What I learned my first time trying to shoot models

[Nicole]

KathrynWilson was kind enough to organise a shoot in Wellington back in November with a few models. This was my first attempt at doing some real people photography, so I figured why not share a bit of what I think I learned.

1. Cloudy days are not the end of the world.



We started out over by the beach and it was pretty overcast. Ok, it was really overcast. But Kathryn assured me that this was ok for portraits because it casts a nice diffused light. Of course she was right. All of my favourite shots on the beach had the dog in them. I was actually pretty consistently surprised how fast my shutter speed was given the cloudiness of the day. The small gradient in the sky was added in post and the entire image was warmed up in the end.

2. Bright walls create really interesting backgrounds



You'd think I'd know these things, but like I said, this was my first time. So I wasn't really sure what I was doing. Thankfully, Kathryn is a pro at this, so it was pretty much following her around and learning. So, in this shot and the next one, what I learned was that a bright wall (especially if it's mostly solid) can make a really nice and simple background. I also learned that sparkly shirts are a pain in the butt to get right. I'm pretty sure I fixed the highlights on the shirt in the above shot.

3. Auto white balance doesn't work nearly as well in portraits as it does in landscapes



I go between thinking the above shot is a little too warm and looking at another similar shot where I didn't warm it up and it looks too cold. So I decided that I liked the warmer one. But what I did notice was that leaving the camera on AWB was not ideal in this situation (especially with the bright blue wall) because things often came out looking way too cool in tone.

4. f/4 works really well for portraits of one person



One of the first things Kathryn did was tell us that she was setting her camera at f/4 to start out with. I probably would've screwed up and set it higher or lower and then wondered why things didn't turn out quite how I want. But, for a portrait of a single person, f/4 was a great place to start because the person was in good focus while the background was more out of focus. Even in this shot you can tell that the wall isn't totally in focus.

Overall it was really interesting and I had a chance to use my 85mm a lot (and the 50mm). I was really pleased with how well the 85mm worked. The third shot was taken with the 85mm. What I really appreciated with that lens was that I didn't have to get quite so close. In contrast, what I really liked about the 50mm was that I hardly had to tweak the contrast at all. I find that the f/1.4 seems to have much better contrast than my old f/1.8.

So that's some of what I learned. Maybe it'll help someone else out, maybe you'll all sit and go "yep, I already knew that" but that's ok too. And a big thanks again to Kathryn!

[candleman]

i'm really pleased you enjoyed it.
For your first time, i think you did very well.
the poses you picked a shot off of are very nice, so good spotting.

and with all your points there, it looks like you've picked up allot in just one shoot.
cant disagree with any of them. now i'm all ready for my group shoot this Sunday!

[Nicole]

Thanks I figure anything that lets me learn a few things has to be a worthwhile endeavor... and I can't possibly be the only person who didn't know some of those things lol

[willbrawn]

Very nice post, those are some important lesson and I thank you for sharing em.

[autofocus]

Nice job Nicolle...and there's always room for all of us to learn, regardless of our expertise (or lack of...lol) My wife is a outdoor / available light portrait photographer, and I support her on location and also do all of her post processing (she's still learning PS). When we go out on location I welcome a cloudy overcast sky..it's like a huge softbox in the sky, and we don't have to be looking for open shade areas for our shots. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Vinnie

[JustJim]

Thanks for that Nicole. I've got a couple shoot coming up week after next - first posed shoot for years - so anything I can read to get my old brain back working is much appreciated.

[Nicole]

Best of luck Jim If you want to post any of your own advice after your shoot happens, feel free to add it in here

Thanks everyone for the comments

[zenali]

I've had a couple of people ask me to photograph their kids, so thanks for these tips! I'm sure they will come in useful. I hope my shots turn out as well as yours did.

[agresbach]

thanks for the great tips! the f/4 one is a good one i have to remember. i always end up wanting to go more open for a more dramatic drop off effect and then end up mad that the 2nd person isnt in focus or something!
i agree that the auto WB isnt always so accurate w/ portraits but i've found that really not to be that big of a deal with how easy it is to adjust in post proccessing. sure the less work you have to do the better but for me in lightroom a simple sliding of the temp slider does WONDERS. one of the more simple but most effective things you can do.

thanks again!

[jono_marko]

Do you use anything special for lighting? I find your pics quite bright and clear.