Sexy6Chick
Adventurer
Yea he does amazing work..and I was lucky enough to have him shoot my wedding:wings:
Portrait Shots (show us your best)
- Thread starter XJBANKER
- Start date
Yea he does amazing work..and I was lucky enough to have him shoot my wedding:wings:
photoman
Explorer
Some fantastic images showing up in here!! :wings:
As far as shooting darker complected people I agree on metering on the darkest person. This is another situation where flash can be very useful to balance the light.
Consider the shot below:
What I was dealing with- harsh broken light due to time of day and vegetation. You can see that the groom is sweating so no one is real excited to take hundreds of photos. Groom and friend are several skin tones apart and the friend is wearing glasses which are notorious for flares when using a flash.
What I did to get this:
1. Positioned the people with their back to the sun so they would no be squinting.
2. Metered on the background as I needed it for some color.
3. Used fill flash to light the groom and friend- flash was hand held above and to the left of me. Fired flash with wireless trigger and had a better bounce card to soften the flash.
As far as shooting darker complected people I agree on metering on the darkest person. This is another situation where flash can be very useful to balance the light.
Consider the shot below:
What I was dealing with- harsh broken light due to time of day and vegetation. You can see that the groom is sweating so no one is real excited to take hundreds of photos. Groom and friend are several skin tones apart and the friend is wearing glasses which are notorious for flares when using a flash.
What I did to get this:
1. Positioned the people with their back to the sun so they would no be squinting.
2. Metered on the background as I needed it for some color.
3. Used fill flash to light the groom and friend- flash was hand held above and to the left of me. Fired flash with wireless trigger and had a better bounce card to soften the flash.
JohnLemieuxPhotos
Adventurer
photoman
Explorer
Some cheap or free tricks of the trade (that I use)
So there are all kinds of expensive photography equipment out there which guarantee better photos- but which ones really work?
I have at one time purchased the following devices: (none of these images are mine- they are examples pulled from the web)
Flash bracket
Stofen Omnibounce Flash Diffuser:
Lightsphere II and Lightsphere Cloud
Pocket Wizards
While all of these items do indeed work they all have draw backs as well.
Flash Bracket- this is used to get a flash head off the camera and above eye level. This helps soften the effects of the flash and decrease red eye. It is a very useful tool that I always take to a wedding - it is mostly used when shooting flash with a long telephoto lens. The issues with a flash bracket is finding one that works well in both horizontal and portrait orientation, focusing the lens while holding the bracket, and it is cumbersome to carry and store in your bag. It is also sure to grab peoples attention as you walk around with this type of camera rig.
Stofen and Lightsphere- these both do a good job of diffusing the flash but I have found they diffuse too much unless you are real close. I have found myself bumping my flash power to compensate for the diffusion and therefore going through more batteries than needed. Another issue is the light is deflected 360 degrees so you are lighting areas which you are not concerned with. Much like the flash bracket these also draw attention and people will ask you why you have a piece of Tupperware on your camera. The stofen is not quite as bad as the Lightsphere in this aspect though.
Pocket Wizards- I love these things. They use very little power, have a good range, and are very dependable. The biggest issue is price. At $150 a piece it is hard to justify going out and buying 4 of these unless you are going to use them on a regular basis.
The cheaper and just as effective route.
In order to use a flash bracket you either need to have a newer DSLR which can fire flashes wireless (you must also have the specific flashes for this as well) or you will need a flash cable. You can just use the flash cable and handhold the flash rather than using a bracket. This allows you more freedom to experiment not only with where the flash is but at what angle it is firing.
I did this for a while and then I decided to take a chance on what is known as e-bay triggers. They are Chinese made transmitters and receivers which are both loved and hated on photo forums.
I went with a set that had one transmitter and four receivers. The receivers even have umbrella holders and my total cost was $63.00. Since I already had two Pocket Wizard Transceivers I figured even if they were crap it was worth a shot to try these out. This was one of my best purchases ever. These things have a range equal to the Pocket Wizards, are about 1/4th the size, and they will even fire a flash on the other side of a wall. I use these for all of my location shoots and only use the Pocket Wizards with my studio strobes. Another benefit for me to use these was I already had two Olympus flash units for my DSLR's and I had two older flashes from my Canon film cameras. I was immediately able to set up four flashes for a shoot and fire them without several cords tying everything together. I have to set all the flashed manually but I don't mind doing that at all.
E-bay triggers
Another extremely cheap and effective tool I use is the better bounce card. It is simply a piece of foam core cut to a specific size and shape and then held on to the flash head in any way you see fit.
My first run at these cost me a whole $4.00 at Wal-Mart and I made 3 different bounce cards as well as elastic bands to hold them onto the flash head. The nice thing with these is you can fold the foam back if you want less diffusion, attaches extremely quickly and easily, and can be stored in your pocket.
For those of you that like to go overboard just Google search better bounce card and you can get all kinds of silly ideas on taking this simple item to unnecessary measures.
Okay so that is all great and dandy for those that have a flash unit but what if you are only working with the pop up or built in flash on a camera? Well you can go and spend money on a silly item as well!! :victory: There are several companies that make flash diffusers for pop up flashes - but then again you can simply use items you already have in your house and possibly even in your vehicle.
Tissue paper, Kleenex, or even toilet paper will work as a flash diffuser. Simply cut a small square that you can place over your flash and there you go. A mini softbox for your built in flash.
Go a head and laugh - then try it. Have your spouse or child pose for a photo using the flash you have and then cover the flash with a piece of semi transparent paper as mentioned above and take a 2nd shot. You should be able to see a difference between to two shots. :ylsmoke:
So there are all kinds of expensive photography equipment out there which guarantee better photos- but which ones really work?
I have at one time purchased the following devices: (none of these images are mine- they are examples pulled from the web)
Flash bracket
Stofen Omnibounce Flash Diffuser:
Lightsphere II and Lightsphere Cloud
Pocket Wizards
While all of these items do indeed work they all have draw backs as well.
Flash Bracket- this is used to get a flash head off the camera and above eye level. This helps soften the effects of the flash and decrease red eye. It is a very useful tool that I always take to a wedding - it is mostly used when shooting flash with a long telephoto lens. The issues with a flash bracket is finding one that works well in both horizontal and portrait orientation, focusing the lens while holding the bracket, and it is cumbersome to carry and store in your bag. It is also sure to grab peoples attention as you walk around with this type of camera rig.
Stofen and Lightsphere- these both do a good job of diffusing the flash but I have found they diffuse too much unless you are real close. I have found myself bumping my flash power to compensate for the diffusion and therefore going through more batteries than needed. Another issue is the light is deflected 360 degrees so you are lighting areas which you are not concerned with. Much like the flash bracket these also draw attention and people will ask you why you have a piece of Tupperware on your camera. The stofen is not quite as bad as the Lightsphere in this aspect though.
Pocket Wizards- I love these things. They use very little power, have a good range, and are very dependable. The biggest issue is price. At $150 a piece it is hard to justify going out and buying 4 of these unless you are going to use them on a regular basis.
The cheaper and just as effective route.
In order to use a flash bracket you either need to have a newer DSLR which can fire flashes wireless (you must also have the specific flashes for this as well) or you will need a flash cable. You can just use the flash cable and handhold the flash rather than using a bracket. This allows you more freedom to experiment not only with where the flash is but at what angle it is firing.
I did this for a while and then I decided to take a chance on what is known as e-bay triggers. They are Chinese made transmitters and receivers which are both loved and hated on photo forums.
I went with a set that had one transmitter and four receivers. The receivers even have umbrella holders and my total cost was $63.00. Since I already had two Pocket Wizard Transceivers I figured even if they were crap it was worth a shot to try these out. This was one of my best purchases ever. These things have a range equal to the Pocket Wizards, are about 1/4th the size, and they will even fire a flash on the other side of a wall. I use these for all of my location shoots and only use the Pocket Wizards with my studio strobes. Another benefit for me to use these was I already had two Olympus flash units for my DSLR's and I had two older flashes from my Canon film cameras. I was immediately able to set up four flashes for a shoot and fire them without several cords tying everything together. I have to set all the flashed manually but I don't mind doing that at all.
E-bay triggers
Another extremely cheap and effective tool I use is the better bounce card. It is simply a piece of foam core cut to a specific size and shape and then held on to the flash head in any way you see fit.
My first run at these cost me a whole $4.00 at Wal-Mart and I made 3 different bounce cards as well as elastic bands to hold them onto the flash head. The nice thing with these is you can fold the foam back if you want less diffusion, attaches extremely quickly and easily, and can be stored in your pocket.
For those of you that like to go overboard just Google search better bounce card and you can get all kinds of silly ideas on taking this simple item to unnecessary measures.
Okay so that is all great and dandy for those that have a flash unit but what if you are only working with the pop up or built in flash on a camera? Well you can go and spend money on a silly item as well!! :victory: There are several companies that make flash diffusers for pop up flashes - but then again you can simply use items you already have in your house and possibly even in your vehicle.
Tissue paper, Kleenex, or even toilet paper will work as a flash diffuser. Simply cut a small square that you can place over your flash and there you go. A mini softbox for your built in flash.
Go a head and laugh - then try it. Have your spouse or child pose for a photo using the flash you have and then cover the flash with a piece of semi transparent paper as mentioned above and take a 2nd shot. You should be able to see a difference between to two shots. :ylsmoke:
Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
Great information Photoman!! Thanks for putting that all together
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Great info Aaron!
Another great resource for info is Joe McNally's blog. As I'm sure many of you already know, I think Slade actually knows Joe, Joe is the king of strobe. His blog is always chaulked full of behind the scenes type stuff on what he does to get the amazing shots he gets.
Anyway here are a couple more of mine.
This one was taken in a church in Boliva. The numerious candles provided a nice warm light on this young worshipers face. I liked the simplistic form, and square elements in this shot so I cropped it into a 1x1 and chose to make it monochrome, toned slighty warm to maintain the feeling of the scene.
This shot was taken on Amantani Island. This little girl was so cute. I loved the way the sun caught her messy hair and the rock wall in front of her provided a nice little reflector, bouncing a little light back onto her face. I also liked the way the grass framed the image and the darker background helped to create a little seperation. I would have liked more seperation/less DoF, but this was taken with a relatively slow lens.
Another great resource for info is Joe McNally's blog. As I'm sure many of you already know, I think Slade actually knows Joe, Joe is the king of strobe. His blog is always chaulked full of behind the scenes type stuff on what he does to get the amazing shots he gets.
Anyway here are a couple more of mine.
This one was taken in a church in Boliva. The numerious candles provided a nice warm light on this young worshipers face. I liked the simplistic form, and square elements in this shot so I cropped it into a 1x1 and chose to make it monochrome, toned slighty warm to maintain the feeling of the scene.
This shot was taken on Amantani Island. This little girl was so cute. I loved the way the sun caught her messy hair and the rock wall in front of her provided a nice little reflector, bouncing a little light back onto her face. I also liked the way the grass framed the image and the darker background helped to create a little seperation. I would have liked more seperation/less DoF, but this was taken with a relatively slow lens.
xjblue
Observer
Thats a great candid moment Steve. I say all of the above, at this point try everything, and learn all you can from it.
A recent attempt of mine to photograph a nephew.
I've got far to go in learning portrait stuff myself, thanks for posting this thread Steve and thanks for the great information and examples everybody!
A recent attempt of mine to photograph a nephew.
I've got far to go in learning portrait stuff myself, thanks for posting this thread Steve and thanks for the great information and examples everybody!
Michael Slade
Untitled
Joe = Good Joo Joo.
One thing another old-time NG staffer taught me was to take advantage of the white paper bag. Like the kind you'd get donuts or bread in.
Attach it to your strobe just like the piece of foam-core shown above, with a rubber-band. Have the bag up above the strobe and all big and fluffy-like. Yes, you will be the source of some jokes, yes there will be others with the 'cool stuff'...BUT...you will be able to break the ice using the paper bag like nothing else.
It is the ULTIMATE ice-breaker. When your subject sees you are just a regular Schmoe they tend to open up quicker and you can get to the 'good stuff' easier with them.
I shot portraits with the white paper bag for years. It provides a very nice light and even though it does light the room with light, I find that it provides a more 'natural' look that just having a direct or even diffused strobe has.
Try the paper bag. I promise you'll like it. If not, I'll give you all of your money back.
One thing another old-time NG staffer taught me was to take advantage of the white paper bag. Like the kind you'd get donuts or bread in.
Attach it to your strobe just like the piece of foam-core shown above, with a rubber-band. Have the bag up above the strobe and all big and fluffy-like. Yes, you will be the source of some jokes, yes there will be others with the 'cool stuff'...BUT...you will be able to break the ice using the paper bag like nothing else.
It is the ULTIMATE ice-breaker. When your subject sees you are just a regular Schmoe they tend to open up quicker and you can get to the 'good stuff' easier with them.
I shot portraits with the white paper bag for years. It provides a very nice light and even though it does light the room with light, I find that it provides a more 'natural' look that just having a direct or even diffused strobe has.
Try the paper bag. I promise you'll like it. If not, I'll give you all of your money back.
7wt
Expedition Leader
My favorite. This is my niece at her 5th birthday party. Her mom just put the cake down in front of her and she took a swipe out of it with her finger and started eating. At this point non of the adults saw it but me. She just sparkles, you can see my outline in her eyes.
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Honu
lost on the mainland
nice moment before the couple walked out (they had seen each other before)
little girl in the audience said something funny about kissing
I just like this for the light & the story behind the couple
he worked near the top floor of the World Trade Center towers ! his dad has the same name and their was a mix up over a parking ticket so that morning of 9/11 he had to go to the city building/courthouse to get the name thing straightened and on the way back over a bridge he was crossing he saw the planes hit !
sometimes its the stories of the people that are amazing !!!!
sometimes moments that are caught can bring a good laugh
same couple but just love the light the colors in this shot
same couple but just a touch of fill flash without hitting the water ! I hate the look of flashed sand and water at peoples feet but had to front fill this a touch also the sun blew out this was a older shoot with my old 1D back in the day
and
old shot again 45 seconds or so exposure ? painted with flash on 1/16th and one strong flash to freeze couple
was just playing around with ideas
purely funny cake shot no flash just the video guy had such a strong light on them and she raised the knife and one of those shots you did not know till you saw it later not great shot just funny
tons more shots I like but thats enough to bore people hehehehe
little girl in the audience said something funny about kissing
I just like this for the light & the story behind the couple
he worked near the top floor of the World Trade Center towers ! his dad has the same name and their was a mix up over a parking ticket so that morning of 9/11 he had to go to the city building/courthouse to get the name thing straightened and on the way back over a bridge he was crossing he saw the planes hit !
sometimes its the stories of the people that are amazing !!!!
sometimes moments that are caught can bring a good laugh
same couple but just love the light the colors in this shot
same couple but just a touch of fill flash without hitting the water ! I hate the look of flashed sand and water at peoples feet
but had to front fill this a touch also the sun blew out this was a older shoot with my old 1D back in the day
and
old shot again
45 seconds or so exposure ? painted with flash on 1/16th and one strong flash to freeze couple was just playing around with ideas
purely funny cake shot
no flash just the video guy had such a strong light on them and she raised the knife and one of those shots you did not know till you saw it later not great shot just funny
tons more shots I like
but thats enough to bore people hehehehe
taco2go
Explorer
Just beautiful. All but one of your pictures have the person looking at the camera- and, I think in the second shot, it was completely unintentional.
Evocative pictures, and they capture small candid moments within the larger "moments" they are part of. Thanks for sharing those stories.
Inspires me to go out and shoot people
Evocative pictures, and they capture small candid moments within the larger "moments" they are part of. Thanks for sharing those stories.
Inspires me to go out and shoot people
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