Any portrait photographers on here?
- Thread starter Globalti
- Start date
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Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
I used to take corporate portrait photos, and the only advice I can think of that isn't covered is that if you find your subjects squinting too much ask them to shut their eyes and then open them on count of three and get your photo.
ttcycle
Cycling Excusiast
It depends what you are trying to say with your photo, candid stuff or conceptual work that is all about seeing how someone is in their own space is the very opposite of that and people's preconceptions of photographers can get in the way.
However, what always helps is that people know you but a confident manner either way will go down well. Best approach is to work with the personality of each person you are shooting - different people respond to different approaches and a good photographer can work with the person- it's one of my favourite parts of the job.
Weddings, totally different kettle of fish- you have to be bossy and have great timing to get those shots!
akb
Veteran
- Location
- Potton, Bedfordshire
Just a few comments to add on to what has already been mentioned.
As a general rule, your shutter speed should match your focul length at least to minimise blur. Ie. Using a 50mm lens, you need to have a minimum shutter speed of 1/50th second.
Keep the sun / light source to the side and slightly behind your subject. Use a reflector to fil the light to the subjects face.
WB - If shooting indoors, let the camera do the work. If outdoors, my recommendation would be to use a preset sunlight setting.
I am not too familiar with the F27, but keep an eye on your ISO setting if shooting indoors. Try and keep it below ISO 400 if you can to minimise noise. Also set your Aperture to the lowest setting (depending on lens, you should be able to get between F2.8-F4 min)
Focusing, manual focus or point focus, and pick the eyes as your focal point. Nothing ruins a portrait more than out of focus eyes.
Hope this helps.
Anil (A Nikon user
)
As a general rule, your shutter speed should match your focul length at least to minimise blur. Ie. Using a 50mm lens, you need to have a minimum shutter speed of 1/50th second.
Keep the sun / light source to the side and slightly behind your subject. Use a reflector to fil the light to the subjects face.
WB - If shooting indoors, let the camera do the work. If outdoors, my recommendation would be to use a preset sunlight setting.
I am not too familiar with the F27, but keep an eye on your ISO setting if shooting indoors. Try and keep it below ISO 400 if you can to minimise noise. Also set your Aperture to the lowest setting (depending on lens, you should be able to get between F2.8-F4 min)
Focusing, manual focus or point focus, and pick the eyes as your focal point. Nothing ruins a portrait more than out of focus eyes.
Hope this helps.
Anil (A Nikon user
)
How did it go? Can we see any of the results? Did you have a good weekend?
OP
OP
Globalti
Legendary Member
Thanks for asking - the weekend was great, the weather OK, I've still got sore legs from rushing down the mountain but the photography was a write-off; there simply wasn't any way of getting people to sit quietly and get their photo and out on the mountain it was misty and chilly and everybody was swathed in hats and hoods. I had to resort to candid shots of people during the dinner using a longish lens, got some good characterful pictures but not the sort I was hoping for.
G2EWS
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Devizes, Wiltshire
Got to this thread a bit late I'm afraid.
Candid shots are often much better than staged shots if you don't have experience. So you may find you have by luck achieved the best solution.
With regards to the weather and to quote a fantastic photographer whose landscape training course I attempt to go on every year in the Lake District:
'There is no such thing as bad weather, just different opportunities'
John Gravett - Lakeland Photographic Holidays
http://www.lakelandphotohols.com/
You would have done well with a window as suggested in almost any kind of light. Taking any photo in RAW is a must and it would be easy to adjust colour problems/balance afterwards in something like Lightroom or Photoshop. Or of course software probably supplied with the camera. Personally I create my colour balance using an ExpoDisc. This allows me to get the 'correct' colour balance and thereby reducing post production work on the computer. It also means I don't have to 'remember' what the colour was like a couple of weeks later when I am going through maybe 1 or 2,000 photos!
As to flash, this is one of a portrait photographers greatest tools. But you need to obviously use it correctly. I would have suggested that you find the setting for fill flash. Check it out as this is a superb way of getting a shot of someone but keeping a little light in their eyes/face. So you then end up with the classic catchlight that photographers strive for. If you imagine taking a photo of someone in sunlight and they are wearing a hat. It can be very hard to get light in the face without 'blowing' out other parts of the photo. A fill flash will do this for you and allow the rest of the scene to be perfectly lit.
I shot a wedding during Christmas and New Year last year. It was very wet so getting the Bride and guests outside was impossible. The smart Hotel had no large window areas. Having arrived two days early I had already surveyed the inside of the Hotel and found the reception was the best area. I used one flash set to fill and was able to light groups of up to about 10 people at a time. It worked well. During the ceremony in a dreadfully lit but 'pretty' room, I used one on camera flash for fill and one off camera portable flash as the main light. Again it worked well. During the morning as the Bride and Bridesmaids were getting ready, in the dark under the worst fluorescent lights I have ever seen, I stood in the bath and took many hundreds of photos as the makeup was put on. I had one flash for fill and bounced it off the ceiling. I confess that even using my ExpoDisc I was not happy with the colour balance. The trick is then to set the actual Kelvin level. This means when you come to post production, you can determine the exact colour balance needed then apply this to all of the photos taken at that specific session.
There is so much to learn in portrait photography that I think you may, as mentioned, have the best shots by taking your candids. Rather than a book, why don't you create a 'movie' of the photos overlaid with your mates favourite music. If you own a Mac computer this can be done easily with the supplied software and you can even add chapters. So you may have some photos of him in the past which you can also use. I do this for almost every photoshoot. It is easy and I never fail to get tears from the recipients.
I should also point out that I own the following:
Nikon D3S
Nikon D3X
With most of Nikon's fast lenses including probably the best portrait lens they make the 85mm 1.4G
Studio lighting & equipment for on site and studio lighting equipment for field work.
And yes it is a very big hobby of mine!
Best regards
Chris
Candid shots are often much better than staged shots if you don't have experience. So you may find you have by luck achieved the best solution.
With regards to the weather and to quote a fantastic photographer whose landscape training course I attempt to go on every year in the Lake District:
'There is no such thing as bad weather, just different opportunities'
John Gravett - Lakeland Photographic Holidays
http://www.lakelandphotohols.com/
You would have done well with a window as suggested in almost any kind of light. Taking any photo in RAW is a must and it would be easy to adjust colour problems/balance afterwards in something like Lightroom or Photoshop. Or of course software probably supplied with the camera. Personally I create my colour balance using an ExpoDisc. This allows me to get the 'correct' colour balance and thereby reducing post production work on the computer. It also means I don't have to 'remember' what the colour was like a couple of weeks later when I am going through maybe 1 or 2,000 photos!
As to flash, this is one of a portrait photographers greatest tools. But you need to obviously use it correctly. I would have suggested that you find the setting for fill flash. Check it out as this is a superb way of getting a shot of someone but keeping a little light in their eyes/face. So you then end up with the classic catchlight that photographers strive for. If you imagine taking a photo of someone in sunlight and they are wearing a hat. It can be very hard to get light in the face without 'blowing' out other parts of the photo. A fill flash will do this for you and allow the rest of the scene to be perfectly lit.
I shot a wedding during Christmas and New Year last year. It was very wet so getting the Bride and guests outside was impossible. The smart Hotel had no large window areas. Having arrived two days early I had already surveyed the inside of the Hotel and found the reception was the best area. I used one flash set to fill and was able to light groups of up to about 10 people at a time. It worked well. During the ceremony in a dreadfully lit but 'pretty' room, I used one on camera flash for fill and one off camera portable flash as the main light. Again it worked well. During the morning as the Bride and Bridesmaids were getting ready, in the dark under the worst fluorescent lights I have ever seen, I stood in the bath and took many hundreds of photos as the makeup was put on. I had one flash for fill and bounced it off the ceiling. I confess that even using my ExpoDisc I was not happy with the colour balance. The trick is then to set the actual Kelvin level. This means when you come to post production, you can determine the exact colour balance needed then apply this to all of the photos taken at that specific session.
There is so much to learn in portrait photography that I think you may, as mentioned, have the best shots by taking your candids. Rather than a book, why don't you create a 'movie' of the photos overlaid with your mates favourite music. If you own a Mac computer this can be done easily with the supplied software and you can even add chapters. So you may have some photos of him in the past which you can also use. I do this for almost every photoshoot. It is easy and I never fail to get tears from the recipients.
I should also point out that I own the following:
Nikon D3S
Nikon D3X
With most of Nikon's fast lenses including probably the best portrait lens they make the 85mm 1.4G
Studio lighting & equipment for on site and studio lighting equipment for field work.
And yes it is a very big hobby of mine!
Best regards
Chris
G2EWS
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Devizes, Wiltshire
Here are a couple of shots of the wedding I mentioned to give you some idea what I mean about fill flash
Regards
Chris
Regards
Chris
Chris, you've got an 85mm 1.4? Hate you!!!
I have one too. Sell a kidney to get one it's worth it...
G2EWS
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Devizes, Wiltshire
It's the 85 1.4G which is totally awesome.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/85mm-f14-afs.htm
I phoned T4 cameras the very week the 1.4G was launched to buy the old lens not realising the new had been launched. They had one of the new ones in stock and it was the only one available in the country. It was mine the same day!
Chris
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/85mm-f14-afs.htm
I phoned T4 cameras the very week the 1.4G was launched to buy the old lens not realising the new had been launched. They had one of the new ones in stock and it was the only one available in the country. It was mine the same day!
Chris
