Looking for informative topics on photographing people? Check out this Q&A for great suggestions!
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Nicole Boenig-McGrade
member since: 7/13/2003
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How to Avoid Sun Glare
How can I reduce sun glare on a portrait (face)?
How can I best avoid glow of sunlight in a person's hair, if I must take a photo with the sun slightly behind the person?
7/30/2003 8:12:37 AM
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Jon Close
member since: 5/18/2000
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With the sun behind your subject you're apt to get overexposure of the highlights to get a good exposure of your subject (as in your picture here), or a nicely exposed background with the subject too dark or in silhouette. To even things out you have to either use reflectors to light your subject or use fill-flash.
7/30/2003 1:07:40 PM
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Nicole Boenig-McGrade
member since: 7/13/2003
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Thank you Jon, looks like a fill-flash will be my next investment. Do you know how I can "sharpen" the photo more, a finer grain? This was taken with a 100 35mm Kodak film.
7/30/2003 5:55:41 PM
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Maynard McKillen
member since: 3/5/2003
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Dear Nicole:
If you still want some of that "rimlighting", which can add charm or zip to a photo, you could reduce it. Have an assistant stand off camera, between the subject and the sun, and hold up translucent white fabric, perhaps three feet square, mounted in a frame of wood or PVC. Thus some of the sunlight will still rimlight the subject, but it will be reduced to a hopefully less objectionable level.
7/31/2003 6:45:00 AM
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Nicole Boenig-McGrade
member since: 7/13/2003
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Thanks Maynard. Yes, I do like a little "rimlighting" but not quite this much. Will give your tip a try. Thank you.
7/31/2003 7:21:49 AM
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Tiffany M. Barkevich
member since: 8/9/2003
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hi Nicole,
i have asked many people about using a POLARIZING FILTER on your black and white photos. they can be expensive, but it also depends on what size lens you have. dont get me wrong, you can find them at a decent price, just make sure you bring your lens with you.
the whole purpose of a polarizer if to eliminate glare. I think you will find this extremely helpfull.please let me know what you do.Tiffany Barkevich
Antigodess@hotmail.com P.S.
if you live in the southern California area I can tell you where to go!
8/13/2003 4:36:59 AM
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Nicole Boenig-McGrade
member since: 7/13/2003
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Hi Tiffany, what a great tip. I have one of them. By the way, I live a bit further away, in Perth, Western Australia
8/13/2003 7:59:33 AM
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Anand S
member since: 8/18/2003
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Hey you can even try to under expose your subject by a stop or two. It worked for me and still managed to get a rimlighting without using any other filter other than the conventional UV filte. Ofcourse this was in a color film.
8/18/2003 3:49:14 AM
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Nicole Boenig-McGrade
member since: 7/13/2003
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Hi Anand, it's very nice to hear from you. I'll need to play around with my exposures. Good learning curve. Thank you.
8/18/2003 5:00:55 AM
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Sarah
member since: 7/9/2003
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32
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Ideas For Shooting a Large Family Group
I have to shoot a family of twenty people, nine adults and eleven children. It will be outside in a yard, shaded by trees. I would like some ideas for posing possibilities. Any help would be appreciated. Also I am in search of a wide angle lens to go with this shoot for my Minolta Maxxum, any ideas on which one I should go with?
7/9/2003 3:50:53 PM
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Jeff S. Kennedy
member since: 3/4/2002
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As for posing, try to get people on different levels. Use chairs or benches to seat some. Think about building triangles with faces. If you can keep people on a similar plane it will help with focussing. With a long line of people you want to form it so that they form an arc. IOW, the end people are a bit closer to you than the middle people. If you have to "stack" people it helps to shoot from a higher vantage point so that you can get the film plane more parallel to the people's faces. This helps get everyone in focus. As for the lens, I would avoid a wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses cause distortion at the edges and the people on the ends might not appreciate the way they end up looking. Use a lens in the normal to short telephoto length. Something like a 50mm up to an 85mm depending upon how much room you have.
7/11/2003 9:48:20 AM
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Maryann Ianniello
member since: 8/1/2002
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Dept of Field is very important when shooting large groups. You need to have everyone in focus. So its important to use a fstop of 16 or 22. As far as wide angle I would not even consider this lens. I would go with the response from Jeff K.
7/15/2003 7:28:25 PM
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Debby A. Tabb
member since: 9/4/2004
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GOOD DAY,
I POSTED A SET OF PORTRAITS DEPICTING A LARGE FAMILY GROUP (19?) AND THE APPROVAL SET OF ONE MEMBERS FAMILY . IN HOPES THAT IT WILL HELP, OTHER SEE HOW TO BREAK UP A FAMILY.
WITH THE APPROVAL SET- YOU PROVIDE THE CLIENT WITH A MORE DETAILED AND INTIMATE LOOK AT THE FAMILY.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING IN PHOTOGRAPHY, IT GIVES YOU MORE TO SELL.
BEST OF LUCK,
DEBBY
5/18/2005 9:06:03 AM
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John Rhodes
member since: 2/24/2005
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I still get a laugh out of reading something like, " I am going to shoot an entire family..." OK; now to be serious-- Sarah, there is an excellent article in
April 2004 Shutterbug magazine on photographing large groups outdoors. Read the article on-line at the following address: http://www.shutterbug.net/features/0404sb_howto/ Good luck.
John
5/18/2005 9:39:23 AM
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Sydney
member since: 9/13/2001
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33
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Best Backgrounds for School Photos
Please give me advice on choosing appropriate backgrounds for children taking school pics. Should I consider more the child's skin tone/eye color or clothing color?
9/13/2001 12:31:48 PM
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Ken Pang
member since: 7/8/2000
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Generally the principle for portraits is to draw attention to the face. You do that by blending in the rest of their body with the background. You can do this by using the same colour background as their school uniform (assuming that their school has a uniform). From the school photos I see in Australia, they pay no attention to little details like that. I've seen photos that are unsharp, off-centered, or children not really looking into the camera, and parents still buy them. I am far from encouraging bad work - don't take me to be doing that. But let's just say when it comes to school photos, parents tend not to be too picky.
9/13/2001 7:20:22 PM
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Cheryll Williams
member since: 7/21/2001
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Well, I wouldn't say that parents aren't picky. Being a mother of three and grandmother, I will tell you that when it comes to school pictures, we parents tend to accept what we get from the school photographer because it is usually difficult to have a second shot done. Scheduling doesn't allow much of an option. Think about what background color you would want behind your own child. Be different from other companies. It's true you only have so much time with so many students, but you can have some control over the background color. I would say, anything neutral except for white. One school in Westerville, Ohio, did a bookcase background for my grandsons' school. It was a nice change! Hope this is helpful.
9/16/2001 5:04:22 PM
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Mark A. Braxton
member since: 5/2/2000
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Hi Sydney,
I am not a professional by a long shot but, I would like to offer my 2 cents. First of all, Cheryll's idea is great. I haven't been in elementary school for almost 20 years now. The photographer of my pictures' used a background with a bookshelf painted on it. I think a wall with a school mascot or some symbolism of the school is good. It'll make it easy for picture viewers to see the reason for the photo. Also it should have some colors from the school uniforms in the colors on the uniforms as Ken P. comments. The background will then also have symbolism, strengthening the picture instead of taking away. Skin tones and the sharpness of your subject should be your highest concern I think.As long as your subjects are fairly clear parents will buy them true but, as a photographer every shoot you do adds to your resume. This shoot will affect whether you get called by the same school or others again. You might even get a referral from such a job as this one. Think of the prestige earned from doing a good job on school pictures. Most of us wanna be's can only dream of such a job. Good luck and do your best! Just take your time and think your setting through.
9/16/2001 6:21:23 PM
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Sydney
member since: 9/13/2001
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Thanks for your responses.
9/17/2001 1:05:54 PM
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Mike
member since: 4/25/2001
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I say "phooey" to school photographers. After photographing 3-800 elementary kids I'd be blurry and out of focus. I take my own kids photos down at the park in the fall. For $30 cdn I can take 72 shots pre-paid. My local camera shop will make any size re-prints at a reasonable charge. Most of us have camera's. How about BetterPhoto.com doing an article for the average Joe on taking kids photos? [Editor: I like the article idea - maybe the Muses will make something happen in the near future :) - Jim ]
9/17/2001 6:12:41 PM
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Cheryll Williams
member since: 7/21/2001
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Well, gee Mike, that's great for those of us that really like taking our kids photos. But kids like to have the same type as their friends, to hand out. Also, the point is to help Sidney out with this job. No offense, I think you may have lost the point of his question. Anyway, I understand where you are coming from. I used to let the kids get the school photos and then I would take my own to hang on the wall. So, Sidney, go for it, get creative, and have fun with those kids. that is the biggest part of it. Getting the kids to respond to you. Good luck!
9/17/2001 7:43:22 PM
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Kristi Norbeck
member since: 11/20/2003
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Hi Sydney, I am still new to photography, but I have done the school picture thing. I worked for a company so it was cut and dry what we WERE suppose to do. I dont know what you are working with as far as backgrounds but something standard and flexible works best in my opinion. Browns and greys tend to be the best neutral that I have worked with. I have found that those normally go with ANY skin tone and any color clothing, unless your dealing with shocking lime green!! Blues are ok too. School photography is hard....as well as KID photography!! So take your time with them, especially the little one and have FUN!!!! Why else do it right?? Hope this helps you out!! :o)
11/20/2003 6:55:30 AM
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Carol J. Guernsey
member since: 4/15/2004
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A word of caution do not use a brown background unless you're using a light behind the children. I had my grad pics taken with a brown background and being a brunette my face looked as though it was floating! Blue may be a better choice - not many children with blue hair! Diffuser lenses aren't great for school pics either but are great for adults who have a skin flaw or two to mute!
Best of luck! Sounds exciting!
4/18/2004 10:44:22 AM
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Michael Stevens
member since: 1/24/2006
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I have had over 25 years experience at operating a pretty large sized School Photography business. There is more to just satisfying the parents when selecting backgrounds. At the Middle School & High School levels, most schools make yearbooks. In the section where the student's photographs are, typically a school wants the backgrounds to be consistent and not too busy, so when they are bunched together on a page, the page looks nice. At an elementary level, this is not so important. I reccomend looking at www.dennymfg.com, they have a lot of backgrounds to choose from. I work for a software company that uses green screen technology. Everyone is shot on the same green colored background and the parent chooses what background is placed in back of the student when the pictures get printed. For the yearbook it can be set to generate images with a single background. Good Luck!
1/24/2006 3:38:58 PM
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