Which settings are you using when taking a portrait?

[blur07]

Hey guys! I have a house warming party this weekend. I just bought a Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens which I'll use on my Canon 40D. When you take a shoulder and head portrait which settings are you using? Do you select a specific focus point? or do you select all points? Which AF-Drive, One Shot, AI Servo or AI Focus? Something else? Please tell let me know your technique. Kindest regards Christian.

[Captured Moments]

I would use whatever works best for you.

For me I always use one-shot. I use whichever focus point gets my composition closest to how I want it (I never chop heads in camera, I do that after the face if needed).

As for settings, it depends on what you want your photo to look like. If you are using studio lighting/backdrops, outdoors, indoors. If the sun hides behind a cloud and pops back out or not. No one can really tell you what you want.

I'd assume in a house warming party you'd want some of the background to be recognizable of the new home, so maybe stop down a little.

For your head shots, especially if you aren't using a backdrop, open up your AP and separate your subject from it.

[blur07]

Excause me but what's a backdrop and AP?

[DavidSR]

backdrop is the same as a background and AP is aperture which is also the same as F number.

[leninglass]

I shoot in AV a lot. It saves me time messing with the settings and gives me 80% of the time to interact with the subject, It gets them comfortable and you get the shots you need because its the true "them"

[inthedeck]

Make sure, also, that you use the 'available' light properly. And be careful of your white balance, especially indoors under tungsten lights. If you have a separate flash, bounce it from the ceiling. If it's the pop-up, try and diffuse it with tissue, or something else, so it's not as harsh.

Just have fun, that's all. Make the people comfortable, everything else you can chimp. Just expose to the right.

[1downfall]

I shoot in AV a lot. It saves me time messing with the settings and gives me 80% of the time to interact with the subject, It gets them comfortable and you get the shots you need because its the true "them"
second this. Can be frustrating to walk around taking pics and each time you move you have to change SP ect due to light changes right when you want to take the picture. I usually say manual.....but I'd go Av as well here.

[cdifoto]

f/22, ISO400, 1/200th, blast with a spud-masher flash.