Portrait Professional vs Portrait+ Which Portrait Retouching Software Will You Choose?

Usually I use Portrait Professional to enhance my photos since it provides the highest quality of portraits. But I recently tried Portrait+, another portrait retouching software to deal with my photos from my trip to Germany. This software shares some similarities with Portrait Professional but still remains unique with its own features. So which one should you choose? I'd like to make a comparison between their main features to help you decide.

The following is a table of feature comparison:

Category	Features	Portrait Professional	Portrait+
import	batch import	X	V
face touchup	face detection in one photo	with the help of manual location	auto detection with up to 20 faces
	style templates	can be customized and saved more	20+
	adjust feature points	V	V
	manul fine-tuning controls	V	X
	photo effects	natural & glamorous	natural
export	batch export	X	V
conclusion	speed & convenience in  workflow	fast	faster
	target users	both professional & amateur photographers	professional photo studios, portrait studios and photo labs.

Personally, I think Portrait Professional is a better choice when retouching a few photos while Portrait+ is better for enhancing larger numbers of photos.

A Simple Exercise to Improve Your Portrait Photography

Photography is a gear based pastime, and because of this, it’s easy to overcomplicate a shoot by taking more equipment than you actually need. To shoot simply, you may benefits a lot. When I surf on the Internet, I find some interesting tips which may facilitate you to make a perfect portrait photos.

Simple portrait exercise

The idea is to shoot in black and white, with just one camera and one lens, in natural light. The aim is to keep your approach simple so that you can concentrate on your rapport with your model and posing and composition. Using black and white will test your composition skills.

                                                                                                                                              

Here are a few ideas to help your shoot run smoothly:

Build rapport with your model. This is really important, for fairly obvious reasons, especially if you don’t know them well. If you show a genuine interest in your model he or she will respond to your ideas and become involved in your shoot. They are more likely to be willing to help you out with future shoots. You might even make a good friend.

Communicate your ideas. You can do this by showing your model any sample photos you have prepared, and also by showing the images on the camera’s screen at intervals during the shoot. The more your model buys into your vision of what you want to achieve with the harder they will work to help you achieve it.

Pay attention to what’s happening behind your model. Keep the composition simple and try to avoid messy or bright backgrounds.

Relax. Have fun. Enjoy yourself.

(pictures&tips below are quoted from Andrew S Gibson's blog)