Jeff Smith is an acclaimed portrait photographer who specializes
in senior portraits. Yet even when working with these subjects-
People who are probably the slimmest and most attractive they
will ever be-he approaches each shoot with one question in mind
What would this person not want to see in his or her portraits?

It may seem like a negative way to approach a session, but jeff.
Actually has his bottom line in mind. After all, regardless of the
style, the props, or the composition, people ultimately buy
portraits that make them look good. The easiest way to
accomplish that goal is to identify potential problem areas and
maximize or disguise them. And keep in mind : whether the
appreance issues in question are real or imagined from the photo
grapher's point of view, it's the client point of view that matters. Even if you think her nose looks just fine, if a woman feels it's too big, you would better de-emphasize it in her portrait if you want to make the sale.

If there's one thing that all portraits subjects have in common, it's the fact that they all want to look good in their pictures. As jeff notes, these are also the portraits that people ultimately buy. So making subjects look their best is also critical to photographers.