179 - How to Create Portraits That Feel Raw, Honest, and Powerful

In this episode, I sit down with portrait photographer Betina LaPlante to explore the philosophy and practice behind her visceral, intimate portraiture. Topics covered: Why Betina puts the camera down before she ever starts shooting — and how building rapport before a session transforms the images she gets The difference between directing a subject and witnessing one — and why she almost always chooses to witness Her work photographing actors like Charles Dance and Christopher Lloyd, and what it means to reveal the person behind the persona How shooting tethered (something she rarely does) became the right call for one particularly camera-shy subject Her 35mm lens, her reliance on natural light, and why she's learning to work with continuous artificial lights Her lifelong love of black and white — from developing film in her bathroom darkroom to converting digital portraits today Why hands are central to her portraits: what they reveal, why they're harder to perform with, and how they carry a life's worth of character The ethics of intimacy in portraiture — and why she has never felt the need to use discomfort as a tool Dream subjects she'd love to photograph: Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Walken, and more Her advice for photographers still finding their voice: shoot what you genuinely love Find Betina LaPlante: Instagram: https://instagram.com/betinatheplante Website: https://betinaplante.com Sponsor links: StyleCloud — beautifully designed website templates for photographers: https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/stylecloud | Code: nerdyphoto15 (15% off) Luminar Neo — AI-powered photo editing software: https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/luminar | Code: nerdyphoto ($10 off) SiteGround — web hosting with increased storage capacity: https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact