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09/30/2008 07:26:56 AM · #1 |
Hiya Folks,
I have been thinking for a quite some time about doing portraits to earn a little extra income to supplement my hobby.
I am under no illusions. I know it is not straight forward, especially for someone relatively new to photography, but i do have a basic understanding and want to learn more about it. I hope that one day when i am confident enough in my skills that i can go mobile and travel to peoples homes to picture them.
I would like to ask a couple of questions if you dont mind.
1. I intend on taking picture of friends and family first, to gain experience in a friendly setting, so what is the most basic setup i would need to capture a good portrait?
2. Once you have your photos what would be logical next step, ie: workflow?
3. I understand that people receive proof prints, so how is this presented and where do i get these done.
4. Where is a very good source of info on the subject of portraits?
Many thanks for your help. |
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09/30/2008 10:24:34 AM · #2 |
(sounds of crickets in the night)
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09/30/2008 10:43:11 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by Axleuk:
1. I intend on taking picture of friends and family first, to gain experience in a friendly setting, so what is the most basic setup i would need to capture a good portrait? |
You'll need at least one off-camera flash and a reflector. Or two off-camera flashes if you want to spend a little more money. I use three (main light, fill light, hair light) using strobes (the kind you plug into the wall) in studio, or flashes (the kind you could mount on a camera) while out on location.
For more about using flashes, go to www.strobist.com or using the search here on DPC for strobist. You'll find TONS of information. This topic has been hashed and rehashed, and it's all online for the taking. :)
Originally posted by Axleuk:
2. Once you have your photos what would be logical next step, ie: workflow? |
Many of us here using either Lightroom or Photoshop's Bridge+ACR. I really like Lightroom 2.0. It saves me a lot of time and allows me to process the images that I get from weddings in a short amount of time.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
3. I understand that people receive proof prints, so how is this presented and where do i get these done. |
I do all of my proofing online through Smugmug (use Yi9EsaJKWupHM to save $5 on a smugmug account). For me, hard proofing is so "yesterday". The reality is ... I don't have a big fancy studio into which I can bring clients to view their proofs via projector (that is what I'd rather do!), and I don't want to pay for printed proofs, so I proof online instead.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
4. Where is a very good source of info on the subject of portraits? |
Books... online tutorials... even information here on DPC:
10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits
Portrait Lighting -- Learning Thread
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09/30/2008 10:48:19 AM · #4 |
1. Window light or outdoor light (not direct sunlight) and a reflector. This is the most basic, but a few lights would definitely help. This set-up doesn't work well if the groups are more than two or three people.
2. If you have a website or a gallery somewhere, you can upload the photos you've taken and send your friends/clients to the gallery so they can choose the ones they like. After that you can edit just those so you don't have to spend time editing photos they may not even want.
3. If you had the online gallery you probably wouldn't need proof prints, but mpix.com has cheap, quality prints and they ship very fast.
4. I personally would check your local library for any good photography books. I found lots of great ones. You can also use inter library loans to check out some you find that you think you'd like. I'm sure there are lots of good resources on the web, but I don't know many. |
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09/30/2008 11:15:30 AM · #5 |
There are three "how to" videos here that are nice
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
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09/30/2008 12:12:38 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Axleuk:
Hiya Folks,
I have been thinking for a quite some time about doing portraits to earn a little extra income to supplement my hobby.
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As a hobby you can't deduct your expenses, but you have to claim your income. And pay sales tax and income tax. It's also worth considering getting insurance - on your gear yes, but also liability. If someone falls at your house (or on location) YOU can be sued. If you are working with babies GET INSURANCE! They fall and YOU WILL pay. Trust me, if the baby is hurt and mom wants the medical bills paid you will lose. The odds of this happening are small, yes, but the consequences are huge.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
I am under no illusions. I know it is not straight forward, especially for someone relatively new to photography, but i do have a basic understanding and want to learn more about it. I hope that one day when i am confident enough in my skills that i can go mobile and travel to peoples homes to picture them.
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Again, consider insurance. The #1 claim for us photogs is damage to furniture or doorways at homes and business with us moving gear in and out. Lights fall over and can scratch things. Or fall on people/pets.
Working on locaiton is challenging - you never know what you'll have to deal with. that makes if fun, but also very tough at times. You may need to move furniture for example, to set up your lights, or move stuff off the fireplace mantle, etc. Shadows are everywhere. LOL
[/quote]
I would like to ask a couple of questions if you dont mind.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
1. I intend on taking picture of friends and family first, to gain experience in a friendly setting, so what is the most basic setup i would need to capture a good portrait?
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One person will be different than 2 or 4 (or a group). Daylight will be different than night. If you have help it will be different than if you don't. If you have access to main power or not will make a difference. What YOU like (your style) will also depend on what gear you use, as will your budget. No one kind of light will be best for everything so if you're going to shoot on location then you'll eventually need everything, or you'll have to make compromises of some kind.
I have camera strobes, stands, 5 studio monolights, battery for monolights, 3 kinds of umbrellas, 3 kinds of softboxes, pocket wizards and a light meter as well as 3 kinds of reflectors.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
2. Once you have your photos what would be logical next step, ie: workflow?
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Are you shooting RAW (you should be) or JPG? Can you get it right in camera or not? Do you want to sell 'natural' looking images or stuff that's been post processed to the extreme? Do you need to/want to do a lot of retouching to make your subjects look their best? Your camera came with PS Essentials or somethign like it. It's good to start with. Portrat Professional for about $50 is good for retouching and easy to use.
You also need to give some thought to your computer - hard drive space, backing up files, keeping copies of what you shot, proofs, what they bought, etc. It's up to you to protect the data!
Originally posted by Axleuk:
3. I understand that people receive proof prints, so how is this presented and where do i get these done.
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Most likely you'll take 10 shots and they'll buy 1 or 2 of them, so yes, you need to show them the 10. This can be as simple as the back of the camera (not a good idea, but it can be done). Best is to use a large TV or projector and show them completely finished images. In between labs make proof books, you can do prints as proofs or print proof sheets on photo paper or just off your printer on regular paper. You can watermark them or not. Let them take them home to think it over (not a good idea) or just use your computer to show them the images. Lightroom has this feature built in. You can also use the web or a dvd slideshow.
Originally posted by Axleuk:
4. Where is a very good source of info on the subject of portraits?
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Amazon.com has a lot of books on photography. Most are pretty good. There is one by christopher gray (grey?) that is on studio potraiture and it will be the best place to start. It explains lighting very well. Photography is about light so start there. Then you'll need something on posing.
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10/01/2008 02:03:33 PM · #7 |
I would start out by learning about composition in terms of photographing people for portraits - ie rule of thirds, close ups, no limb chops, etc. Depending on what kind of portraits you want to do determines your equipment. I'm an on location photographer so use onlyl my camera and my reflector (when needed). Winter is coming so I will learn more about indoor photography using external flash, backdrops, etc. The other thing is to know how to use your camera manually, which from your portfolio it looks like you already know.
I learned composition by taking two online classes. I also purchased GOBS of books and read tons online. I belong to some other photog forums and post my work often to get critiques. I've purchased many photoshop books to learn post processing. Amherst Media has some good photography books and lots on portrait photography here: //www.amherstmedia.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Po. Bryan Peterson has some amazing photography books as well. Before I ever purchase a photography book I read the reviews on Amazon.com to see what folks have to say.
Personally I think you need to work on your portraiture skills and get to where you can consistently offer your clients at least 30 photos to choose from for purchase. I've seen some photographers who seem to show their client ALL their proofs, but lots of them suck!! I might take 200-400 photos a session but I narrow them down to my absolute best portraits and only show those. Once you demonstrate consistency in terms of your product then work on the business aspect of it. |
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