Outdoor portrait photo advice
klgan
Could anybody advise me on what other accessories needed to do a good
portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
Thank you
klgan
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Before you buy.
peter kessler
klgan <kl...@my-deja.com> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
8aoe11$ris$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> Hi,
>
> Could anybody advise me on what other accessories needed to do a good
> portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
>
> I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
>
> Thank you
>
> klgan
Hi,
possible a reflector to fill shadows. It's only a big cardboard or
so to reflect the light to the dark parts of the face.
A tripod?
An of course to be in the mood!
Peter
RediTroll
(personal pref. wht/gld) and a small flash will do wonders for throwing in that
extra bit of light you usually end up needing.
Peter Madeley
>Could anybody advise me on what other accessories needed to do a good
>portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
>
>I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
A tripod and cable release so you can look at your subject not peer
thru a viewfinder. A vignetting filter is often used for outdoor
portraiture and also a warm up if you put your subject in the shade
under a tree where they are lit by the blue sky. Also helps to warm
skin tones. A reflector would be useful to fill in shadows and
possible a white screen to hold between harsh light and the subjet to
reduce contrast. A Lastolite white/diffuser reflector can be used for
both these jobs.
Best accessory woudl be some examples of poses you and your suject
like to give you a starting point for poses/locations. I have kept a
portrait scrapbook for 2 years and it is useful to look through with
your subject before a session or why ideas dry out. Make sure there is
a range of examples, including individual/pairs/groups, monochrome and
colour and a range of locations.
Peter
Pat Jerina
would help to lock the fill into place.
pat jerina photography
214.893.0458 phone
214.696.1758 fax
http://www.patjerina.com
zeitgeist
>
> klgan <kl...@my-deja.com> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
> 8aoe11$ris$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> > Hi,
> >
> > portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
> >
> > I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
> >
> >
> > klgan
>
The most important thing you can do for a sucessful out door
portrait shoot iss to do it at the 'correct' time and/or
location. Use of reflectors and scrims are to correct
major problems.
Most folks stand in the middle of the lawn in the bright sun
and wonder why their subjects look like raccoons, the sun
drops deep shadows in their eyes so they are black and the
the nose is catching the spectral highlight and gets blown
out white.
The best time of day is late afternoon, early evening, just
around sundown, if there are trees or a hill to block the
direct sun, you can start earlier. The ideal location will
have a small circle of trees with an open side, an overhang
is also good, I've found some of the best sites along
creeks and streams, there is a row of trees, a few rocks and
where there is a break in the trees on the shady side is an
openning for nice soft semi directional light. If there is
one in a park nearby it would be worth spending an hour or
so to clean up the trash to make it suitable for posing
families. Most of the time you will not even need a
reflector. Lakes tend to be great places for images, they
tend to be surrounded by trees with hills and have great
depth with leading lines from the water's edge etc. Usually
any time near sundown is fabulous.
A white/silver reflector is handy to have to work under open
shade overhangs, like a big tree. BIG POINT, using a
reflector in the direct sun can be worse than using flash
fill, besides risking blinding your subjects, they can have
some serious hot spots, they are almost point light
sources. reflectors are for placing in the shadow side to
bounce back a little more back to the shadowed part of the
subject.
Translucent scrims, these are "reflectors" with a thin white
cloth, they pass some of the light and are great if you are
stuck out in the middle of the lawn with much too bright
direct sun. You know, the client just has to have the photo
done with the cityscape as the background, or the beach,
it's a wedding at noon. Hold the scrim over the subjects
and you have a nice soft diffuse light that is one and half
stops less than the background. This will give you nice
washed out colors, a hi key background which is great if
your subjects are dressed in white, try to find a dark
background if not, the one and a half stops will lighten the
background, shady side of trees or a building, very nicely,
this is classic Dean Collins. You do not want any sky in
the image as it will go white, though you could use a
vignetter which will darken the corners.
Flash, use of flash for outdoor portraiture, not of the
photojournalistic variety, is the last ditch effort to get
something decent on film. To me, it is an admittion of
failure, either to find a decent location, or to educate my
client as to the desirability of doing the photo session at
the right time. WEddings is the most common problem area,
they proudly tell you that they went out of their way to
arrange the photo time when the garden of their parent's
home will be in full glorious noon day sun, you know most of
the day it's in shade right...
You don't need a polarizer, the accessories that
indispensible are, a tripod, a vignetter, and a hand held
meter. Tripod cause you want or need sharpness, especially
at the slower shutter speeds twilight imagery requires, I
typically shoot at 1/15th and slower.
Vignetter, this is the one cheap and simple gimick that will
show vast improvement in just about any level of
photographer. don't leave home without it. a pro lens
shade is recommend too, keeps the glare down and makes you
look cool while doing it.
Handheld meter, may be problematic with most zoom lenses
these days since you don't know exactly what your lens's
f/stop actually is at any given zoom setting, but I want to
know what the light is falling ON my subject, not wondering
what part of the scene the meter might be looking at, the
reflections on the water or the brightness of the sky, the
deep shadows in the tree line? With a vignette, the subject
area will be the brightest in the scene anyway and you want
to meter that area.
This post, like most of my schtick, is echoed to the
z-prophoto mailing list at onelist.com
klgan
I like to say a big thanks to all who reply. I find all advice given
here very helpful.
Thank you very much.
Pat Jerina
it on the top of the stand. pull the disc down and then clamp the bottom to
the stand. There you go. If you want to spend more money, photoflex makes
a lightdisc holder that holds a light disc to a stand and can be moved at
any angle you want. Pretty nifty doohickey.
Darrell Dorsey
>
> You really dont's need much more than this but a mid size photoflex litedisc
> (personal pref. wht/gld)
How do you support your light disc in the field. Do you use a stand or
lean against a tree. I bought a 42" white/gold and am know trying to
figure out how to support it.
zeitgeist
Darrell Dorsey wrote:
>
> RediTroll wrote:
> >
> > You really dont's need much more than this but a mid size photoflex litedisc
> > (personal pref. wht/gld)
>
> How do you support your light disc in the field. Do you use a stand or
> lean against a tree. I bought a 42" white/gold and am know trying to
> figure out how to support it.
>
I often hang it from the strap handle from the tree. have
someone hold it,
couple of times lately I've used it as a bounce board to
lighten the eyes and I lay it on the ground from the
direction of the light. If I have to use a light stand, I
prefer my old beat up larson reflectasol, the metal pole
holds it firmly.
that's one advantage of the older reflectors, they are
flatter and work better with stands, those twist and fold
things bend and curl and can throw a hot spot if you use the
silver in the direct sun.
RediTroll
usually just drag a friend along and give them the duty of holding the litedisc
and taling an occasional meter reading (usually in return for a dinner or favor
of some type). If you talk to people you know, you would be surprised how many
of them would be willing to help you. Another thing I do on certain shots is
that I have the model hold the disc in front of them. Hope these helped.
Joe
Mark Goldberg
klgan wrote:
> Could anybody advise me on what other accessories needed to do a good
> portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
>
> I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
I'd stick with the 28-80 but forget the Polarizer. For film I recommend
something like Kodak's Portra 400NC.
The suggestions for use of a reflector are good, but success will depend
on the size of the reflector with respect to size of the group. Timing
is extremely critical when working outdoors, which can actually be more
difficult thatn working in a studio.
For that reason, I suggest getting a good flash, like Nikon's SB-25, 26,
or 28. They will work great with your N60 and help you add the right
amount of fill. If you choose just the right time, you may be able to
get a nicely balanced shot with no added gear.
------------------------------------------------
Mark Goldberg Spectrum Productions
Documentary-Style Video and Photography
http://www.markgoldberg.com 410-224-8337
Timmer
The boom arm is adjustable (lengthwise), as well as the height
adjustment and pivot.
And, as has been mentioned, those wonderful plastic A-clamps are
perfect, here. It's a fairly lightweight item, but heavy enough for a
reflector or gobo. I've, also, seen them at used musical instrument
stores.
Anyway, great thread...thanks from me too.
Timmer
Rroberts549
<ma...@markgoldberg.com> writes:
>klgan wrote:
>
>> Could anybody advise me on what other accessories needed to do a good
>> portrait photo in outdoor like parks or lakes.
>>
>> I'm using a F60 + 28-80D + 70-300D + Poloriser
>
I agree forget the longer lens. Film wise, Any good 400 will do, Fuji, Kodak,
etc.
I rarely use a reflector out side.. I do however carry and use a couple of
Sunpack 544s.. I balance the fill to the ambient light.
One thing you will need plenty of is practice. outdoor portraits are as
excating as studio ones and it takes a few rolls to get it down.
Ron