Portrait photography can run the gamut in type and style—everything from the traditional “head and shoulders” shot to lifestyle and environmental, candid and street, glamour and boudoir, etc. The list goes on and on and often includes varied lighting techniques. Read the backstories on the eye-catching portraits and photos of the week that caught our attention, including a multiple exposure, an environmental portrait, and more.

[Read: Creative Lighting Techniques for Portrait Photographers]

The Mindset of a Woman

This multiple exposure, by Virginia Beach photographer Keith Cephus, was created from a collaboration with his makeup artist, Leigh. “I love working with other creatives in my studio to create content that will inspire and motivate others in the industry. My objective here was to showcase two powerful images depicting ‘the mindset of a woman.'”

Cephus used two Stella Pro units (CLX and 5000) by Light and Motion to illuminate Leigh. “The two-light setup was positioned from right to left creating harsh but flattering lighting,” he says.

Portrait of Quiet Reflection

After relocating from New York City to Los Angeles, Ryan Johnson was thrilled to form a creative friendship with another recent transplant—Sebastian Garnett from Chicago—to bounce photo ideas and techniques off of.

In this portrait that Johnson took of Garnett last month, he was looking to convey a sense of reflection. “I’ve really been working within the space of pandemic-forced quiet and solitude lately, and wanted to try and capture how that looks and feels from the outside,” Johnson explains. “Most of the images from this session were more fun, energetic, and posed, but after talking about the difficulties of moving to a new city in the middle of a pandemic and how it forces a lot of personal and professional reflection, I asked him to just close his eyes and breathe for a few moments and focus on himself.”

Johnson says the fact that Garnett put his arms around his neck made it feel as though he was protecting himself, but that “at the same time I felt the openness and relief in his calm expression. My goal was to capture him as I actually see him in life, not as he feels like I should see him in front of the camera. I wanted to capture his personal and private moment of quiet.”

An Eye-Catching Cake Lick

Last month, photographer Michael Grecco had a new book released by Abrams titled Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978 to 1991. “It’s a body of never-before-seen punk and new wave images from the time I myself was a club kid,” says Grecco, “like this one, of The Motels’ lead singer Martha Davis.”

Grecco was on assignment that night to cover The Motels concert at the punk club Spit in Boston. “I was an Associated Press stringer during the day and a club kid at night, doing assignments for Boston Rock, a local magazine,” he explains. “They used the upstairs VIP room as an after-party space, and the Capitol Records executive presented the band with a ‘Welcome to Boston’ cake. It was a publicity set up, but I didn’t want to make it look too posed so I had Martha lick the cake—it was very punk!”

Rooted in Your Environment

Milwaukee photographer Tom Jenz often likes to photograph his subjects in an environment that helps tell his or her story, like this portrait of 
Black activist Gregory Bennett Jr. who Jenz says heads the organization Peace In The Streets, which is supported by the Teamsters Union. “On this day, the Teamsters provided the semi truck that delivered the food that Gregory and his volunteers were passing out to needy Black families during Thanksgiving week in Milwaukee.”

For this image, Jenz used an in-camera flash. “Most pros don’t like it, but I do because it puts my subjects at ease instead of making them stare at a large strobe.”

Light and Festive

Alison Conklin had the recent pleasure of photographing a holiday-themed pop-up bar in Delaware, designed by her friend Dallas Shaw.  

“The atmosphere is super fun and festive and the installations Dallas put up are so creative,” says Conklin. “The bar is called Blitzen and is only open for a few weeks each winter.”

For this image of bartender Kylie, Conklin used a Profoto A1X off camera to the left of her, pointed at the tinsel that was hanging above the bar. “It gave me the beautiful light you see, and made the image look even more festive.”

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more compelling imagery.