Portrait questions

I have been trying to get my foot in the door in portraiture work, specifically senior portrait style work. I got a call a couple days ago from a lady friend of mine asking if I would take her out and take some pictures with her. We're probably going to go out this afternoon to the park to hang out and take some pictures. Anyways, I have a few questions...

Which one of my lenses would suit me best? Or, should I use both? Like I said, I am going for natural light senior portrait style work so I will be doing tight crops and loose crops. Both are 2.8 IS so I'm not really worried about aperture.

To get her eyes to be nice, sharp, and pop, should I aim my focus point on one eye? Or, her nose right in between her eyes?

When working with natural light, is it best to position her facing the sun? Or, at a different angle to the sun? If so, where should the model be according to the sun? Yes, I will try sun flare shots as well but I know the basics to how to set those up.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I think of more questions, I will post them in here. Thanks all!

The is my $0.02...

70-200 would be my choice for most of the session. Maybe take a few full body, environmental shots with the 17-55. I usually choose the closest eye, but keep in mind how much depth of field you are working with.

Position her so that the sun is coming from 30-45 degrees from your left or right and behind you. Turn her body turned slightly away from the sun (not square with the camera) and her face looking in between you and the sun so that her face has more shadow than light.

Do some reading on posing, lighting, etc. You'll find other tips like keeping her arms away from her body, having her shift her weight to her back foot, etc.

None of this is set in stone, just general guidelines. Hope it goes well.

Like racing thoughts said, focus on the eyes. For natural light you have to make sure that some light is falling on her face. Flare is nice, but if you position the sun behind her he face is likely to be one of the darker parts of the scene. Do you have a flash, or an assistant who can help hold a reflector? Try shooting some in flat light if you can. Open shade is best.

RacingThoughts wrote in post #11131908
The is my $0.02...

70-200 would be my choice for most of the session. Maybe take a few full body, environmental shots with the 17-55. I usually choose the closest eye, but keep in mind how much depth of field you are working with.

Position her so that the sun is coming from 30-45 degrees from your left or right and behind you. Turn her body turned slightly away from the sun (not square with the camera) and her face looking in between you and the sun so that her face has more shadow than light.

Do some reading on posing, lighting, etc. You'll find other tips like keeping her arms away from her body, having her shift her weight to her back foot, etc.

None of this is set in stone, just general guidelines. Hope it goes well.

I have a general sense of portrait work from looking at about 20+ pages of threads in the people section, but, like they say, you'll never know until you actually try it. I had that rude awakening when I shot my first football game, under the lights

Anyways, this girl is a freshman in college (I'm a senior in high school), she is very photogenic, and I believe she has had her senior pictures done so I'm hoping she'll have some experience with posing and what not to make it a little easier on myself, haha. She also offered to be my "crash test dummy" so she will be a great help to get practice

gonzogolf wrote in post #11131957
Like racing thoughts said, focus on the eyes. For natural light you have to make sure that some light is falling on her face. Flare is nice, but if you position the sun behind her he face is likely to be one of the darker parts of the scene. Do you have a flash, or an assistant who can help hold a reflector? Try shooting some in flat light if you can. Open shade is best.

I do have a 430EXII with a shoot-through/reflective umbrella but I really love the look of a well done natural lit portrait, so that's what I'm going to be focusing on. This isn't a paid shoot since she is a friend of mine. We're going out so I can practice and, well, she's calling it a date. So, I'm not going to have anyone with us. I don't have any reflectors of any kind either so assistants wouldn't be of great help.

Off to do some more researching, thanks for the help guys, keep it coming!

As for reflectors its amazing what you can achieve with a bit of white poster board.

When/if I start getting photoshoots at a steady rate I will invest in a good reflector for sure. Right now, I don't think it's necessary because, for all I know [knock on wood], this might be my last portrait shoot, haha. Also, today still hasn't happened so I can't get my hopes up to begin with. You know what I mean?

Cole_Schmitt wrote in post #11132671
When/if I start getting photoshoots at a steady rate I will invest in a good reflector for sure. Right now, I don't think it's necessary because, for all I know [knock on wood], this might be my last portrait shoot, haha. Also, today still hasn't happened so I can't get my hopes up to begin with. You know what I mean?

There is always hope. I take the position that anyone with a dslr should have at least a passing acquaintance with portrait work as its the most common use of such a camera. Even the most anti-social photographer out there probably gets approached on occasion to do some sort of portrait.

Oh, for sure. But, it's 4:00pm already and she isn't off work yet and considering the sun sets very early (around 6:30pm) I doubt we'll get out today. Bummer for sure, but thanks for all of the help guys!

You can still shoot even when sun is out. Doesn't mean you have to stop at 6:30pm exact.

Not sure if you have an assistant to help you but if you do and you have a diffuser (the 5-in-1 reflector is really great to have for outdoor shoots!), I'd recommend using the diffusion panel to soften the light falling on your model if she is facing the sun. Direct sunlight can be quite harsh, creating unflattering shadows and it can cause your model to squint. Probably stating the obvious...but just be aware of your positioning with the sun. If you are shooting near buildings that create a shadowy area - try positioning your model right on the edge of the shadow line (so that she's still in the sun), it's a good quality light to work with.

Lens - yes bring both lens for variety. But I find that the longer zoom lens is more flattering for portraiture. As 'Racing Thoughts' suggested, 70 - 200mm is a good one to use. Try taking shots at 135mm.

Focus - yes, always focus on the eyes when shooting people (unless it's deliberate to have it out of focus).


If you're using the sun as a back-light...you will either need to use flash or a reflector as fill light on your subject so they are properly exposed. To reduce flare, use your hand (or have an assistant) to block out the sun directly shining into your lens.

GOOD LUCK!

bobbyz wrote in post #11140098
You can still shoot even when sun is out. Doesn't mean you have to stop at 6:30pm exact.

That's when the sun sets this time of year. It gets very dark very fast after 6:30pm.

Cole_Schmitt wrote in post #11140332
That's when the sun sets this time of year. It gets very dark very fast after 6:30pm.

But that's what high ISO and fast apertures are for. And light is so much better at and after sunset.

bobbyz wrote in post #11140650
But that's what high ISO and fast apertures are for. And light is so much better at and after sunset.

The 2.8 IS on my lenses are definitely handy. High ISO on a XTi, not so much

Just saw this thread, and wondered how the actual session went (if/when it happened). Any good learnings?

Don't quit your day job, there's no money in Senior portraiture anymore. Do it on the side if you like, but you won't make a living at it.

And I think a 70-200 is too long a lens for regular portraiture. It's just a personal preference, however. Most pros like an 85mm equivalent and not much longer, but again, that's personal preference.