 Hillary L. Perry |
How to Take Good Portrait Pictures I've had little experience taking portrait pictures. I have a Canon Rebel 2000 with a couple different lens, a flash. I was just recently asked to help take some senior pictures indoors and outdoors. What kind of setup would I need to take good pictures? They asked for some in black and white and some in color. What film would you recommend? What settings are generally considered good when taking good portraits? I welcome any comments and suggestions. Would it be good to use any kind of filters? Thanks for your help!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
John A. Lind |
Hillary: It's all about light and how you use it. For portraiture, it's also posing people (and paint them with light) to create a flattering likeness, and controlling background to enhance the pose, and keep it from being distracting. The subject of portraiture is enough to fill an entire textbook (and then some). It sounds as if you're using direct on-camera flash (in the hot shoe). If you look at fine portraits of individuals, you'll see that the light is NOT coming from the camera location. It's coming from elsewhere. This is what models their features. You'll also notice that it's very soft with gradual transition from highlight into shadow ... which means the lighting is "soft" (diffused). If you look at the eyes, you'll see "catchlights" in them ... light reflecting off of the moisture on the surface of the eye; it brings the eyes to life ... especially for people with dark eyes. I can tell a lot about the lighting direction by looking at shadows, and the kinds of lighting equipment used ("modifiers," such as umbrellas or softboxes) by looking at the catchlights (one or two small pinpoints in each eye, their location and their shape). IMHO, filters won't do much for you with color work, or solve your basic lighting issues. My use of them is exceptionally rare for standard portraiture ... only if I'm doing something very unique and quite unusual. Don't worry about them until you've got basic lighting under control. One of the basic things you can do with a single flash indoors (under a white ceiling) is to use bounce lighting and a reflector to soften the light and get it coming from different directions than the camera ... without losing catchlights in the eyes which is one of the tell-tales of pure white ceiling bounce. Outdoors, I try to put the individual in open shade against a background that isn't distracting . . . hedge, thick stand of trees, side of a building with interesting texture, etc. I avoid bright direct sunlight like the plague ... it's too harsh. Then I use fill flash which is very little ... just enough to put a little highlight on their face. I set exposure so that the light needed from flash is less than one f-stop ... just barely in need of flash. If you use too much flash outdoors, it's pretty obvious and starts to become harsh. If you can ... go to a large library and look for a book in the photography section with a tutorial about portraiture. It may show studio lighting positions, etc., but you can do things with an on-camera flash if you can tilt it upward and rotate it to the each side as well. Then think about how you can get light coming from those directions using some home-made reflectors ... which can be as simple as some white foamcore. One of your disadvantages with camera mounted flash is lack of "modeling" lights ... studio strobes and monolights have powerful halogens inside or under the flashtube ring so you can see what the flash will create when it's triggered. This will require some experimentation with a spotlight simulating the flash to get a feel for how to set up reflectors and aim the flash to put light where you want it. I'm trying to give you some ideas that can let you do this without spending a fortune on studio equipment. If you're trying to do this professionally, you should think very, very seriously about buying professional studio equipment for the indoor work. Life gets much, much easier in achieving the lighting you want. Film: Color portraiture ... Kodak Portra 160NC ... or Fuji NPS. For B/W portraiture, Plus-X Pan (ISO 125) is a fine-grain classic. Tri-X Pan (ISO 400) is another classic with extremely wide latitude and a soft grain that gives the photograph a classic "texture" when enlarged into a large print (8x10 or larger). Both have excellent mid-tones. For B/W shooting, filters - a light or medium yellow - is often used to for more natural- looking skin mid-tones ... and they won't get you into too much trouble with clothing or background colors like other B/W filters can (colors other than the lighter yellow ones).
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Peggy Wolff |
Another suggestion for your outside shots is to go out in the evening. Try about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset for a nice warm light. For inside shots, you can also try shooting next to a window. Northern light is my preference. You can put some fabric up on a wall and position your subject at least 3 feet away from it. Then use the window light with a homemade reflector if you need it. You can just use a white poster board. Taking good portraits is not as simple as it may seem. John gave you some great tips.
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Daun |
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Dave Hockman |
I would easily confess that portraits and print film are not my first interest. I prefer saturated slow, super fine grain, slide film, tripods and extreme clarity. I rarely work under controlled studio conditions.I understand and appreciate the very good advice by John and others.All well said. I recently had several shoots that covered large gatherings of people (portraits, candid)and a couple car shows. I work out of (2) 1v's. I have not tried porta films, however, the (ten) rolls of NPS 160 and the (ten) Kodak Ultracolor 100 could not come close to the(ten)Fuji NPC 160, in color saturation, fine grain, and latitude. The NPC is the most expensive per roll of the three, but for my money and a non-repeatable event, I will pay the extra. Just a thought when selecting films. My side by side comparison clearly indicated a print film, that outperformed the others very well. I could agree with Peggy as well. Evenings at "sweet light" time can make great portraits. I use reflectors and 1 ex550 set up in "catch light" mode.I have even used automobile dashboard heat shields in a pinch for reflectors.Be cautious with too wide an aperture, you might get a great focus on the end of a nose and the rest be blurred. Great shooting and good luck! Dave H.
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Ken Henry |
How to photo books are available at Barnes & Nobel and any other book store close to you. Above all, keep it simple. There is a book on how to photo seniors.
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
John A. Lind |
I don't recommend ultra-saturated films (e.g. Portra "UC") for photographing people in which they are prominent or the main subject . . . candids and especially portraiture. The super-saturation tends to pick up underlying skin tone and highly saturate it; with caucasians it can render a very unnatural redish pink or orangish cast to the skin tones. -- John Lind
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Denyse Clark |
Hillary, have you done the shoot? How were your results? I am also doing some Senior Portraits in a few weeks, and am nervous about making them look professional. I am confident in my outdoor shots, but the HS yearbook requires a 'studio' type shot. I'm just wondering if you have any feedback about what did or didn't work for you!
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Hillary L. Perry |
Denyse, I have not taken the senior pictures yet. I will probably be taking them here in the next couple of weeks. I will be sure to let you know how they turn out and give you some feedback. I don't know if it will be before the time you have to take your photos. Hey, I would love to hear how your pictures turned out also. I checked out the pictures in your galary. Great work!! I have always been into taking landscapes but just within the last couple of years I have really started to enjoy taking portraits especially in black and white. I am trying to get is much experience as possible. I am thinking about taking some classes here in the fall.
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Denyse Clark |
Hillary, The date of my shoot is now set for 9/18... I'll let you know how it turns out! I've done a few casual shoots w/ friends and such, and my results have been good. But when it's a more official shoot, the pressure is on and I doubt my skills :) If you take some classes, you won't be disappointed- I've taken a few classes through betterphoto and loved them! I'll get back to you in a few weeks w/ the good, the bad, and the ugly! (hopefully more good than ugly)
|
|||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||||||||