially in case of portrait photography, one has to be very careful about the lights one is using. And not just the lights, one has to choose the shades â€" umbrellas and soft boxes â€" extremely cautiously. A perfect lighting is absolutely a must, and this is specially so because the whole focus is on the subject.

Generally, professionals in advertising photography, often use the three light portrait lighting set up. This is one of the most common lighting set up that has stood the test of time. Most of the techniques and tricks of lighting, that come from the experts, are result of creative thinking and experience. Once you start your own projects in portrait photography, you would find yourself discovering various ways of lighting and spin magic out of your own camera.