I am going to be shooting my girlfriend later on this week. I am completely new to portrait photography. I was wondering if anyone can give me any pointers on anything in particular...I will be shooting outdoors with a 40D, 70-200 2.8 IS, 24-70 2.8 and a 580 EX2. I usually set the WB to sunny outside...since I will be shooting with flash for fill, should I set it to flash? how about metering...should it be one spot meter? any pointers from anyone is totally appreciated
Shoot RAW,
let see to your girlfriend pictures from others that you find adapted to her
keep it simple
never let the model look to the sun
with the 580exII, try shooting with the sun in the back of the model, it gives light playing in the hair
spot meter is a good idea, but you already have the levels in your 40d. Use it as main display format.
take 3-10 very, very, simple shots with the 70-200 full open, giving a woaww background and let look it by your girlfriend, so she's becoming less afraid of the results.
get focus on the eyes and the recompose
ask that she takes some make-up with her.
decide to take a break on regular base
and ...
keep cool, smile, speak slowly and gently, don't stress when repeating sentences
keep the session short, because you will get another occasion to shoot her
Yves thank you so much! that helps a lot! I will try to post as soon as we get one session done ...What do you think about White balance? and I'm sorry i am not following about the levels being in the 40D? also what do you guys think of using the 24-70 for this session?
Shooting RAW, you don't have to care about the white balance. At the time of converting to jpeg, you can choose what WB you need and fine tune it. Especially when mixing sun and flash.
On the 40d (and on almost DSLR) you can view the image with the levels. There is a good explanation here.
The 24-70 is also a good lens. Try to enhance the length of legs, but avoid narrow shooting with less than 40mm.
Use the AV mode, with the widest apertures (2.8) as those lenses are outstanding and the DOF will help to enhance the "woaw" effect.
It can also be a good idea that she takes some accessories with her : a bag, a cellular phone, an ipod, ... so she can "DO" something on the pictures. A common problem encountered with beginners models is that they can't express and take a "natural" pose. Having something to do helps a lot
Anyway, explain that the goal of the session is not to obtain "the" picture, but to understand how you can work together to create something. So you will enhance your complicity preparing the next shooting when looking on the results of the first one, discovering new tips and ideas.
I shoot many models, and my girlfriend a lot also. Working with her is never the same. She is more "sensible" to what I say, she expect more softness, more attention, more time than other models. Also if I do a comment or a remark I know that, because she love me, it can be understand on a bad way. However, it's a pleasure to look at the results together and to build new shooting projects.
Thanks again i really appreciate it... Your advice is great!...I still will take any extra advice from anyone I am totally humble when it comes to this subject lol thanks again!
Keep it simple. Ditch the 580ex and shoot natural light. Place her in open shade. And just take the 24-70. On your 40D, that'll give you basically a 40mm - 110mm range which will allow you to do everything from full body to tight headshot. And you'll be close enough to her to have a connection. Plus she won't have to wait while you're messing with lenses. Shoot 2.8 - 4.0 to really blur the background. Shoot RAW. And check your histogram to ensure proper exposure, whatever metering mode you use.
I like Chris's advice. Use natural light. Always look in her eyes and find the reflection of the horizon, or reflection of a light colored building, but always look in her eyes first, then look for shadows and highlights on her face and hair. Learning natural light is about learning to see the light that is actually available.
Look in her eyes. If you do it right you will see yourself in them.
The last one of the bunch is the best. There is good light on the face, the focus looks good on the nose/closer eye and the background is not distracting.
The first 3 look like her head is in a shadow. The facial expression makes her look like she is uninterested on being on the lens side of the camera. Almost annoyed that you are photographing her. These are my uneducated comments..
OK, the lighting and color aren't working in the first few. They need a bump in the exposure, they're too dark. And I don't know if it's too much contrast or too much saturation but something isn't right. I think the lighting is mixed too.
The last one is the best. But I think it would have been better from another angle, right now it's highlighting her nose in an unflattering way. I think if you worked from that side it would flatter her more and lighten the eyes up.
Keep at it.
yea I agree on the first few with both of you...the poses are not that great, it was difficult for her to get a natural pose with me. it was our first time out on a shoot. actually all these pictures are shot without her realizing she was being photographed. it was just difficult for her to pose. so when she was fixing her hair I just snapped a few away and imo they came out the best. as far as the exposure goes. I am not sure what I was doing wrong...I am coming from shooting landscapes and wildlife. and exposure is different when it comes to people. when i tried to go in the open where it was very sunny, I blew one side of her face and there was so many shadows. but when I went under the shade of the trees It was underexposing. just trying to figure out people shots guys lol.
The last portrait has an excellent smile. Most women would probably consider it a bit too sharp to be flattering. It would benefit from the reduce noise filter in PS and careful application of the clone tool to even her skin tone. (Excess skin detail can become "noise" in the same way grass becomes a weed when it intrudes into a flower bed.)
I sometimes suggest a fill flash, but using it properly can be tricky. In addition to helping preserve shadow detail, it can provide eye highlights that can make them more lively. (Although I have occasionally used post processing methods to add eye highlights later. In the old days I sometimes used a pin to remove emulsion from 35 mm transparencies. PS is so much less invasive.) For a close portrait when all I have for fill is an on camera flash, I use a piece of copier paper taped to the flash in a half loop to spread and diffuse the light.
One of the best things about digital photography is practice and experimentation is cheap. You're only burning electrons. Experiment. Practice. Have fun.
Good to see you post! I agree that the third is the best here! She has a nice expression. The others look a bit underexposed and you seem to have caught her 'in between' expressions.
The good thing is that you have a good looking model to practice with! I hope to see more!
Thanks for the feedback guys ...Canerino...not sure what your real name is lol...I barely post out of fear I guess...most of you guys have been here for a while and my work does not even come close...but one day I hope to be a good as you especially with those amazing b&w lol...
you have a beautiful subject.........for the next session, try to keep it simple, i've never been a fan of girls playing with hair, never seems to turn out right.
also....looks like some Lucis type PP.......not flattering on women.
talk to her, make her laugh........and tell her to give you the "bedroom" eyes or stare....will add a lot of different looks for you and make it FUN>
The last two are working for me but again, something isn't right. Maybe try black and white? You cut her off at the joints on the first two and partially on the 3rd. Less tighter cropping would have been nice. Also, I think you should have used your 24-70 for this, it would have brought you closer to her. the 70-200 puts you too far away. Also, she doesn't look very relaxed in the first 3. Sorry, but this is just what I feel from this. I know you can do better.
