PicsArt Monthly May Issue 2014 | Page 11

Documenting our friends and family on casual and special events continues to be the most important use of portraiture. Although snap shooters armed with both point and shoot cameras and expensive DSLRs have generated the lion’s share, family portraits, commercial headshots, school graduation pictures, sports pics and editorial illustrations make up the largest market share for professional photographers. Quality, value, creativity and effort are determined, in varying degrees, by intent plus who is paying the bill. Take head shots. They are the currency of models, actors, performers and book jackets. They tend to be rather formulaic--not very creative-because their main purpose is to allow you to see what someone looks like. Retail portraiture is for the p \