Steve Roe

There are tried and tested methods in photography that simply look pleasing to the eye. Even someone who has never studied photography or had any real interest in it will still find certain photos more appealing than others, even if they can’t explain why. That’s because these techniques create balance and naturally guide the viewer’s attention to the right places in the frame.

Colour saturation is how we can make our photos come to life with an added pop of vibrancy and rich tones. We can even control the saturation across separate colour channels, allowing us to select one or two colours to deliver impact in our shot. However, saturation can come at a cost. There’s a fine line between results looking natural and unnatural, something that beginners can find hard to navigate. Throw skin tones into the mix, and that line becomes even trickier.

Colour grading can make or break a portrait photograph. It dictates everything from how the image is perceived to the overall mood. Bright and punchy, dark and moody, all of it can be achieved with a high-quality colour grade. However, it’s a fine line to tread, with beginners often going overboard and creating distracting palettes or undermining the atmosphere they are aiming for.

When you think of portrait photography using natural light, golden hour probably comes to mind first, and for good reason. It casts a beautiful, warm glow that flatters your subject and makes everything look stunning. But golden hour isn’t the only time worth shooting. Throughout the day, different types of light can still offer excellent opportunities for natural light portraits.

Long exposure is one of the most creative ways to approach portrait photography. It adds that dreamy, artistic layer that instantly pulls people in. It’s also a great tool for telling stories or bringing motion into a still frame—something regular portraits don’t always manage.

One of the biggest challenges in portrait editing is hair. It often requires more attention than beginners realise, from flyaway strands that disrupt the image to colour and shine that need adjusting. Many photographers end up spending far too long trying to get it just right.