Recommended natural/available light photographers/books

[tnewmark]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to photography, and increasingly interested in getting into doing portraits. But I'm not sure where to start! I've got a 550D, a 50mm 1.8, and a 18-55 (kits lens). I'm also considering whether to splash out to get the Canon 70-200 f4 IS, as I would like something a bit longer and think that this would be a lens I would keep for a long time. Would this be a good idea?

However, I feel that my priority is to learn a lot more about portrait photography, particularly using available and natural light (so making use of lamps, windows etc, and being outside). I was wondering if anybody could suggest a good book, and also any good photographers who have galleries online, and who don't use expensive studio lights. I'm happy to buy reflectors, and a new lens if necessary but don't want to invest in lights at the moment. Plus, I'm living in Kenya at the moment so difficult to get all that sort of stuff.

Thanks for any advice and please point me to any other threads which you think would be useful. I did try to search but couldn't come up with anything.

Warm regards,

Tom

[retronesphoto]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to DPS. Looks like you've got some pretty good gear so far for portraiture. Haha, you started off pretty quickly with the lenses... Anywho, the 70-200mm lens is a great lens. The IS is a great addition, but not necessary if you are shooting with a tripod or if you have some improvision to keep the camera steady. The 70-200mm is a fantastic lens whether you're using a f/4 or a f/2.8. I personally have used the f/2.8 version with IS and USM and it was a very versatile lens that allowed me to shoot in many different situations, but I also found that the f/4L version did perform very well. The 70-200mm is also very sharp and well built so no worries about it being a lens that can't serve your purpose of learning to create portraiture, as I am as well.

And yes, it is a wonderful idea to get the 70-200mm... I think the IS version is a couple hundred bucks more... which is why I don't really like to invest in that, since I try to tell everyone to improvise to whatever environment allows you, me, or someone to keep the camera steady, which is definitely not very hard...

If you want to learn about portrait photography, study other people's work, find out how other photographers do it, then execute it yourself. Learn how to direct your subjects and learn to use light to your advantage whether it's daylight, open shade, mercury vapor, sodium vapor, or whatever source of light you have as they'll all create different effects and they'll all create a certain "MOOD". Studio lights and all those fancy equipment isn't all that necessary... You should try to learn to work with available light before you work with creating your own light in the image. That way, you'll learn how adding light also known as fill light will enhance the image and or create other effects that'll make your portrait look amazing.

You should study pictures that you see on Flickr or on DeviantART, look up a certain portrait with a certain mood that you want to create... When you're shooting your portraits, try to think about what you want your audience to think when they see your picture. Pay attention to how other objects can affect your picture in good ways and also in bad ways... Lines can be a great addition in an image, but it can also ruin an image if a line is just sticking out of someone's head...

There are so many possibilities out there. You should learn to shoot portraits with what you have available, then when your photography improves, you have more options, you can buy other lenses, then, your portraits will be AMAZING.

Well, good luck!

[tnewmark]

Hi,

Thanks for your message and advice. I think the trick is like you say, to get out and start taking pictures and to study other peoples as well to see how I can improve. Hopefully I can also post a few pictures here in the forum and to get people's comments.

I do feel like its a bit of a luxury for a beginner to go out and buy an L lens, and don't want to be one of those people that just buy the most expensive equipment and expect that will make their photos better, being out in Kenya offers so many interesting photo opportunities and I feel that 50mm might just be too short for some of the other photos I want to take. For example, some wildlife photos.

Thanks again for your message. If you, or anybody else, have any recommendations for portait photographers who use natural light, that would also be really appreciated.

Warm regards,

Tom