Photographing dark skin people

So I have a photo shoot this weekend for a couple that I know . So my issue is I haven't photographed dark skin people before and would like to know any tips or advice any help for this would be greatly appreciated

If you understand exposure you should have no problems. "Dark" varies quite a bit though so it's not wise to simply say "expose 2 stops down" or something like that.

Get yourself a grey card or white sheet of paper and set your meter to that if in doubt.

Open up anywhere between a half stop and a full stop if you are using flash.

Use fill flash, but use a bit more power. Go easy on the contrast in the post processing. I shoot a lot of black riders/cyclists/racers​. Take a look here:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.oneimagingp​hotography.com …863491&k=M8Hqwt​F&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://www.oneimagingp​hotography.com …339038&k=3CRsZR​S&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://www.oneimagingp​hotography.com …862133&k=fNZjVJ​x&lb=1&s=A

So I didn't plan on using flash I was more thinking about using light reflectors for a more natural look

Williammontgomery1 wrote in post #14979043
So I didn't plan on using flash I was more thinking about using light reflectors for a more natural look

It should work. You just need more light to the subject than most lighter skin people. You may want to overpose by 1 stop or a bit more.

TooManyShots wrote in post #14979055
It should work. You just need more light to the subject than most lighter skin people. You may want to overpose by 1 stop or a bit more.

No you don't. Your examples are also off.

cdifoto wrote in post #14979060
No you don't. Your examples are also off.

How is it off???

I planned shooting the pictures in raw as well just for more control in processing the pictures

TooManyShots wrote in post #14979069
How is it off???

The first one looks under and the last looks over. The middle one looks about right for direct flash though.

I would do a spot meter reading of the face and in it a caucasian I usually open a stop from the reading to place the skin tones at zone VI one stop brighter than zone V which is what your meter reads. I would say if its someone medium dark and you don't want the skin tone to get to dark but want them to remain kinda dark I would meter their face and probably run with that exposure (zone V). If I want their skin to be rendered a stop darker I would then stop down a stop to place the skin at zone IV.

If I were in a studio situation using lights I would say set my main light at f.5.6 and shoot either a half stop between 4 & 5.6 or f/4 if the person was real dark and adjust my lighting ratios accordingly if I were using other lights. .

cdifoto wrote in post #14979091
The first one looks under and the last looks over. The middle one looks about right for direct flash though.

I was going to say the same thing about the examples posted. Most notably the first photo is way underexposed.

ewheeler20 wrote in post #14979103
I was going to say the same thing about the examples posted. Most notably the first photo is way underexposed.

Yeah he didn't compensate for the highly reflective trophy. E-TTL will screw ya with stuff like that.

cdifoto wrote in post #14979114
Yeah he didn't compensate for the highly reflective trophy. E-TTL will screw ya with stuff like that.

Yes it will...

cdifoto wrote in post #14979091
The first one looks under and the last looks over. The middle one looks about right for direct flash though.

The first one was taken at 830pm at late evening. That was the ambient. Yeah, it has that certain underexposed feel but it is exposed enough to highlight the details of the rider. Here is another shot when he was with a Polish rider..

IMAGE LINK: http://www.oneimagingp​hotography.com …863298&k=8XzX5b​C&lb=1&s=A