Help with senior photo please! - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

05/06/2004 02:48:13 PM · #1

I will have an opportunity to shoot senior portraits of my step-daughter this weekend and need some advice. If you have high-school age daughters, you probably know that trying to get quality time for this type of thing is very difficult, so I need to get the right the first time. It also important, for personal reasons, that this is my very best effort to day.

I have the following equipment to work with: Canon 10D, 35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.4, and 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, tripod.

Any advance advice will be greatly appreciated!
If outside, where do I put the sun?
How do I get those cool catch lights?
What do I tell her to do with her hands?
What mistakes should I avoid?

WildflowerJoy

Nikon D90

05/06/2004 02:55:40 PM · #2

I can't wait to read the answers to this. I was asked to do a senior boys photos. I have never done anything like this before but they had seen some of my work and asked me to do them. I need all the help I can get. What poses work best and lighting are big questions I have too. We plan to shoot at 7 in the morning outside and later on we will move inside. Is 7 a good time?

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

05/06/2004 02:57:30 PM · #3

If outside, find a well lit shaded area ... direct sunlight is very harsh.

On-board flash can give you catch lights, but may also give you red eye, pay attention to this (borrow an off camera flash if you can)

As far as posing goes, I'd do a google search for senior portrait pros. They always have examples of their work. This will give you a better idea.

Takes as many photos as you possible can. I read once that the only difference between an amateur and a pro is the number of photos taken. If you get one out of one hundred that is a keeper, you're in good shape.

Use the tripod!

Do whatever it takes to make her relax (bring a friend, a radio, food, whatever). Forced posing looks forced.

Get the photoshop ready :)

KarenB

Canon EOS-70D

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

05/06/2004 02:59:45 PM · #4

If outside, where do I put the sun?

Pretend the sun is a studio light, and keep it at a 45 degree angle to your subject. Also, a bit behind your subject is a good way to light up the hair. 8-10 AM, or after 3 PM is prime time since high noon gives a lot of contrasts. A warm late afternoon/early evening light is good.

How do I get those cool catch lights?

Those cool catch lights can be achieved by a small fill flash.

What do I tell her to do with her hands?

After she places her hands naturally, tweak their position by "breaking" the wrist. Meaning, don't let the arm/wrist/hand be in one line.
Very important, too, is for women/girls to show the side edge of their hands, not the palm or back of the hand as that is more masculine.

What mistakes should I avoid?

Shooting from below.
Stiff poses.
Also zooming in too close. Keep the focal length medium to keep features from looking distorted.

Just have fun with it and be natural. I'll post again if I can think of anything else meaningful.

Check out my portfolio (link below) for some examples.

Message edited by author 2004-05-06 15:00:40.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

05/06/2004 03:01:02 PM · #5

Originally posted by Nusbaum:

If outside, where do I put the sun?

Where you put the sun depends on the affect you want. You can get a nice glow around your subject with the sun behind them. I haven't done portraits but have used this technique on other subject matter. It works quite well as long as the sun is actually blocked by your subject. Just an idea.

Also, if the sun is behind you (front lighting) they may have to squint.

OneSweetSin

Nikon D3000

05/06/2004 03:02:26 PM · #6

if you are shooting outside overcast days are the best then you don't have to deal with the sun issues nearly as much and yet you have all the natural lighting.

Also like hopper said take as many photos as possible, I am doing a graduation photo/family portrait tomorrow and that is my plan, I might fill up a 256 card but hey not like it is costing me to develop them.

crabappl3

05/06/2004 03:13:05 PM · #7

Outdoor in shade, under a tree, non-cluttered background. To get the catch lights you'll want to use a flash or a reflector. The background is as important as your subject. If you have too much clutter it will distract from the young lady. You'll also get a more blurred background with a larger aperture (f/2.8) with zoom if possible. A lot of photographers will use their 200mm lens opened up to get a nice blurred DOF.

As far as posing, my best suggestion would to be to go look at a lot of examples. Study what works and doesn't.

Hope this helps,
-danny

Fill flash used outdoors

05/06/2004 03:49:07 PM · #8

Is it worth investing in flash unit or is the one on the 10D enough for fill and creating a catch light? I'm a big fan of existing light, so I have not added a flash to my kit yet.

rananculus

Olympus C-4040Z

05/06/2004 03:52:10 PM · #9

I've heard some portrait photgraphers say that the optimum lens for potraits is 90mm. Something about not receiving any space compression between the nose and the ears. Any truth to that?

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

05/06/2004 03:55:41 PM · #10

Originally posted by rananculus:

I've heard some portrait photgraphers say that the optimum lens for potraits is 90mm. Something about not receiving any space compression between the nose and the ears. Any truth to that?

It seems that the 90-135 range is the most popular. 90 seems to be a favorite with the Leica crowd, 105 with traditional Nikon users, and 135 with Canon users.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

05/06/2004 03:56:46 PM · #11

Something important is to ask the subject, in this case your step-daughter what kind of poses, clothing, etc, she wants.

Wallet sized pictures are usually traded like baseball cards. I think the most important thing is to get her input. If no input from her before the sho,t review the pictures with her for potential reshoots or picking favorites.

Message edited by author 2004-05-06 15:57:12.

Prof_Fate

05/06/2004 04:02:57 PM · #12

use a moderate tele lens, make teh background 5+ feet away UNLESS it a tree or something you want in focus.

Focus on teh EYES.

Catch light can be added in Photoshop. Only 1 per eye please! I have seen pro shots that have 2 or 3 per eye!

The best site i have seen on this type of photography - lots of sample pics of wrong and right too.
portrait lighting

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/06/2004 04:33:41 PM · #13

David,

I've shot a decent amount of portraits over the last year trying to get better. Everything I shoot is outdoor in natural light. You can see shots both at //www.pbase.com/kevinriggs/portraits and //www.pbase.com/kevinriggs/archived_portraits

The single most important thing you can do is to be relaxed and help your step-daughter to be relaxed. All the technical stuff can fly out the window as long as you get some natural shots that truly depict her as others see her. Talk with her, have a friend of hers present to talk with her. Whatever it takes to get her interested in something other than "posing" for the camera. The more natural she looks, the more everyone will like the photos.

Having said that then I suggest that you borrow, buy or rent a flash for the day or that you try to use a reflector with an assistant. Try a 550EX if you can get one. Dial it down to -2/3 or maybe -1 2/3. See how you like the shots.
Take as many photos as your card will allow.
Have some basic poses that you want to get your step-daughter into and then let her play with those by moving her head.
Take some props for her to hold, fiddle with while you're shooting. You'd be surprised how effective a shot you can get with some little something in a model's hands.
Earlier or later light is best. In the southeast I'm shooting more around 7:00 in the mornings or 5:00 and after in the afternoons.

Above anything else I can tell you is that if you're calm and have fun then often my subjects relax and the process is better.

Good luck and hope everything goes well for the family.

Kev

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/06/2004 06:26:52 PM · #14

Originally posted by KevinRiggs:

Thanks Kevin. I have you in my pbase favorites and check your work on a fairly regular basis. Since you use a 10D as well... any thoughts on the 24-85 for this one portrait shoot? The maximum of f/4.5 at 85 has be a little worried as I it may limit how shallow I can get depth of field and it may be a little slow for existing light.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

05/06/2004 07:23:05 PM · #15

David,

I don't think you should have any problem with 4.5 at 85mm on that 10D. You should have enough light to get good shots. Your concern about DOF is something I would be more concerned with than available light but you always have the 50mm f/1.4 to fall back on. With the 1.6 FOV crop that the 10D gives to your images the 50mm can be a very handy portrait lens. Frankly for a long time I used it more than any other lens (well, I used the 1.8 version but as yours surpasses what I had in terms of clarity and speed you shouldn't have any problems with that). If I were in your situation and worried I think I'd put the 50mm on the camera, shoot what I thought were the more important shots. If you really want to crank it up and get close to your subject (step-daughter in this case) then you can always pop on the 24-85 and finish out the set.
I like to shoot totally manual but that's mostly because I'm trying to get a feel for using the camera; since you're going to be very interested in output I'd suggest that depending on how comfortable you feel with the camera (and the whole shoot) you try the Av mode and just keep the aperture wide open and speed up the shutter.

There are a lot of "rules" that you can try to remember such as try to not break the plane of the subject's face with her nose in a partial profile, always shoot your subject with his/her larger (more open) eye closest to the camera, if a joint is visible in the frame then break it (bend it), etc.

If you're anything like me, the main things to remember is (1) check your camera before you start shooting because the time you don't will be the time you forget that you had it set on ISO 400 and blow out all the first shots; (2) check your camera after about 10-15 shots because the time that you don't will be the time that you forgot to check it before starting and you'll end up blowing out the next 10-15 shots, too; (3) relax. My main issue isn't not knowing or not having screwed up before so that I should have learned how to do something. It's that I get uptight because I want to do GREAT shots. It never helps me to be uptight. The model picks up on it and the whole shoot goes to the crapper quickly. Relax. The more you relax and help to create that relaxed atmosphere, the more likely you are to capture one of those golden frames that you don't even realize you got until you start sifting through them and BLAM! there is your lovely step-daughter as alive as anything and you shot the photo. Everyone in the extended family will be excited and even when she looks at it she'll be impressed that she looks so natural and happy.

Good luck with the shoot and share some of the shots with us,

Kevin

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/10/2004 12:32:07 PM · #16

There results are, here, on the Individual Photograph Forum.

Thanks again for all of the advice.

EddyG

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

05/10/2004 01:13:52 PM · #17

For some truly inspiring (senior) portrait work, check out these samples. Amazing stuff (to me, anyway...)

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier; this link has a lot of useful information on traditional portraiture posing.

Message edited by author 2004-05-10 13:16:54.