Advise on the first photosession with a lady

Hello all,
I have been approached by one girl whether or not I can have a photo session with her. I am a total newbie and I have only been learning DSLR for the last 3 months. She have seen some of my pictures and that is why she asked me.

The first moment she asked me I was a bit confused and I said that I am not the person for the job, but later on I decided to have a go and try.

This is not going to be anything formal. I do not have a studio and I do not have anything apart from my camera and 1 lens which you will see in my signature.

I have been thinking on the place and the time of the day and I decided to go to the place you see on pictures and it will be a sunset.

What can you suggest and how shall I approach the subject.
Thanks you very much.
Alex.

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You don't have a studio...but you seem to have a nice tower and some castle walls! And all of those homes look like great places to shoot (in the background of #2). I wish I had the grand locations that you have available. Focus on your model and the rest will come naturally. Make sure you post your results. Looking forward to your next post.

Get a large piece of white foamcore to bring along as a reflector..just in case you need to add a little fill light.

Can you explain a bit more what you mean?
As I mentioned, I am a complete newbie
Thanks

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #5346287
Get a large piece of white foamcore to bring along as a reflector..just in case you need to add a little fill light.

Say you find yourself in a situation where you love the background but the angle you need to shoot at yields really harsh shadows on one side of your subjects face...

The foamcore comes in handy to bounce some light onto the other side of the face, lightening up the shadows...

Do some reading in the Flash/Studio section and you'll find plenty of portraits where only one source of light was used. Doesn't matter if it's the sun or a flash. The same prinicipals apply.

Key Light Vs Fill Light and the ratio between them dictates the feel of the portrait. You can get away with harsh shadows some times or even brilliant backlight for a silouette but there are other times when you need more even lighting.

You can play near a window using a Barbie Doll or similar. Shoot just with the light coming in the window, then try it with a piece of white paper on the other side of your "model" and see what it does to shadows and highlights...

Good Luck

as they say you need sun and reflector. you have great location already.

Hi Alex,
Why choose sunset and not sunrise?

The sun sets really fast (at least where I am from), so that means you only have a little time to take the shots you want with available light. You are shooting with an f/2.8 capable lens but not IS capable... will that be fast enough in the diminishing light?

I do not know any better since I don't have an SLR but if I had a photo session with someone and never done it before, I know I would take longer than a pro would and might eventually miss shots since available light would be receding quickly.

While the location looks awesome, those high walls and lack of external lighting might make for some long shadows.

Just food for thought

Have you actually gone to the location at sunset?

Thanks for your feedback.

No worries. This is my first session and I will have a chance to come back to the same place with the same person if I want it.
I have never been to this place, but I know that this place is 30 km from where I live and I was looking for something similar. We will be going there together and we will check what is possible and what is not.

Talking on f/2.8. When I was doing portrait shots with F/2.8 I noticed that my DoF was so shallow that I was not able to get full face in focus, so most of my portraits were shot with F/5.6. I will need to estimate the distance and play with the DoF calculator to understand what is the best approach.

Yes, my equipment is limited and my experience is even a bigger risk factor, but there is always your first time and this is mine

trailblazer wrote in post #5346618
Hi Alex,
Why choose sunset and not sunrise?

The sun sets really fast (at least where I am from), so that means you only have a little time to take the shots you want with available light. You are shooting with an f/2.8 capable lens but not IS capable... will that be fast enough in the diminishing light?

I do not know any better since I don't have an SLR but if I had a photo session with someone and never done it before, I know I would take longer than a pro would and might eventually miss shots since available light would be receding quickly.

While the location looks awesome, those high walls and lack of external lighting might make for some long shadows.

Just food for thought

Have you actually gone to the location at sunset?

When you say foamcore, do you mean something like this?

http://www.diyphotogra​phy.net …diy-flash-mounted-softbox

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #5346468
Say you find yourself in a situation where you love the background but the angle you need to shoot at yields really harsh shadows on one side of your subjects face...

The foamcore comes in handy to bounce some light onto the other side of the face, lightening up the shadows...

Do some reading in the Flash/Studio section and you'll find plenty of portraits where only one source of light was used. Doesn't matter if it's the sun or a flash. The same prinicipals apply.

Key Light Vs Fill Light and the ratio between them dictates the feel of the portrait. You can get away with harsh shadows some times or even brilliant backlight for a silouette but there are other times when you need more even lighting.

You can play near a window using a Barbie Doll or similar. Shoot just with the light coming in the window, then try it with a piece of white paper on the other side of your "model" and see what it does to shadows and highlights...

Good Luck

Foamcore is a flat, lightweight board, that can be used as a reflector to bounce light back onto the darker side of your model's face, to create a balanced, soft, light without harsh shadows. It is just an example of something you could use as a reflector....

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Foamcore
http://www.diyframing.​com/store_viewItem.cfm​?ItemID=166

Have a look at this website, for ideas on using reflectors and possibly diffusers to control light for portraiture. The reflector does not need to be foamcore...

http://www.photoflexli​ghtingschool.com …ctors/LiteDisc/​index.html

http://www.photoflexli​ghtingschool.com …rtrait_Outdoor/​index.html


The problem you will face is needing an assistant to position and support your reflector(s), and if it's a bit windy.....

If you find yourself without an assistant, fill flash will work pretty well. If you are a male, you should have another person with you during the shoot. This keeps you safe from any possible legal problems.

This is interesting. What sort of legal problem?

poloman wrote in post #5354828
If you find yourself without an assistant, fill flash will work pretty well. If you are a male, you should have another person with you during the shoot. This keeps you safe from any possible legal problems.

Why would a guy have legal problems? Just wondering...

I think you have a GREAT location. I would take definite advantage of the walls and the stairs. Also what I use as a reflector is just cardboard wrapped with aluminum foil. anything with flat white or shiny service that you could bounce the sunlight onto the subjects face. you'll do fine... just look around at some different pictures and get some ides. You'll do fine

I haven't read all the way through but this web page seems to cover some of the bases that should be thought through and agreed in advance....

http://www.digitalprop​hotos.com/section15041​7.html

Certainly there are legal issues over copyright, for example, and you should make sure you both fully understand what each of you is getting from the session. Also, if this girl is a stranger to you, a third party would be sensible in order to avoid any unfounded allegations of impropriety.

+1 tdodd.
All a young lady has to do is make the slightest accusation and your reputation is toast. (Even is she is of age)