p.1 #1 · Have Leica q3-43 - please suggest settings to take prom pictures of my son
Hi - I am a middle aged NEWBIE when comes to Leica or photography in general - still have to look up what aperture is - don’t know how light metering works.
Had Canon 24-70 f2.8 II IS, 70-200 f2.8 II IS, 50mm f1.2 and 5dMK III for about 7-8 years and took no more than 200 pictures because of the lack of understanding on my part. Now those sit in the basement - not even sure where.
Question:
My son is going to prom tomorrow and I have downloaded Henry Hudson presets. I live in NJ. Weather is going to be cloudy.
As any teenagers they will be VERY impatient and I will have only 3-5 minutes.
Can you please suggest settings for taking their pictures ? The boy is wearing a black suit and his date is wearing a dress - not sure about the color.
p.1 #2 · Have Leica q3-43 - please suggest settings to take prom pictures of my son
All of that and you bought a Leica Q3 43? Good on you, I think the results will come out fine.
A) I would study some YouTube tutorials on taking prom photos and posing your talent (i.e. our son and date)
- Make sure to mix up the shots, some where they fill the frame, go closer and take some from waist-up, take some flower a longer angle alternatively higher angle, make them try different poses, make sure to take some single photos of both persons. Don't forget the fun/silly faces at the end :-)
B) Test shoot today on your son and/or wife. Nothing beats practice and trying to understand the results, what is missing/went wrong, etc.
C) I would take the photos outside or on the porch perhaps to the house (if you live in a house...). Try to avoid very harsh direct sunlight unless you know how to deal with it.
D) Shoot in RAW (DNG) and JPEG (highest quality). I assume you won't be doing much post-processing, pick a Leica style/profile you like, probably Leica Classic (CLS) or Contemporary (CNT) should work.
E) Camera wise: I would shoot in Aperture Priority and set the aperture to f/4 or f/5.6 since you are shooting couples. For the single person shot I would dial it down to f/2 or f/2.8
I assume you don't have a flash or a reflector, so let's forget about using those for now.
What are you post-processing in? Using Lightroom?
So get practicing as much as possible today. Borrow anyone you can as a model to test out. I know, it will feel silly and awkward to direct people around, asking them to pose this and that, but lean into that. If you act unsure and insecure, the talent will reflect that. Fake it til you make it. Try to relax and have fun, don't take it too seriously! Make everyone relax and enjoy!
p.1 #3 · Have Leica q3-43 - please suggest settings to take prom pictures of my son
Put everything in Auto, including auto ISO, and be done with it. It will come out ok. Adjust exposure compensation if model's faces come out too dark or too light. Try to pose models that there is some light on faces.
