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Brian Smith is a Sony Artisan, and a world-famous portrait photographer. His client list includes many celebrities and major players in the entertainment industry, and he is a recipient of the Pultizer Prize. For the past thirty years, Brian has been in the editorial and advertising photography industry, after having a photo make it into LIFE magazine at the age of 20.

Drawing upon this experience, Brian will be giving a lecture at the B&H Event Space soon. He's also celebrating the release of his recently published book, "Secrets of Great Portait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous."

We got to talk to Brian for a bit about how to capture better portraits. Here are his tips.

If you're looking to purchase a compact – and reliable – lighting system that's easy pack up and ideal for travel and location shooting, we currently have a nice selection of factory refurbished Profoto CPS ComPact Monolights. Rated at 300WS, Profoto CPS ComPacts can be used to build a compact lighting system that's ideal for portraits or still-life photography, or as an economical way to 'beef-up' your existing lighting system.

If you shoot on 'both sides of the pond' you'll appreciate the ability to tap into an AC power range of 90- 260VAC. Other features include a recycle time of under 0.8-seconds, a proportional modeling light, centralized umbrella socket for even illumination, and a built-in optical slave.

New, Profoto CPS ComPacts sell for $589.50 without a

Taking well-lit photographs on location can be challenging, especially if the assignment involves outdoor portraiture. While the sun pumps out ample volumes of light 24/7 (daylight balanced no less) it's not always positioned where you want it or when you want it. And then you have the rain, snow, and cloud factor. In any case, when shooting outdoors on location, the sun is your primary light source. Beyond that, it's all about you and your choice of portable lighting.