Senior Pictures

Hi all, I will be shooting a family friend's senior pictures within the next couple weeks and I have a few questions.

1) What lens should I rent? Right now I'm leaning towards 70-200 2.8, but am open to other suggestions.

2) I have a 5-in-1 reflector coming in the mail. Will that be sufficient lighting wise, or
will I need to rent a flash for fill? I will be shooting outside a couple hours before sunset.

3) Should I order a greycard as well?

While the 70-200 would be a nice choice, I think the 24-70 would be a little more flexible.

jra wrote in post #15203433
While the 70-200 would be a nice choice, I think the 24-70 would be a little more flexible.

thank you, I have a friend who has that lens and I really like it. I didn't even think about that since I have the 50. I will keep that in mind, thanks!

So, it depends on your style. Right now you have two primes. For ME I rather shoot with what you have vs either of the ones listed (70-200mm & 24-70mm). I am not really a fan of portraits with the 70-200, although a lot of people are.. It's just not my style. As far as lighting.. it's all about your eye and how you use it. I rarely even use my reflector anymore. My goal is just to find natural spots of light that create the most pleasing light. If you take your time to find great light, then you shouldn't need anything or just use the reflector to add a little if it calls for it. Graycard is up to you. I personally shoot AWB but I know a lot of people find that terrible, lol.

auroraskye wrote in post #15203743
So, it depends on your style. Right now you have two primes. For ME I rather shoot with what you have vs either of the ones listed (70-200mm & 24-70mm). I am not really a fan of portraits with the 70-200, although a lot of people are.. It's just not my style. As far as lighting.. it's all about your eye and how you use it. I rarely even use my reflector anymore. My goal is just to find natural spots of light that create the most pleasing light. If you take your time to find great light, then you shouldn't need anything or just use the reflector to add a little if it calls for it. Graycard is up to you. I personally shoot AWB but I know a lot of people find that terrible, lol.

My primes are great (especially the 100mm), so I was even thinking about maybe renting out the 85L, but I have heard so many good things about portraiture with the 70-200L. I think I will bring along the reflectors in case I need fill. I have been looking at light kits, but I am a total noob when it comes to that so I'm not sure exactly what I need. I think I will be buying a WB card and/or expodisk depending on how much time I want to spend in PP. Thank you for your answer.

By the way, checked out your FB page and I love your style!

jra wrote in post #15203433
While the 70-200 would be a nice choice, I think the 24-70 would be a little more flexible.

Outdoors not really.

The last outdoor shoot I did I never took the 70-200 off. Okay the last several I've done it never came off. It's an excellent portrait lens.

Do you need more lighting? I guess that depends on how skilled you are and how well you can find light in any location to work with.

Grey card? Pretty much waste of money. I just shoot AWB and correct in post if necessary. It's very quick to do if you have Lightroom.

the 70-200 is outstanding for portraits (especially version II). A 85mm lens would work well too. A reflector will help if needed (as long as you have a helper!) but as stated, if you have an eye for light, you will not need one.

I use my 70-200L IS II ALL THE TIME. Honestly though, primes are always best, IMO. 85L or 135L are just wonderful for single person portraits. If you really get your focus down on the eyes, having the aperture open at 1.2 to 2.8 just creates a lot of bokeh. If I had an 85L or 135L, i would probably use it over the 70-200 just for the wider aperture.

If you'll be using flash, just watch out for your sync speed when using wide apertures. I have to use an ND filter often to slow the shutter speed down to 1/250. For portraits, it all depends on your style... but I like it when I underexpose the background by about 1 stop, and keep the subject properly exposed using flash (I use a large octabox with alien bees B1600). Some people like the blown out background, depending on the look you're going for.

Good luck!

Thank you to everyone!

fashionrider wrote in post #15206320
I use my 70-200L IS II ALL THE TIME. Honestly though, primes are always best, IMO. 85L or 135L are just wonderful for single person portraits. If you really get your focus down on the eyes, having the aperture open at 1.2 to 2.8 just creates a lot of bokeh. If I had an 85L or 135L, i would probably use it over the 70-200 just for the wider aperture.

If you'll be using flash, just watch out for your sync speed when using wide apertures. I have to use an ND filter often to slow the shutter speed down to 1/250. For portraits, it all depends on your style... but I like it when I underexpose the background by about 1 stop, and keep the subject properly exposed using flash (I use a large octabox with alien bees B1600). Some people like the blown out background, depending on the look you're going for.

Good luck!

I would love to underexpose the background to an extent.
I do not have a flash, or any lighting equipment for that matter, so I am not sure if I should rent any for this shoot or just use reflectors and natural light. I do not know much about lighting yet either..

I like the underexposed background approach to portraits as long as pose and background fits that style.

Thank you!

KatieMarie99 wrote in post #15206875
Thank you to everyone!


I would love to underexpose the background to an extent.
I do not have a flash, or any lighting equipment for that matter, so I am not sure if I should rent any for this shoot or just use reflectors and natural light. I do not know much about lighting yet either..

I like the underexposed background approach to portraits as long as pose and background fits that style.

Thank you!

Considering that a reflector can only redirect a percentage of the light onto the subject its difficult to find circumstances where you can underexpose the background using only a reflector. But if you only get one shot at this, trying to learn how to use flash on the fly might not be worth the risk. But if you intend to do portraiture you really want to learn how to use fill flash.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15206915
Considering that a reflector can only redirect a percentage of the light onto the subject its difficult to find circumstances where you can underexpose the background using only a reflector. But if you only get one shot at this, trying to learn how to use flash on the fly might not be worth the risk. But if you intend to do portraiture you really want to learn how to use fill flash.

Yes, I understand a reflector will not yield the dramatic results that a flash will. I do want to learn how to use fill flash though. I am thinking about buying a 2-light kit with umbrellas, not sure though as I only have limited funds.

KatieMarie99 wrote in post #15206931
Yes, I understand a reflector will not yield the dramatic results that a flash will. I do want to learn how to use fill flash though. I am thinking about buying a 2-light kit with umbrellas, not sure though as I only have limited funds.

Just remember with umbrellas, outdoor shoots are a pain unless you have someone to hold each umbrella from falling over due to the wind. Reflectors are tough to use to properly lit the subject unless you can really get a ton of light reflected onto the subject. Just remember, increasing shutter speed darkens ambient light, so that means the reflector's light on the subject will also get darker... but flashes don't. It's still possible to do though, just harder.

I started off with reflectors only also... honestly a good way to start so you learn how to do it instead of jumping to flash.

KatieMarie99 wrote in post #15206931
Yes, I understand a reflector will not yield the dramatic results that a flash will. I do want to learn how to use fill flash though. I am thinking about buying a 2-light kit with umbrellas, not sure though as I only have limited funds.

With limited funds look at the Youngnou flashes. You can get a YN-560, or 560 II for $50-$70 each. They're manual but for portraits I've never used TTL anyways. TTL is really for when you're moving around quickly and don't have time to dial everything in. Can also get a wireless transmitter and x2 receiver kit for $30 on amazon.