Shooting Portraits/Portfolio?

[Anant]

Hi All,

So I got my shiny new camera (the Canon 40D) and want to get give my long neglected hobby some serious time.

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

[RexK_Cozumel]

You need to have a rough idea of what you want the shoot to be.... at least a rough feel for what you want to achieve. Where you shoot and what the model wears or what they are not wearing really depends on what you want to achieve with the image. A good image should tell a story, so what do you want to say.

[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.

[SJH Foto]

Sorry, I just sent a big reply, and accidentally erased it! Grr!

Anyhow, PhotoNewt covered most of what you need to know.

I do want to say that I do not always use a wide aperture. I know this is frowned upon by many here from reading their critiques of portraits, but I feel that if the background is interesting enough, and blends well with the subject, it can be done. Linda McCartney used this method often when shooting the Beatles (my favourite group by the way) and she has had some awesome results. Look at any of her pictures of the Beatles "in the garden" in 1968-1969 to see what I mean. And if I can say this in all modesty, I have used backgrounds well too. I say this because when I do senior portraits, I shoot this way, as well more traditional wide open aperture shots, and customers regularly choose these over the more traditional shots to purchase.

But remember, the background must flow with the subject! Look at this picture here:



I think I used f/5.6. That was a mistake. The neutral background should have been blurred out. However, in this picture:



the background plays a subtle, yet important part in this picture of two sisters. The blond is even carrying a "fishing pole" to enhance the story of the stream behind them. Once again, think of small ideas to make the background work. They liked that picture better than this one:



where the background is dark and invisible (which is a more traditional shot).

Also, while I should have taken out the light on the ceiling, this picture is a good example of not having too small a DOF:



This was shot at f/11 for obvious reasons. There are 3 girls here at different distances from the camera, and all of them should be the focus. Even when shooting one person, the closer you are, the less DOF you will have. You would never want to have, say a nose in focus, and the face blurred for instance (never say never, but you know what I mean, that's not an effect you usually go for)

Also, remember that fill flash is good, but you must know the right amount. I guess that's a subject for later.

Just one more thing, use fun-loving subjects, not friends that you have to drag into this-it almost always will show in their expressions.

[PhotoNewt]

Originally Posted by SJH Foto

I do want to say that I do not always use a wide aperture. I know this is frowned upon by many here from reading their critiques of portraits, but I feel that if the background is interesting enough, and blends well with the subject, it can be done.

Agree 1000%, the use of aperture for creative purposes should be guided by the need to include or exclude the background. As SJH correctly points out, on a number of occasions using a low aperture to include the background is not only recommended, but mandatory - no frowning here.

Some examples include street portraiture where the background is needed to tell the story, and environmental protraiture where the background is a part of the subject.

As a matter of fact, on studio portraits with commercial backgrounds, the use of smaller apertures (f/8, f/11) is common to obtain maxium focus and sharpness on the subject.

Is important to remember that blurring the background is not an absolute rule, is just a tool to emphasize the subject when you (the photographer) feel the background will distract the viewer. In the end, is your individual choice depending on what you want to achieve in the end product.