With WPPI 2015 on the brink of starting up very soon, we’ve been busy scouring the web for the best in the business when it comes to wedding and portrait photography. We’ve also worked on curating and creating lots of tips and tutorials to help you get your start or help you get even further along in the photo world.

But we’re not only talking about gear: part of being a photographer is also having people skills. And as many of the photographers that we’ve interviewed will tell you, it’s pretty much everything. Here’s our giant roundup of Portrait and Wedding Tips.

Weddings

Talking to WPPI Presenters about What They Wish They Knew: We talked to a large number of presenters at WPPI about what they wish they knew when they were starting out as a photographer.

The Checklist of Every Shot that You Need to Take at a Wedding: We don’t need to say anything more.

A Photographer Who Shoots Film at Weddings: Photographer Pat Brownewell still shoots film. He tells us that it’s because of the fact that he didn’t feel challenged by smaller formats and digital anymore. And his clients have never complained.

Posing Large Groups at Weddings: One of the biggest pains at a wedding is posing a large group of folks and having them all pay attention to your lens. But in this interview, we focused on getting just that.

Capturing Candid Wedding Portraits: Some of the best images that you’ll ever give to clients in their wedding package will be the candid photos. Here’s how to get them. You may also want to check out our story on getting photojournalistic images at a wedding as well as what it’s like to by the fly on the wall photographer.

A Fine Art Approach to Weddings: You often hear about the cookie cutter posed portraits being taken at a wedding or the photojournalistic approach; but not many of those combine it with a fine art feel.

A Walkthrough of an Engagement Session: Before the wedding, there is always the engagement session; and getting those photos are a totally different deal that requires creativity and collaboration with the couple. Also be sure to check out the basics of shooting better engagements.

Cinemagraph by Lindsay Adler. Used with permission.

A Simple Way to Light and Shoot Wedding Rings: Here’s how you can get a better wedding ring photo on the cheap.

The Basics of Better Engagement Photos: No idea how to shoot an engagement? Here are some beginners tips.

Calvin Hobson’s Work is Incredibly Inspirational: Photographer Calvin Hobson has work that is super inspirational to many photographers. After a stint in the military, he transitioned to shooting cameras and making clients happy on top of exercising his creative freedom.

The Business of Destination Wedding Photography: Photographer Joshua Kane teaches us that much of his work isn’t spent behind a camera; instead it’s face to face with clients.

Posing a Bride for a Wedding Shoot: The intricacies of working with brides and posing them don’t have to be so intricate. Here’s how.

Portraits

Lighting a Portrait: Photographer Lindsay Adler is one of the best in the business, and talks to us about the intricacies of lighting a portrait.

Our massive roundup of Lighting Tutorials from 2014: The gear head in you will want to check this out.

Bridal Boudoir Photography and Retouching: Photographer Critsey Rowe does bridal boudoir work, and believes that only the slightest bit of retouching is acceptable in a society that otherwise tries to abstain from it.

TTL vs Manual Lighting: Think that TTL lighting is easy to work with? Think again. Lindsay Adler again explains why it isn’t always the simplest.

Taking 10lbs off of a Portrait Subject: Photographer Peter Hurley has a video that shows you how simple it is to make a person look thinner in a portrait.

Making the Best of Your Photo Gear for Portraits: The title says it all.

Shooting Environmental Portraits: Environmental portraits are ones that tell a story about a person. And here’s how you do them.

The Basics of Shooting Better Portraits: Good portraiture isn’t as simple as pointing your camera and hoping for the best. It takes a lot of work on your end.

The Basics of Boudoir Photography: Want to get started in shooting boudoir? Well, here’s how.

Our Quick Introduction to Backlighting Portraits: Love to work with natural light? Then backlighting may become your best friend.

Shooting Senior Portraits: Want to shoot senior portraits? Then here are some of the things that you should know to start off. Hint: it’s all about an interview process.

Golden Hour Portraiture: Lester Cannon didn’t even realize that he was shooting during the Golden Hour when he started photographing his subjects with film. But he ended up creating beautiful images.

Family and Kid Portraits: Family and kid portrait sessions can be tough with folks moving all over the place. But this photographer has it down to a simple science.

Getting softer light for portraits: We teach you the simple techniques to getting softer light in your portraits each and every time; tried and true by the staff here. You can even get them in the middle of the day.

Posing: These are some foolproof tips when it comes to posing but for extra inspiration we’ve got more for men and women.

Gear Recommendations

We’re not going to spend too much time on gear here because we think that you can do quite a bit with your current kit, but just for fun:

5 Items for the Strobist Photographer Just Starting Out

Comparing an 85mm and 50mm lens for Portraiture

Our Early 2015 Portrait Gear Guide