Portrait Photography

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Mikey_
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Portrait Photography

Post by Mikey_ »

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
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Eddy
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Post by Eddy »

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)

Image

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.
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Mikey_
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Post by Mikey_ »

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
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Post by Eddy »

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,
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Post by Mikey_ »

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
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Post by Eddy »

hey mike,

how did the shoot go? after shooting two portraits this weekend, i realize i am into making funny shoots. but i hate making those glamour shots
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Post by Mikey_ »

It was an informal shoot in front of the office wall... I'll post it in a bit, possibly in the new Member Galleries section.

I like the funny shoots more too because they seem more natural and... "fun" :)
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Post by Mikey_ »

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.
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