Advice on 1st Outdoor Model Assignment

[Oxford_Matt]

Hi,

I have a my first outdoor Woodland Model shoot and am really nervous.

I got a request from the Website on a TFCD basis.

It will be at 11.00 am so may be strong sun. Hopefully will be areas of shade.
I have a Canon 50D, 18-200mm Lens, 430EXii Flashgun which I can use off camera remotely triggered. with a Umbrella and also light reflectors.

Also really could do with advice of directing and poses.

ANY ADVICE WILL BE REALLY APPRECIATED.

Thanks Guys

[fly my pretties]

I have a bit of a different setup to you, but in strong sunlight I try to close my aperture down to the point where it's near darkness at a normal shutter speed, and then use my flashes and reflectors to rebuild the light sources into something a bit more workable.

That only really works for shots you plan to heavily manipulate afterwards, though..

The best advice is to take a trip to where you are going to be shooting, take your whole setup and mess around with self-portraits until you get something. The best advice you can get is always going to come second to actually going there and doing some field tests, the more you know about your commission, the less nervous you're going to be.

The main piece of advice I would give is just keep her out of the sunlight. If she absolutely must be under direct sun, then kill any high contrast areas with a reflector.

Oh, and don't discount the idea of bringing a bedsheet and having people hold it in front of the sun and then firing the flash through it onto a reflector on the other side of her. Works for many.

[fly my pretties]

Sorry, also, as for directing and poses, if she has experience, she will be able to work on her own initiative with minimal input from you. But again, preparation is everything. Get a proper brief from your client and ask EXACTLY what they have in their head.

Then jump on Google and find images that match closest to what they and you want. Print them out and bring them along to the shoot so you can have them at hand while you're shooting, just in case she has no experience, and you find yourself unable to properly pose or direct her. Show her the images, and then tweak each pose. Don't be worried about nailing the shot in one take, just relax and keep snapping until you find something that works and then build from that.

Again, nothing is going to beat going to that shoot with a precise outline of exactly what you want to achieve.

[Oxford_Matt]

Thanks for that.

I am not sure weather a Canon 430EXII Will have enough power??

Would you use shoot through or reflective umbrella?

Cheers

[fly my pretties]

I'd take both and see what works. You can't really make a judgement call like that without knowing the environment. The 430 isn't very powerful, but it should work fine as a fill light with a reflector.

Like I say, take your equipment out there for a little field test. It's going to be a bad day if you take someones word on what you need to do or bring, only to get there on the day and find youive brought the wrong knowledge and the wrong equipment.

[DStanic]

Remember you may want to use high speed sync on the flash during daylight, otherwise it will try to fire at full power and slow right down. I dunno what your knowledge of flash guns are, perhaps more then mine...

Best thing is just be yourself, don't be nervous, have fun! Pop your head out from behind the camera and give her a smile, hopefully she'll smile back (it worked for me). Nail off lots of shots that will increase your chance of keepers. As stated above, if she has experience, she will be able to work on her own initiative with minimal input from you

Can someone recommend a good resource for Posing? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=428645)

Good luck!

[jra]

One thing I would suggest...get to the location before the shoot and plan out your locations. This will help you look more professional and work in a much more organized manner. It's much easier to scout locations when you are able to take your time and don't have a model standing there waiting for you to do something :)

[yogestee]

You are from the UK.. It will either rain or be overcast ;)

On a serious note,,find the biggest piece od shade you can and use that.. Get someone to bounce some light in via a couple of reflectors.. Go to a hardware store and buy a sheet of polystyrene about 5x4 feet buy 6 inches thick..bigger if you can get it..

[Oxford_Matt]

Its a Great day today in England!! Fingers Crosssed.

Thanks for all the advice Guys.

Matt

[yogestee]

Its a Great day today in England!! Fingers Crosssed.

Thanks for all the advice Guys.

Matt

Not a problem Matt..Post a few piccies ;)

[jra]

Its a Great day today in England!! Fingers Crosssed.

Thanks for all the advice Guys.

Matt

Let us know how it goes with a few sample pics.....Good luck! :)