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How to Use Facial View and Camera Angle to take Flattering Portraits

10 Jan

The post How to Use Facial View and Camera Angle to take Flattering Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

use face angle and camera angle for flattering portrait photography

How do camera and face angles affect your portrait photography? And how can you use different angles to create gorgeous portraits?

It’s all in this article!

Because today, we’re going to examine facial views and camera angles. I’ll discuss how to use both these concepts to your advantage – and how you can use them to flatter your subject.

Let’s get started!

What is facial view? What is camera angle?

Simply put, facial view is the portion or angle of the face that is showing toward the camera. It’s how the subject’s face is turned or angled relative to the lens.

Your camera angle is where you place your camera in relation to the subject – that is, the height, distance, and angle relative to the subject’s face.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? It is – but small differences in facial view or camera angle can produce undesirable results. We’ll dig a bit deeper into that in a bit, so stay with me!

Facial views

First, let’s look at the four main facial views used in portraiture. They are:

Full face, where your subject’s nose is pointing directly toward the lens. You’ll see equal amounts of both sides of their face:

3/4 view, where your subject turns their face just slightly in one direction until you cannot see their far ear anymore:

2/3 view, where the subject turns their head until the line of the nose is almost touching the outline of their cheek on the far side. Be careful not to turn them past that point, because you don’t want the nose to break the line of the cheek. This isn’t a rule, but it doesn’t look as flattering.

Note: Check out the subject’s earrings in the image above, and how her right earring is not showing below her jawline. When she turned her face just a little more, the earring looked like it was coming out of her face, so I had her remove it for the image. Watch for things like that as the facial angle changes.

Profile, where the subject’s face is turned almost exactly 90 degrees from front, so that their nose is basically pointing sideways. In a true profile, you should only be able to see one side of the subject’s face and not the eye on the far side.

Note: Once again, watch for things like earrings and hair hanging down under the chin, which can look a bit odd. I usually brush the hair back and have the subject remove an earring if it doesn’t look right or if it looks like it’s dangling under the chin or neck.

Camera angle

Where you place your camera makes a huge difference to how your subject appears in the final image.

However, keep in mind that I can’t offer hard and fast rules here. Instead, use my advice as guidelines and starting points, then use your best judgment – because each person is unique. Portray the subject how they wish to be portrayed. When you learn these tips and see how they work in practice, it becomes easier and easier to know how to approach each portrait.

Here are your camera angle tips:

A high camera angle (above the subject’s eye level) will emphasize the face more than the body. This is good for a heavy-set person to help them appear slimmer if that’s desired. (Most women will not get upset if you make them look slimmer!)
A low camera angle (below their eye level or even below their chin level) can make a person look taller or make them seem more powerful. But this is not very flattering for most people. You end up looking up their nostrils, and the body appears larger than the head and face, which is generally unflattering.
For group portraits, the camera position should be about eye level or slightly lower. This cuts down on distortion of body parts and prevents the subjects from looking oddly proportioned.
For a portrait of one or two people, having the camera at eye level or slightly higher is often the most flattering option.

Lenses

In addition to the camera height and angle, the lens you select will change the look of your portrait drastically.

Consider what you know about different lenses:

Wide-angle lenses emphasize perspective, distort things, and make scenes seem more three-dimensional
Telephoto or long lenses compress things, isolate subjects, and make them look less three-dimensional

That’s all I’m going to tell you about this; I want you to find out what I’m talking about by trying it yourself. Look at my examples below, then find yourself a person to photograph. Use different lenses and see how they change the image.

portraits at different focal lengths and camera angles

What do you notice about the examples here? What changes in each photo?

How long does it take to master this stuff?

One of the most common questions I get asked by my students is “How long did it take you to learn all this stuff?”

The answer is two-fold: 4 weeks and 25 years!

I say that tongue in cheek, but it’s true. I “learned” all the concepts and guidelines relatively quickly, because I was in a two-year program that immersed me completely in photography. It’s like learning a new language; if you move to a new country and you have to speak the language all the time, you will learn a lot faster than if you only speak it once a month. So the best advice I can give you on how to learn faster is to get out and photograph more often.

The second part of my answer, the “25 years” bit, means that I’m still learning. I’ve learned things from my students and from other photographers and do so continually. Don’t ever expect to suddenly “get” it so that you can stop learning. Photography education is a process and it’s always ongoing. As soon as you think you’ve learned it all, or that you know it all, then it’s time to quit – because you’ve probably lost the passion. That’s my opinion, anyway.

Camera and face angles: Practice at home

This is not an assignment, but rather a suggestion for improvement.

Whenever possible, notice the facial view of your subject and how you can adjust it. If you sit a person by a light source such as a window, you can see that turning their head toward the light will also change the lighting pattern that falls on their face. See how this information can then be used to your advantage.

Different facial views will be flattering for different people. Experiment and see what works best for each person you photograph. Have the person sit and just turn their face, then see how the shape of their face changes and how the light falls on them differently.

While you’ve got your subject for the last exercise, see if you can slip this in, too:

Take five images of your subject from different camera heights. Don’t change the focal length or distance to the subject – just the camera height.

Here are the photos I recommend you take:

One slightly below the subject’s chin
One slightly below the subject’s eye level
One at eye level
One slightly above the subject’s eye level
One at quite a bit above the subject’s eye level

Then ask yourself:

Which is the most flattering angle for that person? From which angle would they most want to be photographed? Why?

Facial views and camera angles: Conclusion

Now that you’ve finished this article, you should be well on your way to using face angles and camera angles to create stunning portraits.

Just make sure you practice frequently. And before you know it, you’ll be an expert!

What’s your favorite face angle? What’s your favorite camera angle? Do you have any tips for working with these angles? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post How to Use Facial View and Camera Angle to take Flattering Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

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10 Tips for Creating Great Family Portraits

19 Dec

The post 10 Tips for Creating Great Family Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

Family portraits are a lot of fun – and they can be highly rewarding, too! However, it’s often tough to get started. After all, how do you pose an entire group of people? How do you interact with them? How do you get great photos?

Thanks to my background in classic-style studio portraiture, plus 25 years of experience photographing portraits and weddings, I have a few tips up my sleeve to share with you.

In fact, with a little planning, doing a family portrait will be fun for both you and the family you’re photographing. Here are 10 tips to help you have a successful and enjoyable photo session.

1. Use a tripod whenever possible

I already know what you’re thinking:

A tripod cramps your style. It’s too heavy and cumbersome, whereas your style is more free-flowing.

That all may be true, and in some cases (like when photographing kids running or doing more documentary-style photography), it may be better to shoot handheld.

However, just consider another side of the coin.

Most people are nervous when being photographed. Yes, nervous! Some are downright scared, and some would even go so far as to say that they hate having their photo taken.

So it is part of your job to help your subjects feel more comfortable and relaxed. That can be hard to do when you’re also nervous, especially if you’re new to portraits. But there’s a big advantage of putting that camera on a tripod. Two, actually.

A tripod automatically forces you to slow down. That’s a good thing! You can check your settings, review the composition, and preview the exposure to make sure you’ve got everything right. It’s easy to get carried away once you put the camera up to your eye, only to later realize you had the wrong white balance, your ISO was 6400, or you accidentally shot tiny JPEGs instead of standard RAW files. A tripod will help you slow down to avoid an “Oops!” moment.
A tripod allows you to get your eye away from the camera so you can actually make eye contact with your subjects. Your subjects are very real people, and they feel even more uncomfortable staring straight into your lens than they do looking at you. You can gesture to get the kids’ attention and you can make faces. But you’ll get way better expressions by interacting with your subjects than you’ll get while looking through the viewfinder. Try it!

2. Shoot in Manual mode

Assuming that you’re setting up your family portrait photoshoot in advance, you have control over all the elements.

Meaning that, once you get set up, the exposure should not need to change.

Unfortunately, if you set your camera to Aperture or Shutter Priority mode, depending on the metering mode selected, the camera could choose a slightly different exposure for each frame. You do not want that! Consistency is very important.

Inconsistent exposures create more work in post-processing, as you have to even out all the photos. Plus, they can cause a slight color shift, increase noise (if some of the shots are underexposed), and result in other undesirable things.

To keep your exposures consistent throughout the whole shoot, use Manual mode. Just remember that each time you change the pose, location, etc., you need to check the exposure again. I just fire off a quick test shot, review the histogram, adjust if necessary, and continue.

3. Lock the focus

Just as you do not want the exposure to change from frame to frame, neither do you want the focus to be adjusted. Assuming you’re using a tripod, you will not be moving. And if you’ve posed your group in a relatively static position, they should not be moving, either. Not much, anyway. Here, we are only concerned with moving closer to the camera, or further away from the camera.

So set your camera up to do one of the following: use focus lock, use back button focus, or use manual focus. With any of those options, the focus will not change from shot to shot.

If you use the shutter button to focus and someone moves a little bit so that the focus dot hits the background, you’ll have another “Oops!” moment. If you aren’t sure how to focus using one of the methods I recommended above, consult your camera manual.

Bonus tip:

Here’s an easy way to focus manually with pinpoint accuracy:

Turn on Live View so you can see the image on your screen. Hit your Zoom button (it may have a magnifying glass or a “+” sign on it) once or twice. The image on the rear LCD will zoom in so you can see what is in focus, which allows for more precise manual focusing. Press the Zoom button again to return to normal view and turn off Live View.

4. Stagger the heads

What you want to avoid here is a boring straight line, straight row, or straight column of heads. Diagonal lines are more dynamic and add interest to an image, so try to do that with the people in your portrait group.

Imagine there is a line drawn from each face to the next. Try and position your subjects so that no head is directly on top of, or beside (on the same level), another. Make diagonal lines, not flagpoles.

Use props to seat some people or bring some small folding stools. Have some people sit down or stand up on something. Use objects in the environment to pose your subjects, or if you have nothing available, just arrange them so the heights are staggered.

5. If it bends, bend it

This is a general rule for photographing people, and it’s a good one. People tend to stand stiff and rigid when you position them, so you need to get them to bend a few body parts to look more natural. Nobody naturally stands stiff as a board.

Here are a few starter poses:

Get your subject to shift their weight to one foot and stick out one hip away from the camera.
Get your subject to put a hand in a pocket. I usually recommend they put their thumb out, otherwise they have a tendency to shove their hand to the bottom of the pocket, which looks unnatural.
Get your subject to hook a finger on their belt or through a belt loop.
If your subject is sitting, have them lean forward a bit and put weight on one hip.
If your subject is standing against something, have them cross one foot over the other, toe down.
Have sitting (males) put one knee up, foot flat on the ground (but make sure they rotate so you aren’t looking straight at their crotch).

You get the idea. The best way to get someone to do any of this is to do it yourself and have them mirror you. Face them, do the pose you want them to do, and have them mimic it exactly.

family by a building — An example of bending body parts. The girls did a much better job here than the guys, but even the arms bent at the elbow helps. Some people are stiff, and they may present a challenge. Just do your best.

6. Let kids be kids

I’ve found that often parents will tell their kids, “You need to be good and smile” before a photo session. For many kids, this puts too much pressure on them to perform. I usually prepare parents by getting them to tell their kids this instead:

We’re going to the park to take some photos. It will be a lot of fun.

That’s it! Set no expectations other than fun. Then you, as the photographer, should prepare yourself. Bring along props, and get Mom to bring one of the kids’ favorite toys or books. I usually have a hand puppet and bubbles in my camera bag along with my gear. If the kids don’t want to sit and smile, don’t force them. Let them run around and be kids for a while and shoot that. Play with them; make it fun. A few minutes later, they may cooperate and sit for a bit.

When I’m photographing kids, I make a total idiot of myself. I make funny noises, I sing songs (I’m really bad, but they don’t care), I make fish faces, and I play peek-a-boo behind the camera. I run back and forth to the camera with my hand puppet. I lie on the ground. I stick my butt out. Kids are the ones that have life the right way around; it’s us adults that ruin it. Let them be kids, and let them have fun. Then be ready to capture the fun when it happens!

Kids playing a game of peek-a-boo around the tree — This was a game of peek-a-boo around the tree. Look at those genuine smiles! You can’t force those.

7. Pose people to flatter them

Here’s the bottom line:

If Mom thinks she looks fat, then she isn’t going to like the photos, no matter how great the lighting and expressions (see the next tips). So you’ve got to get the posing right.

Be aware of people’s perceived “flaws” and work with them. Here are some quick tips:

If someone has a bigger bottom half, don’t pose them walking away from the camera using a wide-angle lens.
For double chins, take a slightly higher camera angle (above the subject’s eye level). Making them look up stretches their neck and minimizes the chin/neck area.
A bump on a nose will show up when they face one way and not the other (usually). So study their face to find out which way to shoot them.
When you have a couple with a huge height difference, get the taller partner to stand with their feet further apart. That will make them slightly shorter, closing the gap a bit.
For really heavy people (or those overly self-conscious of their weight), use the lying down in the grass pose and pile the kids on top (as shown in the image below). It works great every time, because it hides tummies, stretches out chins, and makes the kids closer in size (it just shows faces!).

family posing with kids — The lying in the grass, pile on top pose. It’s great for families with small children. This family didn’t need the pose to correct anything; it’s just fun having the kids jump on top and squish Mom and Dad.

8. Lighting is king; get some in their eyes

Light can make or break any photograph, and portraits are no different. The biggest thing you want to make sure you do for portraits is to get light into your subjects’ eyes. There are many ways to do that, and it’s a huge topic, but here are a few things you can do to start off with good light:

Choose the time of day to do the portraits very carefully. Generally, late evening – about an hour before dusk – is the best time for portraits. Why? Because the sun is lower in the sky, and you don’t get the harsh overhead light you do at midday. Light is more directional, and it’s usually a bit diffuse if there’s haze on the horizon.
If you can’t shoot at dusk, find some shade. Get the family out of the sun, but make sure you don’t get a lit-up background. Bright areas in the background will draw attention away from the subjects. Look for areas in the shade of large buildings or under large trees.
Avoid shooting on an overcast day simply because the lighting is even and less harsh than bright sunlight. While it is true the light is softer and less harsh, the direction isn’t great. Overcast days give you direct overhead lighting and dark eyes, especially for anyone with deep eye sockets.
Add some light using a reflector or a flash if need be. Again, this is a complex subject, but learn to tell when you need more light on your subjects’ faces. Here’s a quick tip: If you cannot see a catchlight (the light source reflected in your subject’s eyes), then there isn’t enough light on their face!

Just as important as getting some light in the eyes is having it come from a good direction. We’ve established that overhead isn’t good direction, and neither is light straight from the camera. So turning on your built-in pop-up flash isn’t going to give you good light. Neither is mounting an off-camera flash above your camera. Light direct from the camera flattens the subject, and that is not what you want.

Instead, you want the light to come slightly from the side; 30-45 degrees from camera is a good starting point. To learn more about this, read my article on the 6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know.

family portrait just before sunset — This was done just before sunset. The sun is coming over the kids’ shoulders on the left (from behind). I used a flash bounced into an umbrella off to the left to add light to their faces. Without the flash, they’d be in shadow.

9. Expression is everything

Lighting is king, but getting the right expression is everything! You can totally screw up the lighting and the pose, but if you get your subjects laughing or making the perfect face, the photo will be a big hit!

So how do you do this?

Being a photographer means that you sometimes have to be a comedian or a clown. Knowing the right thing to say or do to make people smile is mostly experience.

Sometimes you’ll get tough adults, too. The dad in the photo above by the brick wall pretty much has the same expression all the time. I’ve known this family and photographed them for 13 years; they’re my friends. So I know I can bug the dad a little bit or get out the ducky to have some fun at his expense.

If there are small children or babies involved, make sure to get their attention. It even helps to have an assistant; tell them to bring Grandma along or a friend to help out.

What always happens is you get the kids all looking and smiling, but what are the parents doing? Looking at the kids! I always tell the parents, “No matter what, keep looking at me as I make a total fool of myself. Do not look at your child!”

family posing with a baby — The baby is laughing, while everyone else followed instructions and looked at me. Success!

10. Have a little fun with it

The last tip is to not take yourself so seriously. Create a few really whacky shots at the end of the session (or even in the middle of the session if the energy seems to be fading).

Tell your subjects to do a group squish and really get them to squish. Often, they will start laughing, and as they pull apart, you can grab the shot.

Do a pile-on down in the grass. Ask your subjects to jump in the air or make goofy faces (you make one, too!). It breaks the tension and lightens up the mood.

family with kids posing while making faces — I was making a similar face!

family jumping — My off-camera flash stopped working, so this shot used on-camera flash (not my first choice!). But we were all tired and I thought this would be fun, so we just went for it. Notice how Dad has a new expression!

Bonus tip

Get the family to think about what they are going to wear ahead of time.

Some people disagree with my point of view on this, which is totally fine. But if you want to read more about it, see my article called “Clothing for Portraits – How to Tell Your Subjects What to Wear.”

Tips for family portraits: conclusion

Capturing stunning family portraits isn’t hard – especially if you remember these ten tips.

Just don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself, and everything will turn out great.

So get out there, photograph some families, and have fun!

The post 10 Tips for Creating Great Family Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

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10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits

05 Dec

The post 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

How do you take portraits that have the wow factor?

Today, I want to talk about taking portraits that are a little out of the box. You see, it’s all well and good to have a portrait that follows all the rules – but it recently hit me that often the most striking portraits are those that break the rules.

I want to look at some ways to break out of the mold and take striking portraits by breaking (or at least bending) the rules and by adding a little randomness to your portrait photography.

1. Alter your perspective

Most portraits are taken with the camera at (or around) the eye level of the subject. While this is good common sense, completely changing the angle that you shoot from can give your portraits a real wow factor.

Get up high and shoot down on your subject, or get as close to the ground as you can and shoot up. Either way, you’ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is bound to create interest.

stunning portrait shooting from low down

2. Play with eye contact

It is amazing how much the direction of your subject’s eyes can impact an image. Most portraits have the subject looking down the lens – something that can create a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image.

But there are a couple of other things to try:

A. Looking off-camera. Have your subject focus their attention on something outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what the subject is looking at. This intrigue is particularly strong when the subject is showing some kind of emotion (i.e., “What’s making them laugh?” or “What is making them look surprised?”). Just be aware that, when you have a subject looking out of the frame, you can also draw the eye of the viewer to the edge of the image, and this will take them away from the point of interest in your shot: the subject.

B. Looking within the frame. Alternatively, you could have your subject looking at something (or someone) within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a woman looking at her new baby, or a man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta – it can all work. You see, when you give your subject something to look at that is inside the frame, you create a second point of interest and a relationship between it and your primary subject. It also helps create a story within the image.

woman looking at child stunning portrait

3. Break the rules of composition

There are a lot of “rules” out there when it comes to composition, and I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with them. My theory is that, while composition rules are useful to know and employ, they are also useful to know so you can purposely break them – as this can lead to eye-catching results.

The rule of thirds is one rule that can be effective to break. You see, placing your subject dead-center can sometimes create a powerful image. And creative placement with your subject right on the edge of a shot can sometimes create interesting images.

Another “rule” that we often talk about in portrait photography is to give your subject room to look into. This can work really well – but again, sometimes rules are made to be broken.

4. Experiment with lighting

Another element of randomness you can introduce in your portraits is the way you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to using light in portrait photography.

Sidelighting can create mood, while backlighting and silhouetting your subject to hide their features can be powerful.

Also, using techniques like slow sync flash (as well as long exposures combined with light painting) can create impressive images.

5. Move your subject out of their comfort zone

I was chatting with a photographer recently who told me about a corporate portrait shoot that he had done with a businessman at his home. They’d taken a lot of head and shoulder shots, shots at the desk, shots in front of framed degrees, and other “corporate” type images. The photos had all turned out fairly standard – but there was nothing that really stood out from the crowd.

The photographer and the subject agreed that there were plenty of usable shots, but they wanted to create something special and out-of-the-box. The photographer suggested they try some “jumping” shots. The subject was a little hesitant at first, but stepped out of his comfort zone – and then, dressed in his suit and tie, started jumping!

The shots were amazing, surprising, and quite funny. The shoot culminated with the subject jumping into his pool for one last image!

While this might all sound a little silly, the shots ended up being featured in a magazine spread about the subject. It was the series of out-of-the-box images that convinced the magazine the subject was someone they’d want to feature.

6. Shoot candidly

Sometimes, posed shots can look somewhat…posed. Some people don’t look good in a posed environment, and so switching to a candid-type approach can work well.

Photograph your subject at work, with family, or doing something that they love. This will put them more at ease, and you can end up getting some special shots with your subject reacting naturally to the situation they are in. You might even want to grab a longer zoom lens to give your subject space and get really “paparazzi” with them.

I find that this can work particularly well when photographing children.

7. Introduce a prop

Add a prop of some kind, and you create another point of interest that can enhance your shot.

Yes, you might run the risk of taking too much focus away from your main subject. But you can also really add a sense of story and place to the image that takes it in a new direction, and gives the person you’re photographing an extra layer of depth that they wouldn’t have had without the prop.

8. Focus on one body part (and get close up!)

Use a lens with a long focal length, or get up close so that you can just photograph a part of your subject. Photographing a person’s hands, eyes, mouth, or even just their lower body can leave a lot to the imagination of the viewer.

Sometimes, it’s what is left out of an image that says more than what is included.

9. Obscure part of your subject

A variation on the idea of zooming in on one part of the body is to obscure parts of your portrait subject’s face or body. You can do this with clothing, objects, your subject’s hands, or just by framing part of them out of the image.

Doing this means that you leave a little to the imagination of the viewer. And you also focus the viewer’s attention on the parts of your subject that you want focused on.

10. Take a series of shots

Switch your camera into burst mode (also known as continuous shooting mode) and fire off several shots.

In doing this, you create a series of images that could be presented together, instead of just one static image.

This technique can work very well when you’re photographing children – or really when you’re photographing any active subject that is changing their position or pose in quick succession, like the runners below:

10 ways to take great portraits: conclusion

Capturing stunning portraits is easy – as long as you remember a few of these simple tips!

And if you’re interested in improving your portrait photography even further, make sure you’re subscribed to the Digital Photography School newsletter, where we share lots of photography tips and techniques every single week.

Also, make sure you check out the second half of this series here: 10 More Tips for Stunning Portrait Photography, as well as our Portraits: Making the Shot eBook!

And start taking some great portraits, today!

The post 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

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6 Ways of Using Reflector to Take Better Portraits

07 Nov

The post 6 Ways of Using Reflector to Take Better Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Dennis Drenner.

I’ve been making my living as a photographer for over 20 years, and I have accumulated thousands of dollars of gear in the process. I have the latest Canon DSLRs, a full complement of lenses, strobes, light stands, gels, filters, softboxes, tripods, and even some video and audio gear.

But the one thing that often makes the biggest difference in the quality of my portraits is a simple $ 20 reflector. I never leave home without one, and neither should you.

When shooting outdoor portraits, the first thing many photographers think about is the background – but first and foremost, the pros consider the quality of the light. They know, for example, that a portrait with nasty overhead lighting is not going to work, no matter how cool the background.

A reflector can help you salvage bad light, and turn okay light into something magical. You can use your reflector from below to fill in shadows, or from above to block distracting light. You can bounce the sun from a silver reflector to create a main light, or you can use a reflector with a black side to create deeper shadows. You can even sit on your reflector to keep your pants clean when shooting outside, or pop it open dramatically to dazzle young children.

Most of the photos in this article were shot with a 5-in-1 reflector you can buy for less than $ 20 USD. 5-in-1 refers to the fact that the reflector and cover can combine to give you five different options: white, silver, gold, and black sides, as well as a diffuser.

Here are six tips to help you use a reflector to transform your photos.

1. Use a reflector for fill light

The most traditional use of a reflector is to simply reflect light into the shadows. I took my wife, Karen, out into our local park to demonstrate this.

In the photo on the left (above), Karen is photographed in nice soft light, but there are still pretty deep shadows under her eyes and chin. In the photo on the right, however, she is holding a reflector at her waist. The shadows on her face are noticeably lighter and there is a subtle catchlight (a reflection of the reflector) in her eyes. If she were an older person with more textured skin, the contrast would be even more dramatic.

Of course, you may not always want to fill in the shadows in this way, but if you are trying to flatter someone it almost always helps.

You don’t even need an official photo reflector. Anything that reflects light will work. In a pinch, I’ve used everything from old newspapers to a nearby person wearing a white shirt.

2. Use a reflector as the main light source

This is one of my go-to reflector moves, and it’s an easy way to wow your friends and family.

You position your subject with the light hitting them from behind, then use a reflector to bounce the light back into their face. You will get nice soft light on your subject’s face, with a dramatic rim light on the back of their head. The only trick is positioning yourself so the light doesn’t go straight into your lens and create lens flare (unless you like that look, of course).

In the photo above, the sun is hitting the left side of my subject’s face and arm. The light from a reflector is bouncing some of the sun back to light up her face.

You may also notice the shallow depth of field in the photo above. If you are lighting with a reflector, you can jack up your shutter speed as much as you like to allow for a wide aperture (this photo was shot at 1/1250s at f/2.0 with a 50mm lens). If you were using flash to create this same effect, you would have to lower your shutter speed (to 1/250s or whatever matches your camera’s sync speed) to sync with the flash, requiring a narrow aperture and a greater depth of field (which will kill the whole look).

Yes, yes, some of you are no doubt thinking, “What about high-speed sync?” Well, yes, that could give you the same effect if you had the right equipment (and know how to pull it off). Or, you know, you could just use an old newspaper as a reflector.

For the example above, I positioned Karen against a tree and had her cousin, Claudia, reflect a spot of sunlight on her from about 10 feet away. At this distance, the light from the reflector looks more like it is coming from a grid spot or snoot (hard light) – in other words, it’s a focused and dramatic beam (notice the fall-off of light on her legs). It’s a cool look that you can recreate with a reflector, a few feet of aluminum foil, or your bathroom mirror. Your friends will be wowed and ask what fancy gear you used for the shot (and your family will ask what happened to the bathroom mirror).

For a slight variation on this technique, we moved the reflector slightly behind the subject (relative to the camera) to create a dramatic rim light on the face in a profile shot (see below).

3. Use a reflector to block light

Sometimes you’ll find yourself in beautiful, shady light under a tree, except for that pesky sunbeam that finds its way through the leaves to light up your subject’s left ear. When this happens, turn your reflector into a light blocker (sometimes called a flag or gobo).

A few years ago, I was doing a maternity portrait in a local park when a newspaper photographer snapped my picture while I was using my reflector as a gobo (shown in the image below). If you look at the reflector, you can see the bright spots of sunlight that it’s blocking (imagine how those spots would have ruined the final image if we didn’t block them!).

4. Use a black reflector to create more dramatic shadows

Sometimes, you actually want to deepen the shadows. I use this technique all the time in my headshot studio. Below is a photo of me with a white background. In the first shot, I have a silver reflector opposite the main light, sending light back towards my left cheek. In the second shot, the reflector has a black cover on it, gobbling up reflected light to leave a dark shadow on the cheek.

Except for the small change of literally flipping the reflector from one side to the other, the lighting setup is identical, but the effect is pretty dramatic. (For you studio lighting enthusiasts out there, my key light here is a large softbox, and there are two bare heads pointing at the background to make sure it is a nice, bright white).

This is the same technique used in the famous Steve Jobs portrait where he has his hand on his chin. In addition to creating a little drama, you can also use this technique to give someone a photographic face-lift by trimming pounds from the dark side of their face and under their chin.

5. Who holds the reflector?

You may be saying to yourself, “But I don’t have an assistant! Who’s going to hold the reflector for me?” I usually don’t have an assistant, either, but there is often someone nearby who is more than happy to help, be it a family member, passerby, intern, wedding guest, etc. Sometimes, you can even have the subject of the photo hold the reflector themselves. Of course, if you’re in the studio, or outside on a day without too much wind, you can just pop your reflector onto a light stand (like in the studio shots of me above).

In the photo below, I was shooting wedding portraits on a beach in the Florida Keys. My reflector assistant that day was one of the bridesmaids, who truly enjoyed helping her friends out with their portraits.

6. Reflectors in the environment

Once you get the hang of reflectors, you’ll probably start noticing reflected light everywhere. Ever see a white building getting blasted by the sun? Well, that’s nothing but a giant reflector! Depending on what’s around it, you may have found yourself a giant studio with no rental fee.

Mind you, anything that reflects enough light can work as a reflector. A brick building, a large truck, or a flock of seagulls flying by at just the right moment – it all works!

Using a reflector: final notes

Although they may not be as sexy as strobe kits, reflectors can often yield similar or superior results for your portraits and are cheaper and easier to use. I will leave you with a few more example photos, shot using nothing more than a reflector.

In the child portraits below, note that there is light behind the kids in both cases, but there is still beautiful light on their faces. Same goes for the athlete portraits.

As a final image, I leave you with a group of wedding guests who were so enamored of my reflector that they wanted a picture with it. Hopefully, you will soon have similar feelings toward your own reflector!

Do you have any additional reflector tips to add? Please share them in the comments below!

The post 6 Ways of Using Reflector to Take Better Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Dennis Drenner.

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Clothing for Portraits – How to Tell your Subjects What to Wear

31 Oct

The post Clothing for Portraits – How to Tell your Subjects What to Wear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

What is the best clothing for portraits? The clothes your clients or portrait subjects are wearing in their portraits can be a touchy subject to discuss with them, especially if you are just doing a portrait for them as “a friend with a good camera.” Even as pros, we have a hard time getting people to listen; they frequently show up in clothes that make us cringe and that even hurt our eyes.

This article will help you understand what to suggest your subjects wear for their portrait photoshoots. You’ll also learn how to help clients understand why your suggestions really are in their best interests so they actually listen and get it right.

Clothes make the portrait

What your subjects are wearing is just as important as all the other portrait details, such as lighting, location, and posing.

Poorly-selected clothing can really take away from an otherwise great portrait.

Here are the goals when helping your portrait subjects or clients select clothing:

Make the people the main subjects
Flatter the subjects and make them look their best
Make the clothing disappear and be a non-issue

Poorly-chosen clothing, or having no discussion about clothing for portraits at all, can result in just the opposite. This is not what you want to have:

Clothing that stands out so much you hardly even notice the people
Arms, legs, or tummies that look less than flattered and people that are unhappy with the end results
Clothing that gets so much attention it becomes more about the clothes than about a portrait of the people wearing them

So what is the best thing for people to wear?

I get asked for tips on clothing for portraits a lot in my portraiture classes. People hear funny things about what they should or shouldn’t wear for their portraits, and they show up in the damnedest things that sometimes make you shake your head and say, “What were they thinking?”

But people won’t know what is right (or what is best) unless you tell them. And you must help them understand why.

This is what I recommend people do for a portrait session:

Wear solid-colored clothing
Choose muted tones that are a bit subdued
Choose similar tones for the top and bottom (both dark or both light)
Choose one to three colors for your group portrait, colors with similar tones that go nicely together. Then have everyone work within that color palette. For example, a group could wear dark green, navy, and burgundy, which are all dark jewel tones. Or a group could wear tan, a lighter olive-green, and denim, all of which are lighter, softer tones.
Choose a top with sleeves at least to the elbow
Choose long pants for men/women or a skirt below the knee for women
Choose dark socks and footwear (unless it’s a barefoot photo on the beach)
Keep jewelry simple and minimalistic
Do hair the way you’d normally do it while wearing these clothes (more on that later!)
If people plan to get a haircut or new hairdo, make the appointment at least two weeks prior to your portrait session

(I added a few bonus pointers on hair and makeup, but they go right along with the clothing.)

Did you notice how I did not use the word “Don’t” anywhere in the list above?

There’s a reason for that.

People’s brains actually don’t register the words “Don’t,” “Not,” or “No.” So when you say them, the brain just disregards that part and registers what comes after. For example, if I say, “Do not think of a lemon,” what did you just do? Of course, you thought of a lemon. So when you are explaining clothing (or anything, for that matter) and giving suggestions on what to wear, take great care to always say what you do want.

If you tell people, “Okay, don’t wear stripes, flowers, or bright colors,” what will they remember? “I think my photographer said something about stripes and bright colors, so that’s what I’ll wear.”

Your subjects also probably heard somewhere that, for photography, you need to put your makeup on extra dark and heavy. Even people that normally wear no makeup or very little makeup can show up to a photoshoot with black eyeliner and raccoon eyes.

(I know because this has happened to me when I didn’t discuss makeup with my subjects ahead of time. And if it does happen, your subject will hate their photos because they won’t look like them. They likely won’t say anything; they just won’t pick any photos and you’ll think they didn’t like your work.)

It is your job as the photographer, even if you are just doing it for fun and for friends, to help people look their best in the portrait you take. So let’s look at the points above and how you should explain portrait clothing to your subjects so they get on board!

I actually had a hard time coming up with examples of what not to wear for portraits. I’ve been doing this for so long that I don’t have any subjects that come unprepared. So I’ve found a couple of group images just so you can see the difference clothing makes.

The image below is from a wedding, so the subjects weren’t all planning on having this group portrait done. But it shows what happens when the clothes have not been planned. There are multiple colors, some dark and some light. We have a few bright patterns and a short skirt. We have a lot of short sleeves (it was a hot day) and some white shoes. Can you see how all of those things make an impact? Overall, the effect actually isn’t that bad, and I’ve seen a lot worse. But let’s see what a little refinement can do to help.

wedding portraits clothing example — A group portrait from a wedding. The shot wasn’t planned, so people were wearing what they were wearing.

clothing for portraits group of people during a photowalk — Another “bad” example of clothing for portraits (from a photo walk). Notice how all the colors and patterns draw attention?

Examples of clothing that is working

The family shown below chose all black and denim, and for the most part, it is working really well. I’d only suggest that the mother wear longer sleeves. Notice how much attention her arms get? For her, it’s fine, but for someone self-conscious about their arms or their weight, short sleeves will make their arms look larger.

In the image below, everyone is in black except for the baby. Babies are always tough, because finding plain colors or black for a baby is almost impossible.

Notice two things here:

The baby stands out the most. In this case, it’s fine, because she’s the smallest and you want to see her.
If there had been an adult in the light outfit, would it work as well? I doubt it; the person would stand out and look larger. No one likes to look bigger! Trust me.

The image below shows my sister’s family, so they’ve been well-trained on what to wear.

Once again, dark tones have been selected: grays, deep purple, and navy. Those all work well with jeans. Can you see the difference between me wearing long sleeves (left) and my sister wearing short sleeves (upper right)? What does it do to the bare arms? How do they look compared to mine?

How to get subjects to agree and follow your suggestions

The key to explaining all this and getting people to agree and go along with your suggestions is in how you tell them. If you just list off all this stuff, it can seem a bit pushy, like you’re telling them what to do. Most people assume they know how to dress; giving them a list could make them feel a tad insulted, so they get defensive rather than listen to your suggestions.

Photography is part technical stuff, part artistic stuff, and part psychology!

Let’s look at my recommended list again, but this time add in the why. By stressing the benefits to your subjects, they will get it in a big way.

As I said:

I’ve had very few subjects that I’ve photographed in the last ten years who showed up in poor clothing – simply because I’ve prepped them so well. They know that, if they want to look their best, they must follow these guidelines:

Wear solid-colored clothing so that we see all of your faces and no individual stands out. If you wear stripes or flowers, you will stand out from the rest of your group.
Choose muted tones that are a bit subdued so that you are the subject, not your clothes, and so you don’t stand out from the group. Bright colors project (especially reds, oranges, and yellows), which makes you look larger.
Choose similar tones for the top and bottom (both dark or both light). A white top and dark pants will make your top look bigger. White pants and a dark top will make your butt look bigger.
Choose one to three colors for your group portrait, colors with similar tones that go nicely together. Then have everyone work within that color palette. For example, a group could wear dark green, navy, and burgundy, which are all dark jewel tones. Or a group could wear tan, a lighter olive green, and denim, all of which are lighter, softer tones. This is so we see people first and your portrait looks stunning. Wedding group photos look so good because they’re all wearing the same colors and the people stand out!
Choose a top with sleeves at least to the elbow, because your arms take up more skin area than your face and will draw attention. It may also make your arms look larger.
Choose long pants for men/women or a skirt below the knee for women so that your legs don’t take attention from your face, and you will be able to sit and bend without showing too much leg.
Choose dark socks and footwear (unless preparing for a barefoot photo on the beach), because white sticks out like a sore thumb and that’s all you’ll notice in your portrait.
Keep jewelry simple and minimalistic, because too much jewelry takes attention away from your face.
Do your hair the way you normally would while wearing your portrait clothes: No fancy updos with jeans, no ponytails with evening gowns, etc. (This is common sense, or so you’d think, but I’ve had ladies go to the hair salon and get fancy updos, then show up in jeans and a t-shirt. It simply doesn’t make sense, because you wouldn’t normally do that when putting on jeans and going to the park for a BBQ or something.) This is because your portrait will be more timeless and represent more closely who you are, not just what you look like.
If you plan to get a haircut or new hairdo, make the appointment at least two weeks prior to your portrait session. Fresh haircuts rarely look their best the same day or the next day. Ladies need time to practice working their hair; men need it to grow out just a little. Allow some time to live with your new look before your portrait session.

See a common thread in my notes above? Most people have the same fears about being photographed – yes, fears! Being photographed is right up there on the fear list, next to public speaking and going to the dentist. I kid you not!

People’s fears are about looking stupid, not knowing how to stand or pose, and looking fat or old. So if you can help them see that these clothing tips will allow them to eliminate at least one of their fears before you even start, then you just have to deal with all the rest later!

Most of these clothing suggestions have to do with helping subjects look slimmer and not stand out. How to stand and pose to minimize weight issues is another question entirely.

Putting it all together

You may notice that most of the “good” examples here are wearing dark colors.

That’s pretty common, as most people have heard that dark colors or black makes you look slimmer. To some degree, that’s true. But light colors can work, too.

In fact, if everyone in the group dresses similarly, then the one person in dark clothes would stand out. Little kids in denim and white tops with bare feet are super cute, as are little girls in white sundresses.

So don’t be afraid of other colors or tones. Just keep them similar. Some of my largest extended family groups that have done the best went so far as to put each family unit in their own color scheme (one in browns, one in greens, etc.), with the mother and father in another color scheme – all with dark jeans. I’ve also had some ladies buy everyone a matching shirt.

The thing is:

Once you get your subjects on board and understanding the logic behind portrait clothing choices – the “why” – they will go to great lengths to make it work, because they know it’s for their benefit!

Clothing for portraits: action plan

If all this portrait clothing advice sounds like a lot and is overwhelming, feel free to copy my list and make a little sheet to hand out to people. Just make sure you add the benefits, as shown in my second list!

The post Clothing for Portraits – How to Tell your Subjects What to Wear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

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Good Crop Bad Crop – How to Crop Portraits

26 Sep

The post Good Crop Bad Crop – How to Crop Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Gina Milicia.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Pablo Picasso

When it comes to knowing what is right for me, there are a few things I know for sure:

First, garlic and ice cream are never meant to be mixed together.

Second, even if I color my hair blonde I’m never going to look like Madonna.

Finally, when my mechanic warns me that the timing chain in my car should be fixed as soon as possible, I need to listen up and act.

If you have read my other articles or eBooks, you will know that I’ve also learned many lessons in my photography career from stupid mistakes or lapses in judgment. It’s through learning from failure, and from trial and error, that I’ve managed to discover what works best for me.

When it comes to how I crop my portraits, there are a few cropping styles I try to avoid because, just like eating garlic ice cream, I have learned what works best for me.

How I crop my portraits is just as important for defining my style as the lens I use, the way I light my subjects, and the way I process my files. I believe the way an image is cropped can change the look from “meh” to “amazing.”

I always crop a shot below the knee, mid-thigh, at the waist, across the forearm, or through the top of the head. If I’m going to crop through my model’s waist, I will usually ask my model to bring their arms up so I don’t have to crop through their arms.

I avoid cropping at any of the joints of the body. This includes fingers, toes, elbows, knees, and wrists. I also think cropping through the model’s chin looks odd.

It took me many years of trial and error, and studying the work of my favorite photographers, to learn that there are actually a few golden rules of cropping worth following. Rules that make a huge difference on the visual impact of my portraits, and on how flattering these portraits can be for the subject.

Like all rules, there are always exceptions, and the art world would implode if these rules were not constantly tested and broken. Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Jackson Pollack are examples of artists whose styles broke every rule in the “how to paint book,” and in their time they were mocked and ridiculed by other artists and critics alike, yet today their paintings are priceless. Having said that, they all studied conventional painting rules of their time, then went on to break those rules and create their own signature styles. I wonder if they ever considered changing their hair color to look like Madonna.

My shooting, lighting, posing, and post-production style has developed and evolved over the years, but the way I crop my images has remained the same.

Here are my top five tips for how to crop portraits:

#1 Crop in-camera

Tightcrop A

Cropping in-camera basically means that you compose your image exactly how you want your final crop to look, rather than shooting loosely and cropping the shot in post-production. There are two reasons for this:

First, images cropped in-camera look totally different from images that are cropped in post-production. Filling the frame and cropping tight means that you will create great background blur (bokeh), which removes any background distractions and focuses more attention on your model, which is always a good thing.
The other advantage of cropping in-camera is that your file size is not affected. A cropped image may only leave you with 10-15% of your file size, so a file that was originally 30 MB as a full-size image is reduced to 3 MB with a tight crop. Lower-resolution images have less detail and won’t be as sharp as a full-size image.

#2 If it bends, don’t crop it

Bad crop

Good crop

I think cropping mid-thigh looks visually more pleasing than doing so at the knee. Seeing just part of the knee where the dress ends also looks untidy.

There are also certain ways to pose models that are more flattering to the body. I’m always looking for ways to pose my models that elongate, rather than shorten, their body parts. I try and emphasize their best features, and hide or diminish the features that are not as strong.

As a general rule, I crop in a way that will elongate and flatter the body. Cropping at the knees, waist, elbows, toes, fingers, ankles, or wrists can make your model look stumpy. Cropping off the arms or legs can make your model look square, or larger than they really are.

#3 Avoid cropping into the chin and keep the eyes in the top third of the frame

Bad crop

Good crop

Keeping the eyes in the top third of the frame is visually better than cropping into someone’s chin, which to my eye looks like I wasn’t paying attention when I took the shot, and visually this crop (above left) looks awkward.

I find my portraits look much stronger visually when the eyes are positioned in the top third of the frame. Cropping into the chin is visually jarring in the same way that garlic ice cream was jarring to my tastebuds.

This is the original framing of a shot I took for the cover of my dPS book, Portraits – Striking the Pose. I wasn’t sure how much of the shot we would be using, so I deliberately shot wider, and left space on the left of my frame to allow for text and other images.

Rulethirds 2B

Rulethirds 2

The final shot for the cover was cropped very tightly because I felt including the hands looked a bit messy. I cropped this image with the eyes in the top third of the frame because this was visually the strongest option.

#4 Give yourself options

The explosion of social media has radically changed how I shoot my portraits. When a client booked me for a session a few years ago, I would shoot the majority of their portraits as vertical images. Now I make allowances for websites and social media platforms that run vertical, square, and horizontal images.

I will usually start with portraits framed as vertical images and then rotate my camera to shoot some horizontal frames.

I generally position my model to fill the left or right-hand third of the frame. This adds interest to the portrait and makes it visually more dynamic. Having said that, there are times when I will frame my portrait in the center of the shot because I personally love the way it looks.

I also love cropping into people’s heads, but this is not everyone’s cup of tea, so I always shoot a few frames with space above the head just in case.

You never know where the final image may end up in a few weeks or a few years, so I think it’s a good idea to plan ahead. It only takes a couple of minutes to shoot slightly wider, vertical, and horizontal at the end of each setup.

#5 Crop like you mean it!

Use these suggestions as a starting point and find a style that works for you. Start with a full-length portrait and first try cropping using traditional rules, then try breaking the rules and see which way you prefer.

Each person, location, and pose you shoot will always be different, so don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit and create your own signature style. The one question I always ask myself when I’m cropping my images is, “Does this crop look deliberate, or does it look like a mistake?”

Sometimes following cropping rules to the letter will still leave my portraits looking visually jarring. An example of this is if I photograph a model wearing 3/4 sleeves and crop at a point that is technically correct, leaving a tiny amount of arm showing just below the sleeve. This looks like a mistake and would look better if I cropped a little higher to remove the skin.

The more you shoot, the more you will start to get a feeling for what looks right to you. If you’re still not sure, do two versions and compare them.

You might like to deliberately create a series of portraits that are visually jarring because they will evoke an emotional reaction.

Like this article? Check out more of Gina’s work

This article was written by Gina Milicia, who has authored many articles here on dPS as well as the following best-selling eBooks:

Making the Shot: Say Goodbye to Dull and Lifeless Pictures of People
Lighting the Shot: Discover the Secrets of Beautiful Portrait Lighting

The post Good Crop Bad Crop – How to Crop Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Gina Milicia.

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How to Achieve Dark and Dramatic Food Portraits

24 Sep

The post How to Achieve Dark and Dramatic Food Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few years, you can’t have missed the growth of food portraits. They are everywhere, from the high-budget advertising of supermarkets and artisan food brands to amateur photographers on Instagram.

If you’re even slightly interested in food photography, wherever you look you’ll be presented with sensuous images of beautifully-styled food portraits. From burgers with perfectly placed drippy cheese to vintage-styled cakes laden with fruit, it sometimes seems that the photography world has gone food-mad.

What is a food portrait?

One competition with a food portraiture category says that they want to see images of food that are “good enough to eat.” But a look through their gallery of previous competitions suggests something more.

In food portraits, the food is the hero. It’s not about the farmer, the shop, or the packaging; the photograph is unapologetically about the food. And it should make you want to reach right into the picture and take a bite.

There are many styles of food portraits. Sometimes it’s about the hero ingredient and other times it’s about the finished dish. But it’s never about the person who made it or the place the food is being served.

Some photographers love a bright and airy feel to their images. Their shots wouldn’t look out of place in a designer loft apartment. Others prefer a darker-styled shot. And it’s this style that I’m going to focus on in this article.

(If you’d like some inspiration, just search “dark food photography” on Pinterest or Instagram and start scrolling.)

Choosing a subject

Not every piece of food makes for a great subject. If you’re shooting an ingredient before it’s prepared, then don’t be afraid to look for the most perfect or characterful examples you can find in the shop. Every flaw or imperfection will feel like it has been magnified by ten when you photograph it.

Of course, sometimes you might like to deviate from images of perfect ingredients! The potatoes I photographed in the pictures for this tutorial were delightfully gnarled. They come from a period in UK food production called “the hungry gap;” during this time, the last of the winter vegetables are on the table while we wait for the fresh spring produce. Always look for a story in your images.

If you’re planning on shooting a finished dish, then it needs to be plated both beautifully and creatively. This takes practice, and many professional photographers hire food stylists to help them with the job. Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while to get the hang of cooking and plating food that looks good in photographs (besides, you get to eat your attempts while you practice).

Take your time composing your scene. As you can see from the screenshot of my Lightroom catalog above, I knew roughly what I wanted from the start, but ended up making many minor adjustments to the potatoes I was photographing.

Don’t forget to think about your props and background. They are as much a part of the shot as the food itself. You can make your images even more unique by painting your own backdrops.

Keep it simple

To shoot dark food portraits, you don’t need an elaborate, complicated, or expensive setup. These potatoes were simply shot on a tabletop with a painted background and a fake wooden surface. There is natural morning light coming from the left-hand side of the image. On the right, I positioned a piece of cardboard with some tinfoil wrapped around it to act as a reflector.

Once I’ve shot a photograph that I’m happy with, I like to apply a general Lightroom preset to add contrast and color grade the image. This kind of subtle color grading can really help to set your photo apart.

Changing the color tones in this way is something that people who aren’t photographers often don’t do with their images, and so it adds a more polished look in the eyes of many viewers.

Take it to Photoshop

Once I’ve set the basic color that I want in Adobe Lightroom, I open the image in Photoshop. Photoshop lets you use layers, which ultimately allows you to have greater control over the image you are creating.

Apply sharpening

The first thing I always do when I’m opening an image in Photoshop is apply some gentle sharpening. It just crisps up all the details so that you can get to work.

My method for this initial sharpening is to first duplicate the background layer. You’ll need to get a copy of your image onto a new layer in order for this method to work. You can right-click on the existing layer in the layers panel and choose “Duplicate Layer.”

Apply a high pass filter with a radius of about 1.5 on the new layer that you just created. The high pass filter is found in the “Filter” menu (look in “Other” at the bottom of the list). The radius you need will vary, but if you look closely at the image above, you’ll see that the “ghost” of the image is barely visible when you preview the effect that the high pass filter is having.

Once you’ve done this, set the layer’s blend mode to “Overlay,” and you should see the effect of the high pass filter that you just applied.

Dodge and burn

You can make dark food photographs really come alive by using dodge and burn creatively, and that’s the technique at the heart of the example image above.

Rather than using the dodge and burn tools built into Photoshop, try this method instead. First, create two new layers. Name one “Dodge” and one “Burn.” In the “New Layer” dialogue box, make sure that you check the option to fill the layer with an overlay-neutral colour and set the blending mode to “Overlay.”

Then, using a soft brush set to 100% opacity but with a low (2-3%) flow, you can start to bring the image to life. Use a black brush on the burn layer to deepen the shadows and a white brush on the dodge layer to brighten the highlights.

Go gently and try not to lose too much detail! The trick with dodging and burning is to build up the effect slowly. Use brushes and layers like a painter uses light and shadow to shape the food portraits that you have photographed.

You can always turn down the opacity of a layer if you go too far, or you can even delete it and start again altogether. If there’s just a small bit that you’re not happy with, you can apply a layer mask and just mask out that small section.

Finishing the food portrait

To finish off the image, I added a digital texture to the background and faded it until it was almost invisible. It had the effect of softening the painted backdrop slightly, which is a look I preferred.

This basic approach of editing colors in Lightroom (perhaps using a preset), sharpening the image in Photoshop, and then dodging and burning the photograph is one that can be applied to many different kinds of photographs.

I’ve used the same approach in architectural photography as well as portraits, but I feel that it really shines as a technique when it comes to dark and dramatic food portraits.

The post How to Achieve Dark and Dramatic Food Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

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4 Ways to Shoot Portraits in the Middle of the Day

19 Sep

The post 4 Ways to Shoot Portraits in the Middle of the Day appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

One of the first things you learn when starting out in portrait photography is that the midday sun does not provide great lighting conditions.

As with all things in photography, there are plenty of exceptions. But, for the most part, this is sound advice. Because of the harsh, contrasty light, and the deep shadows that such light produces, shooting portraits in the middle of the day can be a real challenge.

Getting better portraits in the middle of the day can be as simple as getting used to a few techniques. — Creating portraits on location in the middle of the day can prove a real challenge, thanks to unflattering light from the high sun. Fortunately, there are loads of ways to get around this and take back all those wasted shooting hours.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/800 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 200

Of course, you can always go and find a bit of open shade for more flattering light, but what do you do when isn’t an option? And what do you do when you have a location that you love, but the light isn’t perfect at the moment?

You could always wait. But with portraits, you can’t necessarily count on another person’s enthusiasm for waiting around for the right light. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools that will help you modify the midday sun so that the light is more flattering for portraiture.

Overcast conditions are great for shooting portraits in the middle of the day. — By far, the easiest way to shoot in the middle of the day is to do so on an overcast day with heavy cloud cover. Of course, just like waiting around for the golden hour, you can’t always wait around for clouds.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 | 85mm | 1/2000 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 200

This article will give you an overview, along with the basics, of four techniques for manipulating, or completely altering, the light from the midday sun to help you get better portraits.

1) Reflector as key

The first of these techniques only requires a reflector. Either white or silver will do, but if you opt for a 5-in-1 reflector, you will have both at your beck and call.

In strong sunlight, the white reflector should work most of the time. If the light is a bit dimmer, you may need to opt for the silver reflector.

Harsh shadows and fast shadow-to-highlight transitions make it hard when shooting portraits in the middle of the day. — In direct sunlight, the shadows are heavy and unflattering. An easy and cheap method of countering this is through the use of a silver reflector.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 | 85mm | 1/1600 sec | f/4.5 | ISO 400

To get started with using a reflector as your key light, place your subject so that the sun is behind (or at least to the side of) them.

Now, raise the reflector up and point it back towards your subject. It should be placed opposite the sun. You should be able to see and watch what the light bouncing off the reflector is doing. Adjust the reflector’s position until you are getting the effect that you are after.

Using a silver reflector as a key light is a great method for shooting portraits in the middle of the day. — When using a reflector like this, make sure it’s above and pointed at your subject. You will be able to watch what the light is doing.

While using a reflector in this way, there are a few things to keep in mind. Because the reflector is your main light source (or key light), it is usually best to make sure that it is above your subject. Lighting from above in this way will help to ensure more natural and flattering results. Lighting from below will result in unnatural-looking shadows that won’t be flattering to your subject.

portraits in the middle of the day — The silver reflector has killed most of the shadows from the sun and brought up the exposure of the subject’s eyes for a much more flattering light.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 | 85mm | 1/800 sec | f/4.5 | ISO 400

Another thing to keep an eye on is your exposure. Because you are working with natural light, you will be able to rely on your camera’s meter. Where you might find a problem is when the light reflecting off of the reflector isn’t as strong as any sunlight in the scene.

To ensure a good exposure on your subject, meter from their skin. An easy way to do this is to use your camera’s spot metering mode and meter a place on your subject’s skin that is being lit by the reflector.

Just remember that your camera’s meter is measuring for 18% grey and a lot of skin tones do not fall anywhere near that range. Subjects with lighter skin may require a bit of overexposure, while subjects with darker skin will need you to compensate with underexposure. In most cases, 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop will be good enough.

2) Diffusion

Direct sunlight is a major deterrent for making portraits in the middle of the day. — You might not be surprised to see that direct overhead sunlight doesn’t make for a very good portrait.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/3200 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400

A diffusion panel is a great option for manipulating the harsh midday sun and achieving better portraits in the middle of the day.

Diffusion panels are sheets of material that you place between the light source and the subject. The material spreads out the light, making it softer and more suitable to portraiture. If you have a 5-in-1 reflector, you probably already have one of these.

Alternatively, there are a lot of options on the market, including massive diffusion panels that cover a large area.

To use a diffusion panel for these purposes, simply place it between the sun and your subject. Because we are talking about the middle of the day, depending on where you are in the world, the sun should be pretty close to straight above your subject. In this case, the diffusion panel would go above your subject. This will have the effect of softening the light; once you’ve done this, you should be able to meter and start taking images.

A diffusion panel will help you make better portraits in the middle of the day. — All that you have to do is place the diffusion panel between your subject and the sun. Because this diffuser cuts out two stops of light, you can clearly see how much darker the area in shade is compared to the rest of the scene.

There are a few things to watch out for while using a diffuser. A lot of diffusion panels are made to reduce the exposure of the light in your scene by a certain number of stops. This is important to take into account because the diffuser will only be altering the exposure of the light falling within its area of effect. If your subject is a fair distance from the background, the background will appear two stops brighter than it did in any shots you may have taken without the diffuser.

This may result in overexposed backgrounds. To minimise this, you can make sure that the diffuser is covering everything in your frame by choosing a background closer to your subject, or by using a background that’s very dark in the first place.

Also, large diffusion panels like the one I have used in this example are very light. If there’s even a slight breeze, they pretty much act like a sail. You may need a dedicated stand or extra bodies to hold them in place.

3) Flash as fill

Flash can help to alleviate unflattering light when shooting portraits in the middle of the day. — More direct sunlight, more unflattering light. Using flash to fill in the shadows is another useful technique for portraits in the middle of the day.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/1600 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400

If you have the equipment, using off-camera flash as fill light to the sun’s key light is a great way to help you take portraits in the middle of the day. The job of the fill light is to bring up the exposure of the shadows created by your key light (the sun, in this case). This will reduce the contrast in your scene and even out the exposure.

Using flash for portraits in the middle of the day is a great way to deal with contrast. — Here, you can see that the shadows from the sun still exist, but they are much brighter. This reduction in contrast makes for a much more suitable portrait.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 | 85mm | 1/640 sec | f/4 | ISO 100

There are a lot of ways to do this, but I’ll go over a basic method that requires the least amount of extra equipment.

It doesn’t matter if you are using a speedlight or a full-powered strobe; the principles remain the same.

The first thing you need to do is obtain an exposure for the ambient light. Do this by using your camera’s meter and taking a test shot as if you weren’t going to be using flash at all. The one exception here is that you need to ensure that your final shutter speed is slower than the max sync speed on your camera. This is often around 1/250 seconds, but do check your manual just in case. Once you’ve ensured that all of the highlight tones are present in your frame and not overexposed, you should have your working settings.

Note: If the sunlight is very bright and you cannot get the shutter speed to go slower than your max sync speed, you may want to consider using High-Speed Sync.

Now, turn on (and connect) your flash. While you are getting started with fill, I suggest placing your flash in an on-axis position. This means the flash is on the same line as the lens of the camera from the subject’s position. Although if you are using a speedlight on top of the camera, I recommend getting it off for more flattering results.

You can use Manual mode of E-TTL mode on your flash. Either will work fine, but E-TTL might help to get you closer to the desired exposure in less time.

Once your flash is set up, take a test shot. Look at the shadows in your image. Are they too bright? Turn down the power on your flash and take another test shot. Repeat this until the shadows appear how you want them. Do your shadows seem unchanged, or are they still too dark? In the latter case, turn up the power.

One thing that I suggest you take into account immediately is modifiers. For fill lighting, you will generally want as soft a light source as possible. The light from a bare speedlight will never be soft. A modifier like a translucent umbrella is dirt cheap and as portable as an actual umbrella, and they work well with both small and large flashes.

Another thing to look out for with fill lighting is how much you are filling in the shadows. Remember, the goal in using a fill light is to bring up the shadows so that they aren’t as dark in high contrast situations. You want to avoid having the exposure of your fill light as bright as the exposure from your key light. Try to aim for at least one stop between the exposure for your key and fill, but don’t be afraid to extend it more. Oftentimes two, three or even four stops of difference is the right choice.

4) Flash as key

Another way to use flash for portraits in the middle of the day is to use your flash as the key light. This will require a fairly powerful flash, as you will need it to appear brighter than the sun in your exposure, as you will now effectively be using the sun as a fill light. There are two main ways to go about this. These are using your flash in Manual mode and using your flash in E-TTL mode with High-Speed Sync (HSS).

Because it is fairly easy to get started with your flash in E-TTL mode with HSS (provided that you have the right equipment), that is what this article will discuss.

Using HSS to balance your exposure will help you when creating portraits in the middle of the day. — Using High-Speed Sync on a high-powered strobe allows you to overpower the sun and light the scene with your flash. The sunlight will still be present, but it will be a few stops darker than your key light.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/800 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 200

High-Speed Sync allows you to use flash at shutter speeds far faster than your maximum sync speed. Since shutter speed is what governs the exposure of ambient light while using flash, this means that you can use a shutter speed that underexposes the light from the sun.

Adding the flash as key at this point will shape the main light on your subject with whatever modifier you are using, while the shadow areas will be filled in by the ambient light. This is a great technique that works in a huge variety of situations, but it does require a bit of specialist equipment.

Most speedlights have HSS functionality and more and more full-sized strobes are coming to market that have it, as well.

To get started using this technique for portraits in the middle of the day, select the aperture that you want to work with. Using the meter in your camera, meter the scene and underexpose it by the desired amount. You can evaluate the histogram to decide whether it is dark enough, or too dark.

Now, set up your flash with your chosen modifier for the lighting pattern of your choice. Rembrandt and Butterfly are two basic patterns that work great most of the time. Now, connect your flash to the camera and turn it on, making sure that it is set to both E-TTL mode and HSS mode.

Take a test shot.

Adjust the exposure compensation of your flash as required to get a good exposure of your subject. Referring to the histogram will help you figure out how much exposure compensation you need to use at a glance. If your image is too bright, dial in -1/3 to -2/3 of a stop at a time until you have the desired effect. The same applies for too dark images. Just dial in +1/3 to +2/3 of a stop instead.

Once you have a decent exposure, you should find that you have a nicely-lit portrait with all of the shadow and highlight details present in your image.

This is a very basic overview of High-Speed Sync and doesn’t even come close to covering what’s possible with the technique, but it should get you started with the basics.

Outro

Balancing flash with midday sun is another great technique when shooting portraits in the middle of the day. — Learning how to use just one of these techniques can open up hours worth of time that you would normally avoid shooting portraits in.

Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/640 sec | f/4 | ISO 100

While there are plenty more methods for shooting portraits in the middle of the day, the ones listed here should go a long way to get you started.

There is no reason that you should feel limited by the time of day (and the lighting it brings) when you are photographing people.

Even with a few basic tools and techniques, you can stop being at the mercy of the light and, instead, take control of it and manipulate it to your needs. If nothing else, doing so will open up countless hours in the day that you can use for your portrait photography that you would normally be advised to avoid.

The post 4 Ways to Shoot Portraits in the Middle of the Day appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

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Gallery: 100 best lockdown portraits revealed from Duchess of Cambridge’s Hold Still project

18 Sep

100 best lockdown portraits revealed from Duchess of Cambridge’s Hold Still project

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the UK’s National Portrait Gallery have put together a digital exhibition of the 100 best portraits taken during the lockdown and submitted to the Hold Still photographic contest. The images, centered around the themes of Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness, will become a print exhibition later in the year and will tour the UK.

Set up to document aspects of life in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during the global coronavirus pandemic, the Hold Still project was launched by the Duchess, a keen photographer herself, in May and was open for entries for six weeks.

Organizers say they received 31,598 entries which were judged by the Duchess alongside the Director of the National Portrait Gallery, a poet, a photographer and the Chief Nursing Officer for England. The judges said they selected the winning images based on the ‘emotions and experiences they convey rather than on their photographic quality or technical expertise’.

We’ve rounded up ten of the 100 images in the following gallery, but for more information and to see all 100 portraits visit the National Portrait Gallery website.

THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE AND NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY LAUNCH HOLD STILL DIGITAL EXHIBITION

Final 100 images unveiled in landmark community project to create a photographic portrait of the nation

The Duchess of Cambridge and the National Portrait Gallery have today unveiled the Hold Still digital exhibition, featuring one hundred portraits selected from 31,598 submissions during the project’s six-week entry period. Focussed on three core themes – Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness – the images present a unique record of our shared and individual experiences during this extraordinary period of history, conveying humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope.

Launched by The Duchess of Cambridge and the Gallery in May, Hold Still invited people of all ages, from across the UK to submit a photographic portrait which they had taken during lockdown. The project aimed to capture and document the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation as we continued to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The Hold Still judging panel included: The Duchess of Cambridge; Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery; Lemn Sissay MBE, writer and poet; Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England and Maryam Wahid, photographer

The panel assessed the images on the emotions and experiences they convey rather than on their photographic quality or technical expertise. The final 100 present a unique and highly personal record of this extraordinary period in our history. From virtual birthday parties, handmade rainbows and community clapping to brave NHS staff, resilient keyworkers and people dealing with illness, isolation and loss. The images convey humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope – expressing and exploring both our shared and individual experiences.

A selection of the photographs featured in the digital exhibition will also be shown in towns and cities across the UK later in the year.

International law firm Taylor Wessing are supporting the Hold Still project in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. They are long-term supporters of the Gallery and have sponsored the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize for the past 12 years.

{/pressrelease}

Making bread

Photographer: James Webb
Location: Colne, Cambridgeshire

This is me and my son Jake making bread together. Baking was something that I enjoyed but didn’t get to do very often. Lockdown gave me the opportunity to bake and enjoy this passion with my children. During this time we started off making flatbreads, cupcakes, muffins and the like, and then moved on to bread. Baking became a daily pleasure we were all able to enjoy together. We’ve continued to bake as a family and my children have enjoyed learning how to knead dough and the process of proving before baking. Making bread has become the new normal in our house and is a hobby now enjoyed by the whole family.

Glass kisses

Photographer: Steph James
Location: Cowfold, West Sussex

My 1-year-old little boy and his 88-year-old great grandma, who miss each other so much at the moment. I captured this beautiful moment between them whilst dropping off groceries. Kisses through glass.

This is what broken looks like

Photographer: Ceri Hayles
Location: Bridgend

This is what broken looks like. This is operating for 3 hours in full PPE. This is dehydration. This is masks that make your ears bleed because the straps have slipped and you daren’t touch them. This is fighting an invisible enemy that becomes more visible each day. This is a face I never thought I’d show the world, but one which I wear more and more. I took this photo to have as a reminder of how far I’d been capable of pushing myself when I needed to. I sent it to my family to tell them what a hard day it had been and they were all so shocked by it. The person they know as being so well put together, always wearing a smile, was not the person they saw that day. Looking back on it now, I feel immensely proud of the commitment shown by myself and my colleagues to provide safe care for patients, even in the depths of a pandemic. We still wear full PPE for all of our cases, and you never get used to it, but I know we’ll keep doing it for as long as it is needed.

Last precious moments

Photographer: Kris Tanyag and Sue Hicks
Location: Chicester, West Sussex

This portrait was taken by Kris, the clinical lead in the care home where Phil lived. Kris took the photograph for Phil’s daughter, Sue who submitted the work. Sue said: ‘As I approached the window my father’s smile lit up the world. Probably belying the fact that he couldn’t really comprehend why, after normally frequent visits and companionship in his twilight years, his daughter hadn’t been allowed to visit for the last three weeks. Easter Saturday 2020 and these precious, intensely emotional moments, will stay with me forever. One week later our wonderful dad, grandad and great grandad passed away peacefully. I can never fully express my gratitude to the carers who, sensing the situation and having looked after my father with love, care and compassion for seven years (as well as my mother for 3 of those years), made those moments possible.’

Kris explains: ‘We devised a plan for Phil to see his daughter Sue via a glass wall and communicate using mobile phones. Hearing our plan gave Phil a burst of energy to go in his wheelchair, hold a muffled conversation, reaching over to put his hand on the glass wall, convinced that he was touching Sue. Struggling to speak but hearing Sue made him so very happy. Their expression of emotion through tearful, smiling eyes and touching hands; the entire conversation was just one amazing moment!’

Funeral heartbreak

Photographer: Bonnie Sapsford and Fiona Grant-MacDonald
Location: Cockermouth, Cumbria

My brother, Barry, lives in the Lake District and could not travel to be with his family when our beloved Gran died of Covid-19 on 3 May 2020. Her cremation took place on 13 May in Edinburgh with only 8 people in attendance – and Barry had to watch it live online – but we were so proud he suitably dressed for the occasion. His wonderful partner, Bonnie took this powerful picture and sent it on to us. The family all missed him greatly and our hearts were shattered at the realisation that our grandmother’s first grandchild could not be with her on her final resting day.

At the end of a shift

Photographer: Neil Palmer
Location: Reading, Berkshire

This is a studio portrait of Tendai, a recovery and anaesthetics nurse, who was born in Zimbabwe, and now lives in my local town – Reading, Berkshire. I wanted to portray her caring side as well as a look of concern and uncertainty that many of us have experienced during this pandemic. It’s why I chose a lower than normal angle and asked her to look off camera, placing her half way down in the frame.

Justin, from the outside in

Photographer: Sara Lincoln
Location: London

Justin didn’t know about my project when I turned up at his window with a camera. I just so happened to be across the road, capturing his daughter Safi and her family, who had volunteered to be a part of my ‘Outside In’ project, which documents my community living life in lockdown, through the window. Safi asked if I wouldn’t mind popping over to capture a frame or two of her father and I am very grateful that I did. It was wonderful meeting this brilliant man albeit through the window. We spoke about this project, his art collection and how he manages to keep his plants so well. We talked about how surreal everything is right now, how the weeks have been for him isolating alone and his plans to jet off to France as soon as this madness is over. He finished up by telling me he had a spot of hay fever… A session that wasn’t meant to happen, happens to be one of my favourites.

We’re really lucky to have a garden

Photographer: Robert Coyle
Location: Sale, Manchester

The weekend is here, lockdown continues and Bernadette and Francis enjoy the garden. One Friday, as I finished emailing at the kitchen table, my wife had taken a chair and a drink outside to enjoy the evening sun. We were doing our best, like the rest of the country, with work, childcare and news of daily death tolls. Our son, had taken to relieving himself on the plants, much to our initial amusement and then slight frustration.

Everyday hero

Photographer: Arnhel de Serra
Location: London

When I drove past Richard I had to do a double-take, as I couldn’t believe he was out on his postman’s round in fancy dress. I asked if I could photograph him, and over a few days we got to know each other. Given the doomsday scenario that the media were portraying in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt very strongly that here was a man who had something deeply personal and positive to offer his community. Is it an earth shattering news story? Probably not. As a human interest story however, I feel that his generosity of spirit should be celebrated, and I am delighted that he will be part of this very important project.

Never without her grandma

Photographer: Melanie Lowis
Location: Teddington, London

Millie (5 years old) made a cut out of her much loved grandma (73 years old). Millie sees Grandma almost daily and lockdown prevented the pair from seeing each other. As a retired teacher, Grandma would have made the perfect partner to help Millie with home schooling. The bond between this grandma and granddaughter is truly a special one and when lockdown ends, and the real grandma can return, it will be a very happy and emotional reunion.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony’s new HVL-F28RM flash uses camera face detection for better portraits

18 Sep

Sony has just announced the HVL-F28RM flash. It’s designed to be compact and easy to use, but also comes with features that more advanced photographers will appreciate.

When combined with Sony’s a7C, a7S III, a7R IV and a9 II, the F28RM will use face detection information from the camera to better balance its output with the ambient lighting of the scene, as well as adjust white balance for a more natural look.

The flash angle can be adjusted up to 120 degrees and it’s powered by two AA-sized alkaline or NiMH batteries. Other features include radio wireless communication, a stronger metal hot shoe and dust and moisture resistance.

The HVL-F28RM will be available this winter and will retail for $ 249 USD ($ 329 CAD).

Press release:

Sony Electronics Introduces Alpha 7C Camera and Zoom Lens, the World’s Smallest and Lightest[i] Full-frame Camera System

New HVL-F28RM Compact Flash is also Announced

SAN DIEGO, CA – September 14, 2020 – Today, Sony Electronics Inc. announced several additions to an already impressive imaging lineup — the Alpha 7C full-frame camera (model ILCE-7C), the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 (model SEL2860) zoom lens and HVL-F28RM flash.

The Alpha 7C is the world’s smallest and lightest[ii] full-frame body with uncompromising performance, featuring advanced AF (autofocus), high-resolution 4K video[iii] capabilities and more. When paired with the world’s smallest and lightest[iv] FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 standard zoom lens, this versatile combination delivers an experience unlike any other, maximizing portability and versatility without sacrificing any of the power of full-frame imaging. The HVL-F28RM flash allows users to broaden their photo expressions with outstanding compactness, and an intelligent light intensity control linked to camera face detection[v].

“We are committed to creating the best tools possible, based on the needs of our customers,” said Neal Manowitz, deputy president of Imaging Products and Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics. “The new Alpha 7C camera and FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 zoom lens pack many of our most advanced imaging technologies in a brand new design that is the smallest and lightest full-frame camera and lens system in the world. This opens up a new world of possibilities for creators, giving them the uncompromised power of a full-frame system in the palm of their hand.”

…

New HVL-F28RM: Compact Flash with Light Intensity Control Linked to Camera Face Detection[v]

The HVL-F28RM is a compact flash designed to match Sony’s mirrorless cameras for a compact, manageable system, and offers the type of reliable, stable performance that only a genuine Sony product can provide. When compared to the HVL-F32M, the HVL-F28RM features a 12 percent reduction in volume and 7 percent reduction in weight. This compact, easy-to-use flash unit delivers the capabilities and dependability to meet the needs of both professional and advanced amateur content creators.

The HVL-F28RM offers consistent GN28[xxv] light output, optimized light distribution and continuous flash performance that won’t interrupt the user’s workflow, as well as stable radio wireless communication and multi flash radio control. The new flash also features Sony’s newly introduced flash control linked to camera face detection[v] advanced technology. When used with a compatible camera, the balance between the light falling on the subject’s face and ambient light is evaluated to automatically adjust accurate white balance so that the subject’s face is rendered with natural, lifelike color. In addition, flash compensation, light ratio, and other detailed flash parameters can be controlled directly from a compatible camera[xxvi]. A camera custom key can be assigned to call up the flash parameter display so that adjustments can be made while looking through the viewfinder and gripping the camera. Flash parameters are shown in the selected camera display language.

A newly developed “Metal Shoe Foot with Rugged Side Frame”[xxvii] that also houses the unit’s electrical contacts offers improved resistance to physical shock and impact from all directions. The Multi Interface foot is fabricated from metal for higher strength. The HVL-F28RM also features a dust and moisture resistant[xxii] design. When the HVL-F28RM is mounted and locked onto the Alpha 7C, Alpha 7S III, Alpha 7R IV and Alpha 9 II, durability to dust and moisture is improved, even when used in challenging outdoor environments.

The HVL-F28RM also features simple, intuitive operation with minimal controls including +/- light level buttons, pairing button, test button and lock lever. Plenty of light is available for bounce applications. The flash angle can also be set as required via 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 120 degree click stops for easy positioning. The new flash also features a built-in wireless radio trigger for reliable flash triggering when mounted on a compatible camera[xxvi] and paired with an off-camera unit. When used as a transmitter, the HVL-F28RM can control up to 15 flash and/or receiver units in 5 groups[xxviii] at distances of up to 114 feet (35 meters)[xxix] for extraordinary lighting control and versatility. The HVL-F28RM is powered by two AA (LR6) alkaline or NiMH batteries. A fresh pair of alkaline batteries can provide power for up to 110 continuous flashes (1/1 manual flash with alkaline batteries)[xxix].

Pricing and Availability

The HVL-F28RM flash will be available this winter and will be sold for approximately $ 249.99 USD and $ 329.99 CAD. It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America.

Exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new camera, lens and Sony’s other imaging products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, a site created to educate and inspire all fans and customers of Sony ? – Alpha.

[i] An Alpha 7C with an FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 lens mounted. Among full-frame interchangeable-lens digital cameras, in combination with an interchangeable zoom lens. As of Sept. 2020. Sony survey.

[ii] Among full-frame interchangeable-lens digital cameras with optical in-body image stabilization mechanism, as of Sept. 2020. Sony survey.

[iii] A Class 10 or higher SDHC/SDXC card is required for XAVC S format movie recording. UHS speed class 3 or higher is required for 100 Mbps recording.

[iv] Among interchangeable zoom lenses for 35mm full-frame format digital camera bodies, as of Sept. 2020. Sony survey.

[v] This function is only compatible with Alpha 7C as of Sept. 2020

[xxii] Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and water resistant.

[xxv] 50 mm, at ISO 100 in meters

[xxvi] Visit Sony support webpage for functional compatibility information.

[xxvii] Design registration application pending.

[xxviii] In group flash mode. 3 groups (A-C) in TTL or manual flash mode.

[xxix] Sony internal test conditions.

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