tips on portraits

i am doing some portrait shots with a person i met on campus recently and they are not a professional model and have not had their picture taken before. this is also my first time doing portraits and i am new to photography. any tips to make it easier for me and the model working tomorrow?

thanks in advance

That's a wide-open question, but here's what I can offer in way of advice: for starters, make sure the model is comfortable. You'll both probably be nervous when starting out, and if you both dwell on that and you get wrapped up in the camera, it'll show in the photos. Better to keep up a running conversation; say anything, talk about stupid things, get the model to engage and laugh. You'll both relax and the shoot will go better.

Building on that, shoot at unexpected times. The whole "one, two, three, cheese!" thing doesn't work well - you end up with forced photo grins. Shoot on two instead of three if you have to count, or just shoot randomly in the middle of a conversation - try to capture natural expressions, like when someone laughs, or makes a face, or smiles naturally.

Finally, don't be afraid to move about and experiment. Don't shoot everything with both of you standing - get the model to sit on something, or lay down, etc. And do the same yourself - shoot from above, from below, shoot through things. Work one side of a pose and then switch to the other side, just to see if it works. Better to take a ton of photos than too few. Once you're done, review them carefully and make some notes on what worked and what didn't for next time.

Good luck!

I think Pennigton covered this pretty well.

Some people like to have a beer beforehand to relax, I don't suggest you provide the beer for legal reasons, especially if you're shooting minors that drink. If inknow one of my clients smokes weed I tell them not to before the shoot because I don't want to have to widen their eyes and remove bloodshot eyes in pp.

Had a shoot the other day with a guy that had never been in front of the camera before so I handed him my 7D and I got in front of the camera for a few frames, told him how to move and what to think about - it helped a lot.

Had another guy I was shooting that didn't loosen up, but he had his GF with him so I told her to get in the frame and shot with them both for 10 mins or so, he loosened right up.

As well use your fifty for most of your work. I'd shoot around f/2.8, your fifty's sharpness will increase so much at f/2.8 and you'll get the bokeh you want. Shoot during pleasing light times, in the early morning or the late afternoon ( if you're not using flash but even then still) light is usually harshest around noon so avoid that. Focus on the eyes, now I've had problems when shooting portraits with my fifty with misfocusing, so maybe select the points that line up with the eyes the best? Just check to make sure its in focus. As well check your histogram and make sure it is as centered as possible. As well play around with different orientations and try not to cut of arms, fingers, legs, ect in the frame.

Be comfortable, make the model comfortable you'll be good.