Look for New Environments, Mix People Up

Memorable pictures are made using time-tested techniques, methods -- and, yes, even tricks. To help photographers of all stripes up their game, LIFE.com is launching a series of "lessons" on photography, focusing on elemental aspects of picture-taking. Among those: portraiture, or how to take pictures of people that really feel alive. LIFE.com asked professional photographer Tyler Stalman to offer insights on taking great portraits. Of this classic LIFE photograph by John Loengard of the Beatles in a pool in Miami, Stalman says: "Most people, when taking group shots, want to line everybody up -- even putting them in rows -- but when you have a bunch of people it's great to put them in a new or unexpected environment. Like this Loengard photo: you get all this extra depth in the picture, and there's so much going on at once. Don't be afraid to shuffle people around when you're doing a group shot."