First Portrait Session

[gjakovare]

Hello all,

I'm in need of your help. I have asked one of my friends to model for me this saturday and she agreed. As time approaches I'm getting more and more nervous about it. Can you give me some advice, tricks, or anything that I can make this session somewhat successful?

I already know that she is comfortable in front of the camera, however I am not as comfortable behind the camera. I have read a lot on this site and others about how to prepare for it. All of them suggest to be ready before hand at the scene, however, I will be picking her up so I cannot apply that suggestion.

My camera is Canon XS with the kit lense 18-55m IS lense. I don't own any other gear.
Also, here is my flickr page so maybe you can pin point what I'm doing wrong so far.

Thanks so much,
Dita

[SusanH1970]

Hi, and good luck on your shoot! A few pointers:

1. Don't shoot in full sun. Shoot early morning or late afternoon for much softer, directional light. If it's overcast, that's great - it's like God's given you a giant softbox in the sky.

2. If it's sunny, watch for dappled light and avoid it. Try to find open shade.

3. Use a reflector. If you don't have one, pick up a piece of white foamboard from a craft store. Position it so the light is not perfectly even and flat - keep soft shadowing. Look for light in the eyes (don't get the "black hole" look). If you have someone you can bring along to assist by holding the reflector, that's great. If not (and I rarely do), practice holding it with one hand and shooting with the other, or rigging up a "stand" - I've been known to clamp it to a step ladder or folding chair.

4. Make sure you focus on her eyes.

5. Eyeball the background and make sure there's nothing distracting. When shooting, make sure there are no tree branches, poles, etc. "growing" out of her head.

6. Watch for hand/foot/limb chops. If you're going to chop, don't do it at a joint. For instance, not at the knees - but mid-thigh or mid-calf is ok.

7. Read up on posing and composition.


Those are simple basics - if you really want to go for it:

8. Shoot in manual and use your meter. Adjust your ISO, aperture and SS accordingly to get correct exposure. Spot meter off your model's cheek.

9. If you have time before the shoot, get an 18% grey card and do custom white balance.

Hope this helps. Please do post your results!

[gjakovare]

Thank you Susan. I will make sure to use most of your tips, however I'm not sure about number 3. I'm not sure I can make soft shadows. Maybe I just don't understand how it would look like.

And I will definitely post some up if the weather permits me to take any as it seems like it may be a rainy day

[SusanH1970]

Here's an example of soft shadowing. This was shot indoors, but using only natural window light. Window was camera left (her right side) and the reflector was about 45 degrees to her camera right. See how her left (your right) is softly shadowed? The light isn't flat and gives the photo some dimension.



Hope the illustration helps.

[gjakovare]

Susan,

Thank you soooo much for all your help. Unfortunately we had to cancel the session due to high winds and a very cold day (ranging between 35-50). However I did get a white board and I'm trying to put your tips into practice. Again, thanks so so much, I'll let you know once I get to take those pictures.
Have a great one.

[Vrinda]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Hi, and good luck on your shoot! A few pointers:

1. Don't shoot in full sun. Shoot early morning or late afternoon for much softer, directional light. If it's overcast, that's great - it's like God's given you a giant softbox in the sky.

2. If it's sunny, watch for dappled light and avoid it. Try to find open shade.

3. Use a reflector. If you don't have one, pick up a piece of white foamboard from a craft store. Position it so the light is not perfectly even and flat - keep soft shadowing. Look for light in the eyes (don't get the "black hole" look). If you have someone you can bring along to assist by holding the reflector, that's great. If not (and I rarely do), practice holding it with one hand and shooting with the other, or rigging up a "stand" - I've been known to clamp it to a step ladder or folding chair.

4. Make sure you focus on her eyes.

5. Eyeball the background and make sure there's nothing distracting. When shooting, make sure there are no tree branches, poles, etc. "growing" out of her head.

6. Watch for hand/foot/limb chops. If you're going to chop, don't do it at a joint. For instance, not at the knees - but mid-thigh or mid-calf is ok.

7. Read up on posing and composition.


Those are simple basics - if you really want to go for it:

8. Shoot in manual and use your meter. Adjust your ISO, aperture and SS accordingly to get correct exposure. Spot meter off your model's cheek.

9. If you have time before the shoot, get an 18% grey card and do custom white balance.

Hope this helps. Please do post your results!

Nice checklist of things to look out for! I'm trying to get my photography kit together after a long hiatus, and this is exactly what I needed.

As well as the helpful reminders about lighting and focus, I was reminded to buy the reflector I've been meaning to get for a while, and tracked down my grey card.

Thank you!

[K.ErickPhotography]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Hi, and good luck on your shoot! A few pointers:

1. Don't shoot in full sun. Shoot early morning or late afternoon for much softer, directional light. If it's overcast, that's great - it's like God's given you a giant softbox in the sky.

2. If it's sunny, watch for dappled light and avoid it. Try to find open shade.

3. Use a reflector. If you don't have one, pick up a piece of white foamboard from a craft store. Position it so the light is not perfectly even and flat - keep soft shadowing. Look for light in the eyes (don't get the "black hole" look). If you have someone you can bring along to assist by holding the reflector, that's great. If not (and I rarely do), practice holding it with one hand and shooting with the other, or rigging up a "stand" - I've been known to clamp it to a step ladder or folding chair.

4. Make sure you focus on her eyes.

5. Eyeball the background and make sure there's nothing distracting. When shooting, make sure there are no tree branches, poles, etc. "growing" out of her head.

6. Watch for hand/foot/limb chops. If you're going to chop, don't do it at a joint. For instance, not at the knees - but mid-thigh or mid-calf is ok.

7. Read up on posing and composition.


Those are simple basics - if you really want to go for it:

8. Shoot in manual and use your meter. Adjust your ISO, aperture and SS accordingly to get correct exposure. Spot meter off your model's cheek.

9. If you have time before the shoot, get an 18% grey card and do custom white balance.

Hope this helps. Please do post your results!

Can you explain the metering off the cheek. Ive been wanting to know all about metering but couldnt find any good YOUTUBE vids. I want to know why when and how. Can anybody break it down or refer me to a link. Thanks

[gjakovare]

Here are a few links to tutorials I've read. Keep in mind, I'm still learning myself.

One of the most common applications of partial metering is a portrait of someone who is backlit. Metering off of their face can help avoid making the subject look like an under-exposed silhouette against the bright background. On the other hand, care should be taken as the shade of a person's skin may lead to inaccurate exposure if it is far from neutral gray reflectance-- but probably not as inaccurate as what would have been caused by the backlighting. Camera Metering and Exporsure

Here's another article that I found quiet useful on understanding the different metering modes.
Introduction to Metering Modes

And a link to a video that I thought was useful.
Understanding camera metering modes

[Swisstony10]

Originally Posted by K.ErickPhotography

I want to know why when and how.

Why? Light metering, whether you use a dedicated hand-held light meter, or your camera's metering, will tell you what aperture setting at a given shutter speed (or what shutter speed at a given aperture setting) to use to get the exposure right.

When? Every time you take a photograph. Every time...

How? Different people prefer different methods, I can only really expound on my own preference. I generally have my camera set to spot-metering - this takes a "focussed" reading of the light coming into the camera from wherever I'm pointing the centre focus-point. I half-press the shutter and use the meter in the viewfinder to adjust settings until it's right - if I want a specific shutter speed, I adjust the aperture, and if I want a specific aperture, then I adjust the shutter (and if I want a specific shutter AND aperture, then I adjust the ISO). Once I've done that, I compose the shot, focus, and shoot.

If I have the luxury of controllable light (ie, when I'm shooting a subject or model in a controlled environment, and thus have the time to set up the shot), I'll use a hand-held light meter to set things up. Pose the model, set the lights where I want them, tell the meter what ISO and shutter speed I'm using, and then adjust the lights themselves until the meter tells me that I have enough light to use whatever aperture I've decided to use. For example, if I want to shoot at f8, 1/125, ISO 100, I tell the light meter that I'm shooting at 1/125 with ISO100, and then adjust the power of the flash until the light meter records f8 at the model's face. That's a pretty simple version of it - with multiple lights it does get more confusing, but don't worry about that so much.

Russ.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Swisstony10

Why? Light metering, whether you use a dedicated hand-held light meter, or your camera's metering, will tell you what aperture setting at a given shutter speed (or what shutter speed at a given aperture setting) to use to get the exposure right.

When? Every time you take a photograph. Every time...

How? Different people prefer different methods, I can only really expound on my own preference. I generally have my camera set to spot-metering - this takes a "focussed" reading of the light coming into the camera from wherever I'm pointing the centre focus-point. I half-press the shutter and use the meter in the viewfinder to adjust settings until it's right - if I want a specific shutter speed, I adjust the aperture, and if I want a specific aperture, then I adjust the shutter (and if I want a specific shutter AND aperture, then I adjust the ISO). Once I've done that, I compose the shot, focus, and shoot.

If I have the luxury of controllable light (ie, when I'm shooting a subject or model in a controlled environment, and thus have the time to set up the shot), I'll use a hand-held light meter to set things up. Pose the model, set the lights where I want them, tell the meter what ISO and shutter speed I'm using, and then adjust the lights themselves until the meter tells me that I have enough light to use whatever aperture I've decided to use. For example, if I want to shoot at f8, 1/125, ISO 100, I tell the light meter that I'm shooting at 1/125 with ISO100, and then adjust the power of the flash until the light meter records f8 at the model's face. That's a pretty simple version of it - with multiple lights it does get more confusing, but don't worry about that so much.

Russ.

What Russ said. Thanks for explaining so nicely, Russ. Well-put.

Except I don't have a light meter (yet) so when working with studio lighting I just kind of eyeball it and use my histogram. Anyone wanna buy me a nice Sekonic L-358?