Advice for first portrait shoot

[bigL]

So I was asked to photograph a friend of mine for her graduation invites and we both agreed to shoot at a park during the afternoon. Note I live in southern CA and it is most likely going to be very bright out.

I want to use my Nikkor 35mm 1.8 and I have a D3000. I would appreciate some tips from anyone considering I'm somewhat new to the art of photography.

Thanks to those who give some feedback!!

[OsmosisStudios]

Go evening instead. Around 7-8pm. You'll get nicer light.

[Swisstony10]

Amen to that - postpone the shoot til later in the day. Avoid afternoons like the plague, where possible.

Also - I know it's a matter of personal taste, but I think 35mm is perhaps a little wide for portraits. You'll probably still get good results, but I'd personally lean more towards a longer focal length - closer to 80mm or upwards if possible - if you have a zoom lens too, take it with you and try both, after all, it never hurts to experiment.

You might also want to get hold of some kind of reflector. You don't need to go and spend a big handful of cash on a fancy pop-up one, just go to your friendly local office supplies store or art materials supplier and pick up a sheet of white-faced foamcore/foamboard - you can easily hold it then, and use it to bounce a bit of light back onto your subject to get a more pleasing light on her face.

Good luck, and enjoy it!

Russ.

[SusanH1970]

Excellent advice given by Eric and Russ. In this thread I had given a few more pointers, hope it helps you out.

Good luck and be sure you post your results!

[bigL]

Cool thanks guys

[kencaleno]

Light

- without which, we would have no photography. We need to understand its Magnitude, Direction and Intensity, so that we may manipulate, and control its power.
Direct sunlight and On-camera flash/strobes are Directional light sources, their shadows are sharply defined, and distinct. For many photographers, the sun is the main source of illumination. There is nothing wrong with relying solely on sunlight, but you do have to appreciate the different qualities of light available. Time of day and angle of light are the two essential considerations to be made about using sunlight as the main source of light. Photographers talk about late afternoon ( golden) light. Things do seem to photograph more beautifully when the sun is low on the horizon, that is, at dusk. You can get a similar feeling early in the morning although morning light tends to be more pink ( Cooler) while afternoon light is redder (Warmer).While shooting photographs between 10am and 4pm is not generally recommended, sometimes certain subjects will work fine, especially when you want a high degree of contrast between highlight and shadow. ( Architectural details come to mind)
Non-directional lighting has light reaching the subject from all sorts of angles; from left, from right, and all angles in between, and shadows thus formed are very soft, sometimes hard to discern-Cloud cover on an overcast day is one example of non-directional light, while light reflected from the sky (skylight) is another. Concerning portraits, It is better to use a non-directional (Diffused) light source, due to the gradual gradation of its shadow, which doesn’t mar the portrait. If you’re shooting outdoors, for the best modelling you will want the light to strike the model’s face from the side, at 45 degrees vertical and horizontal. First get out of the direct sunlight, either in the shade of a building, or under the shelter of a tree. This will result in your model being lit by a diffused, non-directional light source, skylight or reflected light from surroundings. If you position your model looking towards this light source , the face should be lit with soft, delicate light. All you need to do is to move your subject, or your camera, to get light crossing the face.. What you want to achieve here is to have one side of the face brighter than the other by two stops exposure, giving a 3-dimensional rendering to the portrait. In case there is no tree, or building, you may need to resort to scrims, reflectors or blacks to modify the light to suit. Scrims are sheets of translucent material that are held between the sun and the subject to diffuse direct light. Reflectors are panels of card or material that reflects light, providing a soft quality of light. Usually white, silver or gold in colour, light bounces off the surface and into the shadow areas of the face. Blacks are the opposite of reflectors and they absorb light, instead of reflecting it. For indoor portraits, window light is a great source-First choose a window on the side of the house away from the sun-you don’t want direct sunlight, it’s too harsh. When you position your model close to a window, you get a soft light to one side of the face, and because the inside of the room is relatively dark, the other side of the face will be in shadow -a 3 dimensional look for your portrait.
Again, by using a reflector, ( Gold gives a warm tanned look, White will be most used, and Silver gives a glint to the model’s eye) you can arrive at the 2-stop difference - For instance F 11 for window -lit side of face, and F 5.6 for the shadow side- ( 3:1 ratio) for the ideal portrait. Or you can use fill-in flash as a last resort if reflectors, scrims or blacks aren’t immediately available. Set flash to ¼ power for head shots at 4 feet, (1200mm) or ½ power for head and shoulder shots at 6 feet (1800mm)

[bigL]

http://digital-photography-school.co...-portrait.html

There's my shot^^^^ I posted it in the other forum because I wanted it critiqued