Portrait photography is all about the face and can be really intimate and feel a little obtrusive for subjects that aren’t used to being photographed. But the end result can be beautiful and produce a photo that really captures the person. For the photographer there are a few aspects of different types of portrait photography that they wish their subjects Continue Reading
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I’m here to share my photography journey that started few years ago as a novice, to where I stand today. As am amateur or hobby photographer, you may relate.
About two years ago, I bought an entry level DSLR, to use it as an expensive point and shoot camera. The camera decided the fate of most of my pictures. On innumerable occasions, the pictures were blurry, under or overexposed, and were of poor quality.
The urge to work on my photography skills blossomed, when I was blessed with a little girl. An utmost desire to take only the best pictures of my angel, had taken roots in me. As you may also do, I started searching the internet fervently, for ways to capture the best shots.
This is the kind of natural light photography I do now, but that’s not where I started. Read on to find out how I got here, and you can too.
I realized, other than going through basic photography tutorials on YouTube, the thing that helped me the most was Flickr’s discussion groups. It has large community of knowledgeable professionals, and semi-professionals, who love to take a look at your picture and provide valuable feedback. Positive suggestions and encouragement I received on the forums, helped me to experiment further, and escape out of automatic mode. If you are in the same mode as I was two years ago, I strongly recommend getting feedback for your photos, through the online forums.
The very first step towards improvement for me, was shifting to Aperture Priority (Av/A) mode. Initially, pictures were blurry even in Av mode, but I could see that inside my home, my kit lens at f/4.5, ISO 6400, was still unable to shoot faster than 1/30th of a second. Such a slow shutter speed caused the motion blur. Shooting outdoors normally helped me to avoid blurry pictures, but I was not sure why my images didn’t have a blurry background like I saw online. Eventually, I understood the limitations of my kit lens, in not being able to shoot at a larger f-stop, to achieve shallower depth of field.
This image is very noisy, focus is on her dress rather eyes/face, the out of focus raised hand actually distracts the viewer a lot.
One thing I would realize after many months of shooting, is that the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) is easy to comprehend theoretically, but really hard to apply in the field. I went out for a shoot almost every day, and started experimenting with aperture and shutter speed to get a more desired shot. On returning home, I always got an impression I should have used a different aperture or shutter speed for a better shot. The ability to learn through your mistakes is a major milestone in your journey.
Once you are bit confident in your understanding of the basics, you start enjoying it – which is what I experienced. I started devoting time to reading topics such as composition, photography tips, and subscribed to sites like Digital Photography School. Another thing that helped me a lot, was connecting to local events and activity pages via Facebook. I started showing up at many local events and offering free photography to the organizers.
The experience of shooting events was quite chaotic and challenging, especially when there were far more people posing in front of the camera, and many arbitrary things happening – kids running around, or folks dancing to tunes of the festivities. Every such shoot gave me lot more insight into concepts of understanding concepts like plane of focus, controlling focus points, exposure compensation, tips to hand hold the camera firmly, etc.
One of my early event photos. The face and overall image is poorly lit, and the face looks orange. Overall, the image is noisy, and the eyes are not in focus. The person behind her is very distracting.
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed when reading about, or watching, the type of gear that pros are using in the field. My advice would be to start with minimum possible gear, and upgrade only when you clearly understand the limitations of your existing gear. Be it body, lens, tripod, or anything. After understanding that I couldn’t shoot with very low noise in ambient light during evenings, or achieve huge shallow DOF with my canon T3i and a kit lens, I moved up to a 6D after few months, and bought a prime lens. Though I love to shoot 100% natural light, I added a flash to my gearbox as well, to use as a fill light in some situations.
Here are few things I learned so far, that you can also apply in your photography. Then I will move on to what kind of work I produce these days, and some explanation about how the results are achieved.
Read a lot about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and other beginner tutorials. Apply them as much as you can. These concepts are simple but take a lot of hands-on practice to start making some sense.
Very noisy, Focus is on the shoulder, a very bright area in the background is a huge distraction, very messy environment.
Do share your everyday shots and learning, to online discussion groups and forums, without worrying about the quality of your work. Google knows a lot. Give it a try by typing the question the way you would ask someone in person. Once you get some clue, make sure to try it out, to experiment and confirm your understanding. As I said earlier, do volunteer photography for local charity or non profit, etc., as that is a sure way to learn, and it is much more fun.
Avoid the mindset that you cannot do good photography without expensive gear. In the beginning, your cheapest camera is enough to get you started. Photography is not 100% driven by expensive gear. There are way many areas to catch up like composition, understanding of light, angle of shooting, etc. Learn the basics and how to use the gear you have first.
There is no shortcut to get good at photography. You have to keep shooting to learn, and learn more to confirm your understanding and get better.
Taken in the middle of the day, without caring about harsh shadows when sun was overhead. From a composition point of view, the image has a very busy background and viewer will be completely distracted by other elements of the image.
It doesn’t matter what genre of photography you shoot; you need a firm understanding of light. This is a key ingredient for a good picture. So, read about the direction and quality of light, and how it affects the shape, size, shadows, and contour of objects it falls upon.
This tip is especially important if you aim to shoot events, happening at fast pace like kids photography, birds, action, sports, etc. You will really miss opportunities if you are unable to change settings quickly on the fly, without looking at the controls.
This needs to be your ultimate destination in terms of shooting modes. It’s true that 80% or more time you may be happy with Av mode, but ideally you should have no hesitation in switching to the manual mode in a blink.
Technically, in simple terms, aperture controls the depth of field. However, this is the area that took me the longest time to get a good grip on. It’s very hard to stop the desire to shoot at f/1.2, if you own a lens capable of that. However, lenses are not the sharpest at so small f-numbers, plus the depth of field is so thin, that it could be unusable if you are not at the right distance from the subject.
Though there is a nice catch light, but looking closer, it has been shot with an f-stop that should have been higher. The face is not completely in focus, and the image does not appeal the viewer. The subject should have been moved a bit, to get rid of uneven shadows on his face.
Another key point I have seen even very mature photographers lacking, is realizing the importance of where you should ask the subject to stand. Key mistakes are: placing subject in front of a very busy background, having undesired points of interest in the frame, a brighter large light source behind the subject, etc.
I hope you find the above tips useful. In the final part, I would like to show some images, and a bit about my thoughts on post-processing. All the below images have been published in one or the other magazine.
85mm, f/1.6, 1/1600, ISO 800
Location: Milwaukee, WI. This was taken at golden hour, with the sun facing the subject. The trees with some fall colors, are very far behind her.
85mm, f/3.2, 1/400, ISO 400
Location: Redwood Shores, CA. This was taken at golden hour with sun facing her. The intensity of the light was low, as only partial light was passing through the tree. It was shot from above at about a 45-degree angle.
70mm, f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 800
Location: Los Angeles, CA. This was taken in the middle of the day, in an apartment, where model was facing window light.
135mm, f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 400
Location: Palace of fine arts, CA. Taken in the middle of the day, where plenty of ambient light was available. Behind the subject is a little darker area, due to trees and pillars. I positioned her at a spot where light was just right to avoid on her face which were too dark.
85mm, f/1.8, 1/6400, ISO 100
Location: Fremont, CA. Again taken during golden hour, with a bit of shade from the door structure.
85mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 800
Location: San Jose, CA. Taken in the middle of the day, using the shade from the ceiling above the model, and avoiding sunlight falling directly her.
As a beginner you will surely hear or read a lot something similar to these statements, “I love straight out of camera pictures” or “I hate editing pictures”. However, I have found that you can delay getting into the post-processing of images, but cannot avoid it.
The extent you go to post-processing an image, is totally a different debate. Some do it to enhance the existing elements of an image, and others do it to make it into a totally different image. I am in the first category, and spend time doing things that improves the overall image appeal.
For beginners, I would advise that you stay away from it until you are comfortable with your gear and the basic concepts of photography. Always aim to get the image right in the camera.
The first step for post-processing, you can start with Adobe Lightroom, which is a great piece of software to enhance your images. Spend time in achieving mastery with Lightroom, and, once you understand its limitations, then start exploring Adobe Photoshop on a need only basis. In my typical workflow, all the images go through Lightroom, then for some final touches in Photoshop.
So where are you in your photography journey? Did you just pick up a camera and can relate to my early experiences? Have you been practicing for a while? What is your experience, please share in the comments below.
Author Bio
Vik (Vivek) Kumar is a photographer and a software engineer. Hi started his photography a couple of years ago as an amateur landscape photographer. The hobby became serious portrait photography fun. His images are used by reputed hotel brands like Hyatt. He has been published numerous times in various fashion magazines like ICON, PUMP, Surreal Beauty Magazine, etc. See more of his work on his website or on his Instagram profile. His landscape photography work can be explored on 500px.
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Australian photographer Warren Richardson has won the 2015 World Press Photo of the Year. Richardson’s winning photo, taken on the night of August 28, 2015 at the Hungarian-Serbian border, shows a baby being passed through a barbed wire fence by a refugee.
Speaking about his photo, Richardson explained:
I camped with the refugees for five days on the border. A group of about 200 people arrived, and they moved under the trees along the fence line. They sent women and children, then fathers and elderly men first. I must have been with this crew for about five hours and we played cat and mouse with the police the whole night. I was exhausted by the time I took the picture. It was around three o’clock in the morning and you can’t use a flash while the police are trying to find these people, because I would just give them away. So I had to use the moonlight alone.
According to World Press Photo Foundation, the latest contest received 82,951 images from 5,775 photographers across 128 countries. A total of 41 photographers from 21 countries were awarded prizes across eight categories – see a few above (click for full captions) and a full gallery at World Press Photo’s website.
Via: World Press Photo
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Watch more talks, panels and demonstrations
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
I photographed Luke Deslandes with a homemade modifier and a lighting kit that can be created for less than $ 200
One of my favourite TV series from the 90s was MacGyver, an action-adventure series about a US government secret agent with a fabulous mullet, who improvised and built complicated devices from household objects such as rubber bands, paper clips, pens and a Swiss Army knife.
The show was so incredibly popular that the term MacGyver made its way into the dictionary:
MacGyver (v): To make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand:
- He MacGyvered a makeshift jack with a log.
- He has a shock of short red hair and a pair of rectangular-framed glasses, MacGyvered with duct tape.
The other week I was caught short on a night shoot because I’d misplaced my small softbox modifier, and needed to come up with a way to soften and control the from my speedlight to create portrait lighting.
I searched my entire kit and car, found nothing useful, then I asked myself, “What would Macgyver do?”. I rummaged through my bag and found a chocolate donut (Nutella filled, so good!) in a white paper bag, and a hair elastic which would be perfect substitutes for the softbox I’d forgotten to bring to the shoot.
The really cool thing about lighting is that the basic principles will work with any kind of light, regardless of budget, or the type of modifier used. So whether you’re working with a $ 150 lighting kit (similar to the one I used for these images) a $ 1,500 hit, or $ 15,000 one, the light will still react in the same way.
One of the best lessons I learned from working with film and television crews is that ordinary household objects can be used to shape and train light. I’ve seen soft light created using sheets of Perspex, calico, and even shower curtains. A light modifier is basically designed to do two things:
Some modifiers, like umbrellas, will spread the light over a large area and soften the quality of the light. Other modifiers like grid spots contain the light to a very small area and create a hard quality of light (click image above to read more).
The main differences between the high-end options, and MacGyvered lighting are: light quality, consistency, and build. A light modifier that has been cobbled together using found objects is not going to look pretty, and you may attract some odd looks from passers by. On a positive note, I believe a MacGyvered light modifier is a perfect way to get your head around how lighting works, and to vary your lighting styles without having to empty your bank account.
This is how I created my mini softbox using a paper bag, an elastic band, and a chocolate donut.
Booms are an awesome way to add light above your model, as they allow the freedom to work without stands getting in the way of your shot. Using a boom is also the best way to position the light exactly where you want it.
I’ve created this lightweight location boom by using a mini-boom arm on an umbrella bracket, attached to a light stand. Always remember to use a weight on the light stand, to avoid it tipping over in high winds. You can buy a sandbag, or MacGyver your own using two-litre drink bottles filled with water in a canvas bag.
A cheaper alternative to the boom is to use a light pole, and to ask a friend to hold it for you. If you are new to working with off-camera flash, I suggest you read one of my previous blog posts: A Beginner’s Guide to Working With Flash Off-Camera.It will walk you through the step-by-step technique of shooting with off-camera flash .
Carefully remove the donut from the bag, being careful not to get any Nutella smeared on the bag. Divide the donut into two equal portions. Offer one half to your model and eat the other half. If you can’t find Nutella donuts in your neck of the woods, you can substitute with any other pastry served in a white paper bag.
If you prefer a cleaner style of shooting, just ask for an extra bag when you buy your donut. You can also skip this part altogether, but it’s not as much fun, and just find a white paper bag similar to the one I’m using (see below). They vary in size and thickness so look for bags that are free of any advertising.
Place the bag over the flash and secure using the hair elastic. Electrical tape will also work, but it tends to leave a sticky residue on the flash.
Position the light directly above, and slightly to one side, your model’s head. This lighting style is called loop lighting. I think it’s a flattering style because it leaves the face in partial shadow, and creates the illusion that the face is slimmer.
It’s called loop lighting because of the loop-shaped shadow the nose casts on the side of the model’s face. How prominent the shadow is, depends on how much fill light is used. I use this style of lighting for 80% of my studio and location shoots, as I believe it is one of the most natural-looking lighting techniques.
Using one light from overhead looks great, and adds definition to the model’s bone structure. As I prefer a softer lighting style, I’ve also added a white reflector to my shot.
I placed the reflector on Luke’s (my model) lap because I was shooting very tight headshots. If I were shooting a ¾ or full-length portrait, I would position the reflector on the ground, just out of the shot. The reflector fills in the shadows caused by the flash overhead. You can modify the amount of fill light by how close you place the reflector in relation to your light source. The closer the reflector is to the light, the more evenly lit your portrait will look. If you prefer more contrast or mood to your lighting, move the reflector further away from the light or don’t use one at all.
Changing the shutter speed controls how much ambient light there is in the image. To create a brighter background, I selected a shutter speed of 1/6th second. Shooting at 1/200th of a second removes most of the ambient light and creates a moodier image. I wanted to create the goldilocks effect, not too heavy, and not too light, but just right.
Here are a few more awesome Macgyver lighting hacks that my podcast listeners have shared with me.
This gorgeous image by Brett Ferguson was created with a light modifier Macgyvered together with a ping pong ball and empty toilet rolls.
Hey Gina Milicia, here is a Macgyver light modifier for you. I needed a spot light source to light the model in a convincing way. It was really important to have a soft glow, and realistic shadows, to emulate what the moon would look like. I used a ping pong ball at the end of two empty toilet rolls and then rigged some cardboard to hold the flash. The flash head fits in nicely, and the centre of the toilet rolls are white, allowing it light up to the ball. This image (edited) was shot at 47mm on a 24-70mm f2.8L II lens on a Canon 5D3 at 1/80th, f/3.5 and ISO 500.
You can see a larger version of the finished image at www.brettferguson.com.au.
Photographer Glen Dube has Macgyvered this brilliant grid spot using a Pringles container and straws.
This is basically just a Pringles can, with the bottom cut out and replaced by straws, hot glued in place. But I found coloured straws tainted the light, luckily my wife found some paper straws that have a nice bright white inside. The end of the can you get the chips out slides right over all the flashes I have, except this really old Vivitar that has the zoom function on the outside. Pringles has been helpful in providing a variety of lengths of cans for us.
The length (and diameter) of the straws determines the size of the spot and there are even online calculators. I found the flashes zoom function has little effect but the calculators are accurate for determining the spot sizes. The paper straws let you have a sharper fall off (as the plastic straws are translucent and spill light outside the circle). I used 60mm straws, which at 1 meter (3′) gives me a 180MM (7.1″) diameter spot that gets wider the farther away the light is from the subject.
Photographer Andrej Valko created this really simple portable pop-up flash modifier using cardboard.
I saw this idea a couple of years ago – a bounce card for the on-camera flash. I thought: how hard can it be to make one. So I did – I printed black on one side of heavy photo-paper so it didn’t look conspicuous from the front. It was white on the other side to bounce light. I taped it with clear tape so it reflected light more efficiently (it also made it a bit more durable), and I cut it to suit my camera.
It was easy to mount (it just slid in), easy to carry (in a back pocket just like a business card) and it bounced light off the walls and ceiling, as well as off my face! And I, the crazy photographer, shot a wedding reception with just the bounce card! (I didn’t have a single flash unit at the time.) I still cannot believe I actually used this to shoot a wedding.
Photographer Mike Hickman created this modifier using a translucent drawer liner.
My “ugly” modifier created from translucent drawer liner which I have used almost exclusively during events, including weddings. The idea came from here.
Cost is about $ 10 for a full liner made by Contact, and attached with Velcro strips for about an additional $ 6. Makes three or four, depending on size. Also, folds up to stick in your pocket when changing locations and I have two in my camera bag at all times. Can’t do that with too many other modifiers!
There are so many awesome ways to MacGyver light modifiers. Do you have one you are particularly proud of? I’d love to see it. Please share your ideas in the comments below.
If you want to learn more about using flash for creating portraits, pick up Gina’s brand new dPS ebook: Fast Flash for Portrait Perfection. Now on sale for an introductory price for a limited time only.
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The post How to Create Awesome Portrait Lighting with a Paper Bag an Elastic Band and a Chocolate Donut by Gina Milicia appeared first on Digital Photography School.
After Sony showed off its a6300 and trio of new lenses, our staffers were able to grab an a7R II and start shooting. Above we’ve put together a small selection of images taken with Sony’s new 85mm F1.4 GM portrait lens.
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Portrait photography is an incredibly complex subject to master. You have to worry about a variety of technical matters, including your lighting, location, time with subject, color temperatures, and your composition. In many situations you will be moving around an environment quickly and changing your lighting on the fly. It is a lot to pay attention to, and coordinate at the same time.
On top of all of this, you must figure out how to make, and keep, your subject comfortable throughout the entire session. No matter how much is going right or wrong, or what is going through your head, your primary attention must always be on your subject.
Keeping the subject comfortable and natural is an art form in itself. Obviously, it’s not always possible. Some subjects will be impossible to get through to no matter what, but most of them will rise to the occasion if you can foster the right environment. There are many different ways that portrait sessions can vary, but here is how I like to approach photographing my portrait subjects.
Each subject will have a different relationship with the camera. Some will have done this before, and will be all business. Some will be extroverted and will love the attention. Some will be uncomfortable at first, but will open up easily after a little time together.
The toughest group are subjects that come in incredibly uncomfortable and stiff, to them you are worse than the dentist. Seriously, there are many people that would much rather go to the dentist than to be photographed by you. These subjects will be the toughest to work with because they, “know I look terrible in front of the camera.” They know this because they know how uncomfortable they get, but they only get uncomfortable because they know they photograph badly. This is a catch 22 that you will have to scratch and claw your way out of, so to speak.
Is your subject extroverted or introverted? Do they like to joke and talk, or are they more reserved. Are they in the middle of a busy day, or do they seem more relaxed. Do they give you a stiff smile? These are all cues that you can pick up on, to help you figure out the best way to get through to them. The better you can understand your subjects, the better you will be able to get them to enjoy working with you, and to eventually feel comfortable with you and the camera.
Whenever possible, when you first meet your subject, introduce yourself first. Ask them how their day is going to get them talking, then tell them about what you will be doing together. Many subjects will have no idea what to do, or what is about to happen, and will become stiff, nervous, and awkward.
Explain how the session will go, and what you would like them to do. Maybe tell them that you are looking for natural images, casual smiles, and comfortable poses. Let them know that you will tell them what to do over the course of the session, but also mention that if they have ideas that they should bring them up. Is there a way that they feel comfortable standing? Tell them to speak up. Do they want to try something? Tell them to speak up. The best shoots are ones that turn into a collaboration between the photographer and the subject.
Tell the subject that you will do some posing but that you also want them to stand in a way that is comfortable for them. You can have your subjects play a part in the posing (a few will be bad at this, but most will be good). Ask them, “How would you naturally stand or lean here?” Give them a couple suggestions of what to do by demonstrating a pose. If necessary, put a few example images on your phone or tablet to show them. Keep them moving. Ask them to slightly change their pose every few shots. This will keep them fluid and comfortable, instead of stiff and standing still.
The hands are just as important as the body pose, if not more so. If the subject’s hands feel comfortable, there is a good chance the rest of them will fall into place. Some subjects can get very stiff with the hands if you don’t give them direction. Do you want the hands in front of them, in their pockets, or crossed arms? I usually start by giving these suggestions, and asking them to place their hands in a way that they would normally stand. This often yields a very comfortable pose. Then when I have exhausted that, I will ask them to cross their arms to break them into another comfortable pose, then go from there.
Changing the pose at the right times is a very important tool. The second your subject starts to look uncomfortable, get them to do something different. Change their hands or their stance. Move them to another location. Every time you break the stiffness is another chance for them to reset themselves into a comfortable pose.
If your subject is doing something right, tell them! Give them positive reinforcement. Never tell them they look awkward, or they will freeze up even more. I constantly say some variation of, “This looks great” or a more specific compliment. The positivity just keeps things flowing and going in the right direction.
If you like someone’s smile, let them know that. They will instantly feel good, and it will help them recreate that look when you need it. For a few people, when you say something like that, it will kill their natural smile. Pay attention for these people, and obviously stop saying that to them, but for many this will help them recreate that look constantly as you need it. You can say, “Give me that smile from before.” Then if they have trouble doing it, plead and beg them for it in a funny way so they feel comfortable again.
You can tell subjects not to do specific things, but be careful with how you do that as it can kill your momentum. Instead of saying, “Your hands don’t look right,” say, “I think your hands might be a little better this way.” Even your constructive comments can be made in a positive way.
Ask lots of questions of the subjects that do not seem to be in a rush. For the ones that need to run out of there, you can only do so much. Even for these people, I will ask a couple simple questions at the beginning, such as, “Are you from New York” or “How has your day been.” Just these alone will give them a chance to talk, and you can go from there. For most people who are not in a rush, I will go a lot further and try to hone in on a topic that of of interested to them. I find that a good conversation over the course of a session, can make the whole session much more comfortable. The more you get them talking, the more they can break out of their shell. At the very least, they will like you.
You do not need to write knock-knock jokes, but think of some funny things ahead of time to talk about, or to use in situations where you are desperate. When a subject begins a session by telling me how much they hate being photographed, I try to say something like, “Well you’re going to hate me then.” A dentist joke will work as well. I then comfortably tell them that they are in good hands, and not to worry. A quick and funny comeback for something like this will make them feel like you are prepared.
Sometimes when I need a smile, I will tell a subject to give me their most uncomfortable smile. This is only in certain moments though. I will never, ever tell the subject directly that they look uncomfortable. That is a road you do not want to go down, but I will make a joke about a stiff smile before they start trying to smile to make a point, and to make it a little humorous.
Have them smile with their whole body. Show them the difference between a smile just with their mouth, and then one with their entire face and body. There’s a big difference between the two, and framing it in this way can explain to them what they should be doing. The shutter click is such a finite moment that it helps if they think of the session as one long video where they are moving into their smiles, and not just turning them on suddenly.
Often you will have to make slight tweaks to the way a subject is posing. Having a subject put their chin up slightly can be a very good way of getting rid of a double chin, but it also ruins the spontaneity of the moment. The same thing goes when posing people in a chair. Sometimes, the most flattering way to sit is the most awkward. When I have to do any of this, after I will say something like, “Now look natural.” Just the idea of how stiff they are once you do these poses, mixed with that comment, has the frequent effect of relaxing them and bringing out a smile, even with their chin up.
Besides that, I will have conversational topics that I try to bring up on the fly when needed, such as current events, sports, or random stories that I can think of.
Are you an extrovert that can charm and joke with anyone? Then you should have an easier time getting your subjects to laugh and open up, but at the same time you will need to be careful not to overdo it. By talking too much, and commanding the attention in the session, you risk stopping the subject from having their own personality show through. All your images can end up looking the same, as they are the expressions of your subjects laughing at your jokes or comments. If this is naturally you, make yourself ask questions, and stop and listen a little bit more. Making them laugh is fantastic, but it is also different from creating an environment where they feel comfortable enough to open up to you.
Are you an introvert who gets uncomfortable trying to joke and talk with subjects that you have just met for the first time? This can actually be an advantage when you play your cards right, but this is a situation where gaining experience working with people is necessary. In this case, your advantage is your ability to listen and react. Ask your subjects questions, then play off what they say. Pay more attention to their emotions. Get them talking about interesting things that they are passionate about; have them open up that way.
Still be confident and explain what you are doing, but play a more reactive role. Watch videos of other portrait photographers, both the talkative and the quieter ones, and pay attention to what they say to help you improve. Work on funny things to say that you will have in your pocket when you need them, as this will be your initial disadvantage. You will need to work more at first to be good at all of this, but after enough experience, the advantages can swing back in your favor due to your adept listening ability.
Sometimes subjects will insist on seeing the images, and you will have no choice, but I always try to get out of having to show the subject the images until the end. I will often say that we can look at the images after, as a way to put them off. Having the subject look at a photo of themselves, especially if they seem self-conscious, can ruin their ability to feel comfortable later on in the session. In addition, two out of 10 shots are usually good anyway and the other eight will never see the light of day. But if they are looking at the back of that camera they will sure as heck see those eight!
For the most uncomfortable subjects, often there is no chance that the photos at the very beginning will be that good. You are just going through the motions as you are trying to make them comfortable over the course of the session. There are not that many situations where the subject seeing the photo is better, unless the subject seems very comfortable from the start.
You will probably lose a few. You can only do the best with what your subject gives you. Portrait photography can be stressful so always keep that in mind. You can only work with what the subject is able to give you. Do your best for all your subjecs and push and spend more time with the ones that are having trouble, but let’s be frank, some subjects are just better that others.
If you want to learn more about portrait posing and working with people, pick up one of the dPS ebooks by Gina Milicia Portraits: Striking the Pose (left) or her brand new one called: Fast Flash for Portrait Perfection (right).
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The post 8 Tips to Help Make People Comfortable for Their Portrait Session by James Maher appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Who said flash portraits had to be complicated?
With our brand new ebook, Fast FLASH for Portrait Perfection by Gina Milicia, they don’t have to be!
A five-time dPS ebook author, Gina has been using flash lighting in her portraits for over 25 years – photographing a-list celebrities, heads of state… even royalty.
Now in this practical how-to guide, she’s sharing all her best flash secrets, tips and techniques.
She’s really held nothing back!
Created specifically to take away the guesswork when it comes to flash photography, this practical ebook will give you the skills and confidence you need to create AMAZING portrait images.
Learn more about Fast FLASH here.
Yes! If you:
There are loads of examples included, too. All shot by Gina using mostly budget lighting kits (but with studio-quality results that you can achieve as well!).
To celebrate the launch of this brand new Flash Photography eBook you can pick it up today for a limited time 25% off discount. Normally $ 19.99 USD today it is yours for just $ 14.99 USD.
Pick up your copy of Fast FLASH here.
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The post Fast Flash for Portrait Perfection: 25% Off our New Flash Photography eBook by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Whenever a camera appears, you can bet your caboose that there are emotions swirling for 99% of the human population. From fear and disdain, to reverting to the classic Chandler Bing smile, people tend to exaggerate or warp their behaviour in front of the camera in endlessly inventive ways. But unless you’re going for a Sears portrait look, your job as a photographer is to not only deliver an end-product that thrills your clients, it’s to make the shoot an awesome experience as well.
Here are nine of my favorite, tried-and-true strategies for helping clients forget about the camera, and have a good old time on their shoot.
A shoot can be fraught with stress, so for the love of Annie Leibowitz, don’t add to it. When people arrive at a shoot, they are almost invariably nervous, and will be looking to you for all their cues. Take the lead in creating the atmosphere you’re hoping for, and your clients will follow suit almost subconsciously. You have a huge opportunity to model the relaxed, joyful, behaviour you want to capture, simply by setting the tone and mood of the shoot from the get-go!
This is so simple, but laugh. Crack jokes, if that’s your thing. Show them you’re willing to get weird, and it’ll liberate them to fall into a relaxed zone that brings out great images. It’s not about putting on a performance, but about being so yourself and comfortable in your own skin, that your clients can’t help but do the same.
On that note, hone in your ability to read your clients so they really feel seen as individuals, and not two-dimensional subjects, and adapt to their specific personality. In many ways you have to be a chameleon, ready to provide to whatever the client might need from you to make them comfortable. We usually talk a lot throughout our shoots, and have found that most people react well to constant positive feedback, but not everyone wants a running commentary. There’s a fun balancing act to figure out what your client will respond to, and this is a good life skill as well.
Whether it’s talking baseball, vintage cars, or Japanese flower arranging, finding some common ground can put even the stiffest of the stiff more at ease. They’ll loosen up, see you as a teammate, and get more invested in following whatever direction you have for them. We’ve established trust with clients by talking with them about everything from beers in Thailand, to Tom Brady’s throwing motion. Chat it out, listen for non-sequiturs and when you find an in, go for it.
By treating your camera like it ain’t no thang, with no more emotion connected to it than a chair or a mailbox, you can help couples forget that it’s there (well, almost). When starting a shoot, spend as much time as possible chatting, and relaxing with the couple before you ever lift the camera. Hold it in your hand as if it’s no more consequential than a cup of coffee. This action may seem subtle, but your clients are looking to you for their behavioural cues, and treating the camera like something to not think twice about, will allow them to consider it equally as casually.
Giving your clients plenty of say in the terms of how the shoot goes, is a huge key to making them relaxed. Doing extra legwork ahead of time, like guiding them with their outfits and locations, allows them to show up already feeling invested and in control over much of their experience. The old relationship advice that “communication is key” could not be more apt. Spending time before the shoot helping people feel like their voice is being heard, is central to great images.
We’ve all been that novice photographer who, in a desperate attempt to capture a mirthful photo of unrehearsed laughter, says something panicked like “okay, now make each other laugh”. That’s not funny, y’all! You gotta be more creative than that. If you’re photographing a couple, ask one of them to tell the other about their most embarrassing childhood moment, using only interpretive dance. Tell them to reenact their first meeting, using emotive eye contact, instead of words. Get detailed and ridiculous in these requests, because then you’ll be able to fully leap into #7.
You likely won’t keep the image of the poor guy interpretive dancing, but you’ll probably keep the one of the couple cracking up together in between moves. Here’s the real secret to natural looking photos – the in-between photos ARE the photos. The unposed, unrehearsed, laughing at fart jokes, or because your photographer told you they were “just going to test the light” but really you’re capturing them enjoying life together. Those are the images that end up being keepers. Keep that camera at the ready and shoot between the lines to get the good stuff.
Every once in a while, we’ll leave the open-ended coaching behind and give a people a very specific pose to try. And no matter what the pose is, no matter how natural it felt when they first tried it, it’s going to get clunky-looking if you make them hold it for long enough. There are a few reasons why someone might need to keep a general pose for a bit — if you’re grabbing different angles, shooting with unique lenses, etc. — but our big piece of advice for them is to always keep their hands moving. With the free-reign to move their hands in whatever way feels natural to them, they’ll avoid the stiff prom-pose look, while still keeping the general idea of the pose you gave them. It sounds silly, but this one seriously works.
If you are amongst the hordes of photographers and humans who hate having their own photo taken, this piece of advice goes double for you. You MUST MUST MUST put yourself in your clients’ shoes! Be uncomfortable! Learn what strange tics you have. Know how to comfortably have your photo taken, so you know firsthand how to coach your clients. Standing in their shoes is our number one piece of advice, because as you teach yourself to be in photos comfortably, it’ll become ever-easier to coach your clients to do the same. Get thee in front of a lens. You’ll be a better photographer for it.
So while you may not be able to alleviate someone’s multiple decade love/hate relationship with having their photo taken, focusing on making each client’s shoot experience stellar is the first step on the road to the beautiful, natural, photos you and your client are aiming for. Because if you aren’t having fun, why bother?
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The post 9 Tips that Make Couples Happy During a Portrait Session by Tim Sullivan appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Photographing people, in particular doing portraits, can strike fear into the hearts of many newbie photographers. But it doesn’t have to be so scary. Read through some of the best, most read articles on portrait photography from the last 12 months. They’ll give you some tips and hopefully some confidence to go photograph some of your own portraits.
Don’t forget we also have several portrait ebooks in our store. Check out the entire collection here, just click “Grab the Bundle” to get all of the portrait series ebooks.
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