[PhotoNewt]

Originally Posted by Anant

I want to start with shooting some people portraits of a couple of my friends but would like some advice on how to get the best out of the shoot sessions?

Advice in terms of

1. Location/Settings
2. Clothes//Costumes (under this, how does it work? Do I organize the costumes or should I just suggest my friends what to wear?)
3. Open or Closed location and what time of day if open location

Any other advice, tips would be very welcome.

Ps. I'm just acquainted with the subjects so I would like to do this right to give the right impression to them so that they will be more amenable to further shoots

Thanks

If this is your first time shooting portraits, outdoors - in my opinion - is easier because the ligthing will be mostly taken care for you.

You will need some extra equipment if you are serious about your results:

1. Tripod is very helpful, although handheld is possible (you might want to use the center auto focus point for handheld shots - see below).
2. A portrait lens (50-100mm range) with big aperture (f/2.8 or less). If you only have a kit lens, use the long end of the zoom (anything between 50-100mm). If you have it or can easily get it, a lens hood is very helpful.
3. A reflector, a large white posterboard will be adequate.
4. An assistant to hold the the reflector for you.

Location:

1. Choose an outside location with a simple background. Sit or stand your subject several feet in front of the background to make blurring it easier.
2. The best times for outdoor portrait are early morning or early evening when the sun is low on the horizon and the light is yellow/red (warmer light).
3. If shooting in the middle of the day, choose an area with open shade (under a porch or a tree works best) to avoid the harsh light.

Clothing:
1. Solid colors are best, not too bright and with no pattern - you want the attention on your subject and not the clothing.
2. Avoid shorts.
3. Head and shoulder shots are easier to begin with as you don't have to worry about posing legs or hands.
4. A classic pose is to stand (or seat) the subject at 45-degree angle to the camera with the head partially turned towards the lens and eyes on the lens. This will keep the photo from looking like a mug shot.

Now that you have these, decide if you want a front lit (sun behind your back) or side lit portrait. Front lit is easier with soft even light, however side lit is more interesting and creates great shadows that give depth and interest to the subject. For a side lit technique, place your subject with the sun at an angle, 45-degrees is a good starting point. The subject should be facing the sun to illuminate about 3/4 of the face with sunlight - adjust for the most pleasing effect. Use the reflector at 45-degrees on the opposite side, as close as possible to the subject to soften the shadows on that side. Pay particular attention to shadows cast by the nose and chin areas; move the reflector a little down if needed to soften those.

On your camera, set the lens to the appropriate setting (50-100mm), choose the vertical orientation, move the camera to get as much of the face and shoulders filling the frame. Adjust the height of the tripod so the lens is parallel to the ground, otherwise you will have distorsions on the picture created by the angled perspective of the lens. When framing, avoid placing the subject square on the center, a slight off-center framing is usually more pleasing.

Shoot on either [Av] or [M] (the latter is preferred), set your meter to spot and take your exposure reading from the face. Set your aperture about one stop above wide open - best compromise between shallow depth of field and image quality - adjust your shutter speed in [M] for a correct exposure or let the camera choose for you on [Av]. Set the focus to manual and accurately focus on the eye closest to the camera. If shooting on JPEG, I like to set the color balance to cloudy, this gives warmer skin tones.

Take a few tests shots and adjust your framing, focus or lighting as needed. When ready for the real shot, set your camera to burst mode and shoot short bursts of different facial expressions. Take as many shots as possible to assure a good selection.

Finally, talking to your subject and establishing a good rapport will help relax and obtain more natural expressions.

These are just simple starting suggestions, serious portraiture can be more involved with more complex light set ups, additional props, backgrounds and posing.