About us

Photographic Artistry is a fine portraiture studio established in 1986. It started in Otsego, MI, and moved to Plainwell, MI in 1999. Its owner, Joseph D. Sherman, is a graduate from Tennessee Temple University with a B.A. in Art and a major in Photography. Joe is a seasoned Professional Photographer, working in photography since 1971.

Overview Philosophy of Family Portraiture

The most important concept of creating portraits is that the photographer is capturing how people feel, more than how they look. So, it is important that everyone be in a good frame of mind. It is unproductive to pressure family members to smile, so leave that up to the photographer. I will have a humorous talk with everyone before we start taking Portraits, and this will break the ice, and everyone will relax. If you have small children, my recommendation is that you bring a babysitter with you to keep the children occupied while we set up the family group, especially if this is an "Extended Family." Since children have such short attention spans, it is important that they be kept occupied doing some thing else, until right before we pop them into the group. I will have played with them, so they will see that I like them, and will get them to giggle. When they are "popped" into the group, I ask that the adults look at me instead of the kids and I will then, be the "clown" that gets the kids to giggle, as they will wondering what this "Nut" is going to do next. Trust me, this works.