Winter Photo Portrait Shoot - help :-)

[babekha_2]

I'm not a proffessional (the fact that I'm asking a question should verify this :smile:), I've never done any sort of portraits before, really I've only had my camera 2 months and have done all candids :smile: My friend is coming down in a few days and she wants to do a photo-shoot, mostly just for fun but she says it will be good for me, which I agree with.

I have no idea where to start though! When you do portraits, what's most important to you, what do you always look for, what things do you always make sure you bring along, whats the most typical setting you shoot in?

My gear list for the day will be my XTi, Kit lens IS, Canon 28-135, Tamron 55-200, and the 430ex flash (plus tripod if needed). We'll be outside in lots of snow (the shuswap has between 2-3 feet). Whats the best time of day to go?

Also, I would love to see some examples of winter portraits if you have any for ideas. What are some fun ideas? We'll be in a park, with a really cool, really long Wharf, gazebo, picnic benches . . .

In other words, if you have any tips, tricks, or advice on anything, I'd like to have it :smile:

[babekha_2]

there has to be someone who has just a itty, bitty, bit of something to tell me :-)

[Karl Johnston]

One "F" in professional :D two "s"es

[davecole650]

Well, I ain't no perfessianal nethier but I might have a couple of tips to help.

1. Your camera will underexpose snow - maybe by 1 or more stop depending on the lighting. Watch your histogram, shoot in AV / TV (with +EC), P or M modes. (EC = Exposure Compensation)

2. Avoid the mid-day sun, the lighting is harsh, try later in the day for best lighting.

3. Bring your flash, use it to fill in the shadows on the face (i.e. racoon eyes). Experiment with FEC to get a good exposure without the "flashy" look. (FEC = Flash EC)

4. Watch your surroundings, a good bit of advice I got was to check the entire viewfinder when taking a portrait. Look for trees growing out of heads, etc.

5. Remember the rule of thirds, imagine the viewfinder as a tic-tac-toe outline. Usually portraits look better when not centered, try and get the eyes on the top line of the tic-tac-toe outline. Make sure the eyes are in focus even if nothing else is, manually select the focus point for best results.

6. Have fun and experiment - after all you can just delete something you didn't like or that didn't work.

Hope that helps a little from one non-pro to another.

[babekha_2]

One "F" in professional :D two "s"es

whoops :oops: My spelling has always been horrid!

thanks davecole650!

[davecole650]

No problem.

[heathermarie]

make sure you always have an extra battery for your camera or 2(go faster when in the cold), extra batteries for your flash and more memory cards than you need.

[ELT_Photo]

All of Dave's advice is spot-on and heathermarie is looking out for you too -
ALWAYS bring extra, recently charged batteries! (and keep them warm)
Also, look after your models (and your) comfort - dress warmly, esp. hands and feet, and take a coffee/hot chocolate break to keep in top form.

Good luck,
Eric

[Dermit]

Watch you backgrounds for sure. A simple change in shooting angle can make a huge difference in background and how it plays in with the shot. Watch your lighting. Too large of a dynamic range makes for a difficult shoot. Try to narrow the range so it fits into what your camera can resolve. Do this by shooting the subject in shade, solid open shade and use a flash to expose them properly while dialing in your camera to expose the background proper or even slightly under.

Pay specific attention to the lighting on the face. Try to not get any hot spots anywhere on the face. But also try and make sure the face is NOT lit evenly. Slight soft shadows are good, even lighting with no shadows is bad. Dark harsh shadows with no detail is usually not desireable either.

So the main trick with fill flash is to use it enough to open up the shadow detail, but not so much as to destroy all shadows. A fine line for sure. Sometimes you can use the flash as the main light and the ambient light as the fill... .all depends on the specific situation.

As mentioned above, with snow you really have to watch the exposure. If snow fills a significant amount of your viewfinder then it might throw your meter off and you may have to use EC to over expose. If, however, your subject is wearing dark clothes and is occupying a good part of the view, with snow in the other part of the view, they may equal out the exposure. You just have to know how to deal with each specific situation. Shoot, evaluate with image on the camera and the histogram, adjust if needed and shoot again.