Chef Portraits one week from Friday

My work has asked me to take portraits of our Chef's in uniform. They will ultimately be putting these pictures in frames when on duty, switching out when the next Chef comes in. Customers will be able to view which Chef is in the kitchen. A neat idea ... but the only portraits I have done are with family. I'm loving my new 70D so I'm hoping this will do the job.

Any ideas for posing, which lens to use, etc? The Chefs are allowed to purchase their own Chef coats, so there will be different colors for each Chef.

Thank you in advance!!

I'd be going high key with ununclutered back ground. Long lens wide open. Keep it simple. Key light with kicker.You do have flash avaiable?

This will more than likely have to all be done indoors. We are a Golf Club with full restaurant and banquet rooms. There is ample lighting with the large windows in the banquet rooms, so I'm hoping I will not need flash. If I do I will have to quick run out and buy an off camera flash and learn how to use it in one week! The background would be white, or tan. I suppose I should bring my gear in and take some test shots.

Thank you for your comments!

I'd spend some time with a volunteer and take some test shots, something worth doing is something worth doing well, it's a reflexion on the subject and the photographer. What camera and lens(es) do you have?

Pixels2011 wrote in post #17764197
If I do I will have to quick run out and buy an off camera flash and learn how to use it in one week! The background would be white, or tan. I suppose I should bring my gear in and take some test shots.!

The fact that you're even considering the shoot suggests the inevitability of using flash at some point in the future. If I were you, I'd introduce myself to flash now. It may seem daunting in the brief span of time, but a single practice session with one off-camera flash will suffice and offer you more options. It's not that difficult, and you improve with each subsequent experience. Just a thought.

Hoping you won't need flash is not a good plan. You can't produce quality work unless you KNOW you can rely on good lighting on the day you are planning to shoot. Part of doing pro quality portraits is controlling the light on the subject and the background. Given what you are trying to achieve you need to start experimenting asap.

Even on camera flash, if use properly, can many times improve the lighting situation. Having all the windows may lend itself to some quality natural light.

I appreciate all of the feedback ... thank you! I should probably explain my situation a little better ... I am part of management at this golf course. The other managers know I take pictures, they know I have a camera ... they volunteered me to do this. If not me they were planning on using their cell phones. Me being the team player that I am said I would give it a try. How much worse can I be than a cell phone was my thinking. But ... after saying I would try, I decided to post on this site to see if there was anything I could do to improve the situation.

After reading your comments I think I will run out and get myself an off camera flash. My daughter is into photography also, and she has a reflector, so that might be an option. My normal fun with my camera is outdoors and wildlife, so this is a bit different for me. I will post some of the shots on here if it isn't too embarrassing

Again ... THANK YOU!! This is my go to place whenever I have an issue or question and this forum never disappoints!

My opinion is that if the banquet room has large windows and you're shooting in mid-day, you'll be able to use the window light in the banquet room. Put your back against the window, and have the chef standing about 6 feet away from you, facing the window.

The HUGE benefit of that is, WYSIWYG - you know exactly what the photo is going to look like through the viewfinder. No worrying about flash power, umbrellas, lighting placement, etc. And diffuse window lighting almost always makes for easy, flattering portraits.

Use a relatively long focal length and the widest aperture you got. Make sure to set the focus point yourself - you can still autofocus, but make sure to tell the camera what to autofocus on. Take several shots, refocusing each time.

Might need to put some sort of backdrop behind the chef, to minimize clutter from the banquet room background. Pipe and drape, or something like that. Make sure the backdrop is a few more feet behind the subject; that physical separation will lead to pleasing visual separation in the photo (depth of field, shadows, etc).


Perhaps more important than the lighting, is the subject. Advise them well in advance all that their chef's coats should be freshly cleaned and pressed, men should be freshly shaved and ladies should have appropriate makeup (usually, more than their daily makeup, and definitely more than what they wear to work in the kitchen). Advise them to drink plenty of water before bed and get a good night's sleep beforehand.

Watch this video for some good posing tips. A good pose can strip off those ten pounds that the camera supposedly adds, and then some.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=Qe3oJnFtA_k

Wow, thank you! I was thinking the same thing about the light from the windows. We have sliding walls that I can use as a backdrop and they are white, or cream color. I have three lens's; A sigma 70-300; a Canon 28-135; and a Canon 18-135. Which one do you think would work best? I plan on bringing all three with me.

You have some really great advice, thank you so much for commenting! I watched the video a few days ago, and was amazed at what a huge difference a little head tilt can make. I'm glad I watched it.

nathancarter wrote in post #17765964
My opinion is that if the banquet room has large windows and you're shooting in mid-day, you'll be able to use the window light in the banquet room. Put your back against the window, and have the chef standing about 6 feet away from you, facing the window.

The HUGE benefit of that is, WYSIWYG - you know exactly what the photo is going to look like through the viewfinder. No worrying about flash power, umbrellas, lighting placement, etc. And diffuse window lighting almost always makes for easy, flattering portraits.

Use a relatively long focal length and the widest aperture you got. Make sure to set the focus point yourself - you can still autofocus, but make sure to tell the camera what to autofocus on. Take several shots, refocusing each time.

Might need to put some sort of backdrop behind the chef, to minimize clutter from the banquet room background. Pipe and drape, or something like that. Make sure the backdrop is a few more feet behind the subject; that physical separation will lead to pleasing visual separation in the photo (depth of field, shadows, etc).


Perhaps more important than the lighting, is the subject. Advise them well in advance all that their chef's coats should be freshly cleaned and pressed, men should be freshly shaved and ladies should have appropriate makeup (usually, more than their daily makeup, and definitely more than what they wear to work in the kitchen). Advise them to drink plenty of water before bed and get a good night's sleep beforehand.

Watch this video for some good posing tips. A good pose can strip off those ten pounds that the camera supposedly adds, and then some.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=Qe3oJnFtA_k

I tend to agree. I suggest that you use a tripod. Go there at the start of the week, have someone stand in for the chefs & take some images without pressure. Revue them & make plans for the Friday shoot.

All three of your lenses should suffice. Choose whichever one gives you the widest aperture. With most "studio" shots you want to be at F8 or thereabouts, but that typically deals with studio lighting. In your case, you are hoping to use available light which means you will need as much light gathering as possible.
If you can get comfortable with your off camera flash, which will mean understanding light placement and power, then you would almost be better served with that so you control as much as you can yourself. It always stinks when you practice and the light is finally working and then the day of the shoot, the clouds move in you are stuck with less than ideal conditions. That is why in all of my shoots, the studio strobe, several flashes and reflectors are always in the vehicle. Even of they never leave the vehicle.

Pixels2011 wrote in post #17766270
Wow, thank you! I was thinking the same thing about the light from the windows. We have sliding walls that I can use as a backdrop and they are white, or cream color. I have three lens's; A sigma 70-300; a Canon 28-135; and a Canon 18-135. Which one do you think would work best? I plan on bringing all three with me.

IMO, 85-135mm is approximately the sweet spot for headshots or head-and-bust portraits, and all three of those lenses cover that range. So, use whichever one focuses the most consistently and reliably. I'm not familiar enough with any of them to give any more specific suggestions.

Missed focus can ruin an otherwise perfect portrait - which is why I suggested above, to take several shots and refocus each time - that way if you miss one you'll hopefully have a couple others that are good.

sirquack's advice about lens choice is pretty good too: whichever one has the widest aperture at the long end. Now, I wouldn't necessarily shoot with the lens wide open, since that gives you so little margin of error for focus misses. But faster (wider aperture) lenses are generally higher-end, which means better constructed, better optics, sharper, more reliable focus, etc.

sirquack wrote in post #17769728
If you can get comfortable with your off camera flash, which will mean understanding light placement and power, then you would almost be better served with that so you control as much as you can yourself. It always stinks when you practice and the light is finally working and then the day of the shoot, the clouds move in you are stuck with less than ideal conditions. That is why in all of my shoots, the studio strobe, several flashes and reflectors are always in the vehicle. Even of they never leave the vehicle.

Agree entirely. Even if you plan to use window light, bring your flash in case window light doesn't work (overcast/storm clouds/whatever).

And, get in there before Friday and practice with a friend or stand-in. If you work there anyway then it shouldn't be too hard to take a few minutes for some test shots. Do it around the same time of day as you expect to do on Friday.

If you decide to stick with natural light, pick up a nice big piece of white foamcore to use as a reflector to add some fill (or get a real reflector, they're not as cheap, but not expensive and a good piece of kit to have). Heck, get one if you are getting the flash, too!

How did it go?