Eddy,
Can you provide me with some tips on how to shoot portraits? I was asked by a co-worker to take a picture of him to be used on his Real Estate Realtor business card.
Any tips would be great Keep in mind that I won't have a studio available -- so, what kind of background and/or lighting, etc. should be used, and so on.
Thank you,
Michael
Portrait Photography
Moderator: Forum Mods
oh gosh,
i suck at portrait, the informations that i have gathers from people is that if you are using available light, then take it near a window (assuming it's indoors) for example, here is a shot (very blurry, i was playing without a tripod)
The window was on his right and the wall behind his was tinted white.
There are some basics such as Lowest Aperture possible.
here is a link that i found great for windows lighting http://super.nova.org/DPR/Window/
In terms of backgrounds, plain white is always the first pick, just make sure he isn't wearing white. you want it to stand out. and no complex background.
But i found that as long as their face is good, your 70% good.
i am not sure what kind of lense you use, when i was taking portrait of people, i always use the longest end of my lense for example, i had a 28-135 and most of the time i would use 135mm and stand far from the subject to provide that depth of field.
if you need to get a reaction shot, just talk to the subject with your eye of the viewfinder and the take photos while talking to them. i find that helpful sometimes, but it gets really weird facial expressino shots as well.
i think you know most of the stuffs that i know already, i just know some basics.
you can see of a section in my website with some portraits for a company.
http://www.yangphoto.com/1.html
most of the office shots were taken indoors with windows light, when there were window light, you can see in one of the photos with the orange background, i used my 580ex with a lumiquest diffuser (http://www.lumiquest.com/lq952.htm) and i pointed straight at them. right now i am using gary fong's diffuser but they are pricey and not sure if it's worth it yet.
i suck at giving advice, just ask me questions if you have any.
oh yeah one last advice, if you wanna do window light, choose a window that isn't too big and small, around the size of the subject maybe alittle bigger will provide the brightest light. here is a sample http://www.yangphoto.com/people-(10).html
everything is just my opinion.
good luck
mike, i hate portraits.
i suck at portrait, the informations that i have gathers from people is that if you are using available light, then take it near a window (assuming it's indoors) for example, here is a shot (very blurry, i was playing without a tripod)
The window was on his right and the wall behind his was tinted white.
There are some basics such as Lowest Aperture possible.
here is a link that i found great for windows lighting http://super.nova.org/DPR/Window/
In terms of backgrounds, plain white is always the first pick, just make sure he isn't wearing white. you want it to stand out. and no complex background.
But i found that as long as their face is good, your 70% good.
i am not sure what kind of lense you use, when i was taking portrait of people, i always use the longest end of my lense for example, i had a 28-135 and most of the time i would use 135mm and stand far from the subject to provide that depth of field.
if you need to get a reaction shot, just talk to the subject with your eye of the viewfinder and the take photos while talking to them. i find that helpful sometimes, but it gets really weird facial expressino shots as well.
i think you know most of the stuffs that i know already, i just know some basics.
you can see of a section in my website with some portraits for a company.
http://www.yangphoto.com/1.html
most of the office shots were taken indoors with windows light, when there were window light, you can see in one of the photos with the orange background, i used my 580ex with a lumiquest diffuser (http://www.lumiquest.com/lq952.htm) and i pointed straight at them. right now i am using gary fong's diffuser but they are pricey and not sure if it's worth it yet.
i suck at giving advice, just ask me questions if you have any.
oh yeah one last advice, if you wanna do window light, choose a window that isn't too big and small, around the size of the subject maybe alittle bigger will provide the brightest light. here is a sample http://www.yangphoto.com/people-(10).html
everything is just my opinion.
good luck
mike, i hate portraits.
- Mikey_
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Ha, you hate portraits? Why's that?
Thank you very much for the tips you've provided. They're quite helpful. I was going to use some kind of natural background vs a white one, but I'll give the plain white a shot using window lighting.
Another benefit of using the highest zoom of your lens is that the subject would feel more comfortable. I only have the 17-40mm f/4L, and most people freak out thinking I'm "way too close" when in fact I was shooting at 17.
Thank you again.
Michael
Thank you very much for the tips you've provided. They're quite helpful. I was going to use some kind of natural background vs a white one, but I'll give the plain white a shot using window lighting.
Another benefit of using the highest zoom of your lens is that the subject would feel more comfortable. I only have the 17-40mm f/4L, and most people freak out thinking I'm "way too close" when in fact I was shooting at 17.
Thank you again.
Michael
i dislike portraits because i don't like posing people, i don't like telling them what to do, i am not good at making people feeling comfortable, but i know it's something i must be able to do in photography.
yes, i totally understand, i was shooting a classroom couple month ago and i used a 10-20mm at 10mm, i almost hit a student (this was a small class room).
you shold think about Black and White photo.
good luck,
yes, i totally understand, i was shooting a classroom couple month ago and i used a 10-20mm at 10mm, i almost hit a student (this was a small class room).
you shold think about Black and White photo.
good luck,
- Mikey_
- Life is good. Be inspired.
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- Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2003 5:41 am
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I am not good at making strangers feel comfortable either -- I usually don't even approach them But once they do know me, I've got no problems.
Personally, I don't like posing shots and rather prefer shooting people in their "natural"/candid settings. Most of the Christmas pictures shot at our company's party were like that and came out pretty good. They came out looking natural, rather than posed.
I did once walk up to a family in San Diego asking if I could take a shot of their little boy in front of an indoor aquarium. They absolutely loved the idea that I wanted to take a shot of him -- it's flattering, I suppose.
Professional photographers could walk up to practically anyone and take a shot. Some even go ahead and shoot people without asking them first and once confronted why they are photographing them, the photographer often asks, "If I were to ask for your permission first, would the pictures have come out the way they did?" Personally, I'd also offer to send him/her a copy of the picture in exchange for allowing you to keep the picture(s).
MB likes B&W photography.... I usually don't. I love colors
Michael
Personally, I don't like posing shots and rather prefer shooting people in their "natural"/candid settings. Most of the Christmas pictures shot at our company's party were like that and came out pretty good. They came out looking natural, rather than posed.
I did once walk up to a family in San Diego asking if I could take a shot of their little boy in front of an indoor aquarium. They absolutely loved the idea that I wanted to take a shot of him -- it's flattering, I suppose.
Professional photographers could walk up to practically anyone and take a shot. Some even go ahead and shoot people without asking them first and once confronted why they are photographing them, the photographer often asks, "If I were to ask for your permission first, would the pictures have come out the way they did?" Personally, I'd also offer to send him/her a copy of the picture in exchange for allowing you to keep the picture(s).
MB likes B&W photography.... I usually don't. I love colors
Michael
- Mikey_
- Life is good. Be inspired.
- Posts: 1320
- Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2003 5:41 am
- Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA)
- Contact:
Here it is: http://hkss.com/comm/gall/displayimage. ... um=9&pos=0
Feel free to post critiques or comments for the photo at the appropriate Member Galleries section.
Feel free to post critiques or comments for the photo at the appropriate Member Galleries section.