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rlineberg
7th of December 2009 (Mon), 13:51
I was asked to do an E-session this weekend and although I am little hesitant to do it, I am looking forward to it. Any tips or advice for taking portraits at night?

Thanks!
Peacefield
7th of December 2009 (Mon), 14:40
What's the environment? Urban? Rural? By the water?
rlineberg
7th of December 2009 (Mon), 14:41
Small town, no water, quaint charming downtown.
Peacefield
8th of December 2009 (Tue), 06:42
I would look to use the "natural" light of downtown; a street light, a light over a door, etc. Then some off camera flash, preferably through an umbrella to bring some punch to the couple.
Bkolowski111
8th of December 2009 (Tue), 14:04
I second the use of off-camera flash. Also might want to use a tripod along with the OCF. Use flash to illuminate the couple and drag the shutter to bring in some of the ambient light (street lights, lamps, etc), using a tripod may be necessary because you may need a really long shutter speed to bring in the ambient depending on lighting conditions.
Philco
9th of December 2009 (Wed), 00:31
I've done a lot of portrait work downtown at night, but I've always relied on fast primes and high ISO to get the look I want. I've used video lights, or the modeling light on a monoblock through an umbrella for lighting. Speedlight on a stand works fine too, just beware of mixing color temps if that's important to you. It would be tough to do w/out a fast prime, or f2.8 at least.
rlineberg
9th of December 2009 (Wed), 08:20
I've done a lot of portrait work downtown at night, but I've always relied on fast primes and high ISO to get the look I want. I've used video lights, or the modeling light on a monoblock through an umbrella for lighting. Speedlight on a stand works fine too, just beware of mixing color temps if that's important to you. It would be tough to do w/out a fast prime, or f2.8 at least.

Yeah, fast primes would be nice for this shoot. I will be renting the 24-70mm 2.8 so hopefully that will do it with the ISO at 800 or 1000. (But I will go grainy if I have too) I plan on using a speedlight through umbrella but I am not sure what size umbrella I should use. I only have a 48"? I think. Do you think a 24" or 30" would be easier to deal with?