Natural light portrait advice?

[jcuknz]

Since back light is what often makes photographs better than average and you are likely working alone I see the flash in the camera as an invaluable tool .... BUT .... the trick is as I think Texas Dave suggested be able to adjust its output so that you add in enough light to fill the shadows but without it looking like a flash shot. The light from the sun is your principle light source and the flash is just to overcome the practical aspect of photography with a camera. Our eyes ignore the sun and adjust for the light in the shadows ... the camera cannot do that.

I read one person suggesting he aways works with his flash at 1/32 power but we do not know how powerful his flash is and my suggesting is to take a few shot at different distances while working with the cameraa flash adjusted to minus one stop/ minus two stops/ and more it the camera is capable making furthe adjustment .... I would guess that 1.5 to 2 stops under will work fine for you for head to waist shots with the camera held in the 'landscape' mode.

One think to bear in mind is that the flash falls off in strength at the inverse square of the distance whereas daylight remains constant so if taking a full length shot you probably will need more flash than for a waist or head and shoulder shot to fill the shadows but without it looking like a 'flash shot' overpowering the ambient light.

[klpurkett]

Kristy, it sounds like you and I are on a similar path in this portraiture thing. I am going to run through some things I learnt from my first couple of shoots (which were only recent). Some, or all, of this may be stuff you already know, but getting the right thought process is my main learning point and I thought I'd share in case it helps.

Pre-shoot
If you aren't already, think about how you want the light to fall on your subject. Do you want her face evenly lit, broad lit or short lit? Does she have a "good" side. Once you know how you want the light to fall on her face, you know which direction she'll be facing.

Given your knowledge of the location, think about what backgrounds you can use, given the orientation of your subject. Think about how that same light will fall on the background and whether it will complement the subject or distract from her. Are you getting a reflector? Do you need a reflector to make her "pop" a little from the background?

I imagine you've photographed your sister before. What camera level looks best? Above nose level or below? Or either? Do you need to bring a step to stand on?

Get some inspiration from Flickr, Pinterest, 500px or the like. Make a list/diagram of basic poses to fall back on. Maybe even give your sis a "heads-up" on the planned poses???

On the day
Set up your tripod early. Even if you shoot hand held the whole time, don't risk the chance of missing some shots at the end of the fading light while you set up your tripod.

As you move through the various locations it might be good to have a planned routine/checklist for quickly setting up. My first couple of shoots have, at some point, wound up with me getting flustered.

It looks like you are going to take a white balance shot for each locale. This might be good as before you take the white balance card shot, you'll have to check you are getting a good exposure at each new set of lighting conditions. I won't comment on how you arrive at the "artistically correct" exposure in the shortest amount of time. Keep bumping up your ISO to give yourself a fast enough shutter speed.

Once you have your exposure and white balance card shot sorted, check your model top to bottom. Hair still in place? Make-up? Clothing sitting nicely? (Is anyone else there to help with this? A second set of eyes helps a lot with this. It would've helped me anyway)

Take lots of photos, but don't get flustered like me. Every photo needs to be focused on the closest eye, otherwise you are possibly just taking another frame for the recycle bin. Consciously think what you want included in the frame. ie. is this a head and shoulders or half body shot? Am I including the hands or cropping them out? What am I including in the background?

With the rapidly changing light, you'll be tempted to rush and miss focus or forget about composition. Don't.

Talk to and encourage your model. I'm sure the talking part comes naturally to most sisters. The encouragement is sometimes overlooked between some . I found it helps to show a couple of early "keepers" on the back of the camera to build their confidence. Your confidence, (or lack-of), will reflect on them too.

Others have commented on posing, another thing I am trying to learn.

I would possibly forget flash for reasons Manfred states. It may put a catchlight in your model's eyes which might be nice. However, if you use aperture priority, using flash may force you to use a certain shutter speed. I think my D3000 defaults to 1/60s under some conditions. I'm not sure exactly when or why so I end up in manual mode whenever using flash. Maybe you can set your exposure without flash, then for the last few shots at a spot, pop up the flash and see what happens. It'll also drain your battery faster. Do you have a spare battery? Possibly another reason not to use flash?

Good luck!

Edit: I just worked out you're the Kristy who started the Lydia thread
You've got a much more comprehensive rundown on thought process from a much better source (William W) in that thread. Hopefully my comparatively amateur musings added something.

Hi David. Thanks for sharing what you've been learning! Yes, this is certainly helpful! Last night I tried using an old (super heavy duty and not very portable) tripod to hold a homemade reflector... It worked fairly well, so I'll take that along. I found an app called the "posing app" with hundreds of poses and descriptions. I've saved the ones I thought were most appropriate for the location and person, and then let her look at those and add in any others she liked. So, we have quite a few "pre-selected" poses in mind. They will be handy (via my phone) for reference, and I'll be spending some time thinking through which ones we will use at which exact location, and how we'll move from pose to pose. At the same time, I want to be open to some spontaneity should either of us have a new idea at the moment. We are about 10 years apart in age, but we get along really well and have a lot of fun together, more like friends than sisters. I don't think it'll be tense or stressful, but I know good planning will go a long ways in making us both more comfortable and getting the most out of the time we have. I will keep in mind your advice to take my time, not rush, use positive encouragement, and THINK about what I'm doing! She knows I'm new at this, and is very patient, so that's helpful to remember! This will be the first time I will have a subject who will actually pose, hold still, follow directions, etc... I've mostly just been photographing my kids who are too young to really cooperate and I have to rely on grabbing a shot here and there when I get lucky! I'm looking forward to this new experience, but will admit to being a little nervous about it. Anyway, thanks again for your input, and good luck to you as well!

[klpurkett]

Since back light is what often makes photographs better than average and you are likely working alone I see the flash in the camera as an invaluable tool .... BUT .... the trick is as I think Texas Dave suggested be able to adjust its output so that you add in enough light to fill the shadows but without it looking like a flash shot. The light from the sun is your principle light source and the flash is just to overcome the practical aspect of photography with a camera. Our eyes ignore the sun and adjust for the light in the shadows ... the camera cannot do that.

I read one person suggesting he aways works with his flash at 1/32 power but we do not know how powerful his flash is and my suggesting is to take a few shot at different distances while working with the cameraa flash adjusted to minus one stop/ minus two stops/ and more it the camera is capable making furthe adjustment .... I would guess that 1.5 to 2 stops under will work fine for you for head to waist shots with the camera held in the 'landscape' mode.

One think to bear in mind is that the flash falls off in strength at the inverse square of the distance whereas daylight remains constant so if taking a full length shot you probably will need more flash than for a waist or head and shoulder shot to fill the shadows but without it looking like a 'flash shot' overpowering the ambient light.

Thanks for your advice, John! I think I'll experiment with my flash tomorrow when I'm out scouting my location... (maybe I can talk my hubby into posing for me). It would be great to know it's a possibility to use if there's a shot I need it for, but I just don't want to waste too much time that day trying to make it work if I simply don't know what I'm doing. I'll learn how to adjust the power of my flash and do some playing around with it today at home first. Thanks again for commenting!

[Manfred M]

Thanks for your advice, John! I think I'll experiment with my flash tomorrow when I'm out scouting my location... (maybe I can talk my hubby into posing for me). It would be great to know it's a possibility to use if there's a shot I need it for, but I just don't want to waste too much time that day trying to make it work if I simply don't know what I'm doing. I'll learn how to adjust the power of my flash and do some playing around with it today at home first. Thanks again for commenting!

Kristy - don't expect too much out of your flip-up, built-in flash. Other than the fact the is already part of the camera and cost you nothing (other than battery life), I suspect you will find it quite limited for the portrait photography you are planning to do. Pretty well the only time I will use mine is to use it to trigger an off-camera slave or two. I have used it "in emergencies" and quite frankly was not happy with the results, even when used as a fill light.

As I mentioned before, it is a small light source and casts a harsh shadow.

If you want to get into serious Speedlight work, look at getting an external flash and use it with the appropriate light modifiers. Getting it off-camera will get you some really decent lighting.

[klpurkett]

Kristy - don't expect too much out of your flip-up, built-in flash. Other than the fact the is already part of the camera and cost you nothing (other than battery life), I suspect you will find it quite limited for the portrait photography you are planning to do. Pretty well the only time I will use mine is to use it to trigger an off-camera slave or two. I have used it "in emergencies" and quite frankly was not happy with the results, even when used as a fill light.

As I mentioned before, it is a small light source and casts a harsh shadow.

If you want to get into serious Speedlight work, look at getting an external flash and use it with the appropriate light modifiers. Getting it off-camera will get you some really decent lighting.

Yeah, the very limited experimenting I've done so far with my built in flash has been quite uninspiring. So, it's nice to hear it's not just me... Maybe this time around I'll focus on doing the best I can with available light and a reflector and save flash experimenting for another time. If we need more time than the sun allows us, we can always go back another day.

You know, I really appreciate how folks can voice differing opinions on this forum, and yet keep it all so respectful! Makes for a very positive yet diverse learning experience. Thanks!

[William W]

I just agreed to do some senior pictures for my sister next week. We are planning to head over to our grandparent's farm, since they have a big red barn, several out buildings, and some huge weeping willow trees. Here's the deal. I don't have any kind of flash except what's on my Nikon D3100. We are going to do the pics in the evening, hoping for some of that "golden hour light." I have quite a few poses in mind, we're working on her clothing and prop choices, and she's pretty good with her own make up and hair. What I'm mostly worried about is getting nicely exposed, crisp shots just using the natural evening light. Anybody have advice for a first-timer at this? My equipment consists of a camera, a 55-200mm and a 18-55mm lens, and a tripod. Pretty basic. Is there anything else I need (that's not going to cost me much or take long to learn how to use)

I apologize for any repetition as I have not read any of the replies thus far and I have limited time ATM. However a few points that I consider important that you should take into account:

1. Be very aware of your Shutter Speed – it is easy to get soft image due to SUBJECT MOVEMENT - I would like to be at or faster than 1/125s. 1/250 is safer, for that shooting scenario.

2. My expectation is the tripod will only be a bother to you and limit you ease of movement.

3. I would probably use only the 18 to 55 lens - I suggest that you start there and get some winners with that lens. This is because it will be good to keep all the technical procedures as simple and least time consuming as possible (see point #5 concerning how much time that you do NOT have . . . to make lots of lens changes, for example).

4a. The in-camera Flash can be used for fill, but it has several severe limitations, some of which are:

- low GN (Guide Number) i.e. low power, meaning very short working distance
- small point source of light, not easily diffused (meaning ‘hard’)
- CT (Colour Temperature) about 5500°K (you’ll be mixing ‘golden hour’ with a bluish Flash light)
- located low on camera and close to lens axis (possible shadow if using fat or long lens or lens hood)

4b. The in-camera Flash can (better) be used at a reasonable shooting distance not as a fill, but as a catch light for e Subject’s eyes – BUT – one needs to consider any foreground that the Flash might illuminate, especially in respect of mixed Colour Temperature (for example on foreground Props).

4c. In summary, I’d suggest that you forget the in camera flash until you get some good shots in the can and only then maybe experiment with it.

5. ‘golden hour’ - the power of the sun’s rays will decay quickly as time passes.

You will probably find that the time for the shoot will over quicker than what you anticipated.

You will probably find that you will need to bump the ISO to maintain a safe working Shutter Speed.

So my advice is have a plan to execute different poses; props and shots (i.e. tight and wide shots) and don’t contemplate any complicated, time consuming, lens, costume, prop or venue changes.

Get there early.

Emphasise that makeup and hair must MUST be ready at the designated time.

The bottom line is: 'golden hour' sunlight light will NOT hold-up and wait for you to be ready for the next shot.

WW

break a leg.

[William W]

I've had time to carefully read through all the comments.

Two more points I'd like to add, both about the "Flash":

A. I think that a few of the commentators who seem to be recommending the use of the flash might have missed the point that Kristy has ONLY her in camera flash, to use. (i.e. she does not have a 'speedlite' or similar.) So just re-iterating, the "in-camera" Flash, will have severe limitations in this specific shooting scenario.

B. Post #20 - an excellent point made: activating the Flash will have an effect on the control the Shutter Speed of the camera.

Activating the Flash will:

1. almost certainly ALWAYS never allow the camera to make a Shutter Speed faster than the Flash Sync Speed
2. in a range of circumstances will limit the Shutter Speed to SLOWER THAN the Flash Sync Speed

Point 2 is a very important consideration, especially in the particular shooting scenario outlined in the OP, because (just as one example) even if the desire is to use the "in-camera" flash to effect a catch-light, the Shutter Speed might be an issue of concern, for example, if the activation of the Flash results in holding the fastest Shutter Speed to 1/60s - Subject Movement might be a problem.

***

Aside comment:

Dave's post #20 is one of the best posts here at CiC so far this year.

Why it is so very good, is because Dave drew on his OWN recent experience from his shoots and then he applied his recent learning (I expect much from comments and critiques he received from members here at CiC) - and then Dave crafted his recently acquired knowledge and experience to be applicable to a particular shooting scenario as outlined in the OP.

Post #20 shows Dave's rapid learning in the Craft of Planning a Photographic Shoot, once he has been given a Brief of Outcomes and the particular Shooting Scenario.

And it shows his willingness to share, too.

WW

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kristy,

Excellent advice above from many here.

One point I've not seen made above is; I'd suggest you don't have your sister standing too close to any background (barn, willow, whatever) or the texture in it might be too sharp and distract attention away from the subject. I say this as your maximum aperture is likely to be between f/4 and f/5.6 with those lenses and you're shooting with a D3100 (with a 1.5 'crop factor') which will add almost another stop's worth of DoF to those numbers compared to what a FF shooter sees.

Good luck, Dave

[klpurkett]

Hi Bill. Thanks for both your posts and the advice they contain. I will certainly keep an eye on my shutter speed and ISO... What would be considered an appropriate ISO range for this scenario? Up to 800? 1600? I also am a little bit confused about which lens to start with. You mentioned using the 18-55 first, but my initial thought was "would I risk too much distortion with that one?" Manfred (in post #7) indicated that the 55-200 lens would tend to result in more flattering images. I don't mean to question either of you in a negative way; I'm just curious and want to understand how photographers make these types of decisions.
I really appreciate your point about golden hour being shorter than I'm expecting. I'm sure you're right. I am going to my grandparents' farm this evening (at the same time as planned for Monday) and plan to walk around with my camera (and hubby as my model) so I can choose the best location, think through poses/backgrounds, and formulate a more structured plan. It will also give me a feel for how much (or little) time we will actually have. Like you suggested, if I use the flash at all, it will be at the end, mostly for experimentation. Thanks again!
Kristy

[klpurkett]

Hi Kristy,

Excellent advice above from many here.

One point I've not seen made above is; I'd suggest you don't have your sister standing too close to any background (barn, willow, whatever) or the texture in it might be too sharp and distract attention away from the subject. I say this as your maximum aperture is likely to be between f/4 and f/5.6 with those lenses and you're shooting with a D3100 (with a 1.5 'crop factor') which will add almost another stop's worth of DoF to those numbers compared to what a FF shooter sees.

Good luck, Dave

Thanks for your input, Dave! Yes, that's a good reminder about making sure we have enough space between my sister and the background. I'll keep that in mind... Again, it comes back to needing to really think about what I'm wanting the image to look like (and setting up the shot appropriately) before I start pressing the shutter. Thanks!

[William W]

. . . I will certainly keep an eye on my shutter speed and ISO... What would be considered an appropriate ISO range for this scenario? Up to 800? 1600?

Good question.

It is an open ended answer. It is always a compromise once one chooses to shoot exclusively in Available Light. Mainly a compromise between Shutter Speed concerning capturing movements - and - ISO concerning capturing 'noise'.

I cannot make the choice for you, but what I can do is outline what I consider the critical considerations upon which I would make my choices, for your particular shooting scenario:

1. Your Subject is an Adult and is assumed to be both sensible (i.e. has an interest in the photos being a successful outcome) and assumed will also be compliant to get that result – therefore with a little encouragement she will ‘be still’ if need be. So therefore, my indicative of 1/125s for a ‘safe shutter speed’ could probably be pressed, even to as slow as 1/30th as the sun’s rays wane to dusk at the end of the shoot.

2. On another mainly technical note: Consideration of your camera’s High ISO ability and also your Post production skills - how skilled you are and also how advanced is the Noise Reduction Post Production program that you use.

3. Your ‘style’.

I don’t usually like using ‘style’ to describe a Photographer’s work, because I think if one ‘has a particular style’ that can often be stifling and restrictive, apropos development and experimentation. So talking now about your ‘style’ what I mean is your ‘style’ for this particular shoot - and even within the shoot your ‘style’ might change.

My mention of ‘your style’ is perhaps best explained these two different Portrait images, both captured informally, for my personal repertoire, but when I was at Social Functions where I was engaged professionally:


In this image shot at Dusk, The Photographer wanted to emphasize the deep thought of the Subject, by making strong lines and defined facial features. A fast lens telephoto lens (135mm) was used to allow a greater shooting distance which creates a more distant perspective, ‘looking into’ the Subject. A Camera with good quality High ISO capacity to affect the detail, for example, of the pores of the skin.

*


This image (captured indoors at a Wedding) was made with a Standard Lens (50mm) so the Photographer could maintain a closer shooting distance and thus a more intimate perspective, but also, the idea of Sepia Tone was in mind and purposely an High ISO was chosen and the Flash (which was being used) was disengaged to allow a relatively soft image (the lens was used near wide open) and with noise (aka Grain) to be captured.

*

So, in these two examples the CHOICE of ISO was in some regard dictated to by the (low) lighting conditions of each shooting scenario: but also the ISO was chosen purposely for the particular STYLE of the final image.

So in this regard (and without over-thinking or making the shoot too complicated for yourself) give at least a small thought to the final image in regard to the general question: “Do I want noisy or not so noisy for the final image?” when you are choosing the ISO.

In summary, with your camera, I expect that for many photographer’s taste you’ll be ‘safe’ up to ISO800, but I hastily add that many photographers tend to pixel peep and consider noise a ‘bad thing needing to be corrected or avoided’. I don’t. I would happily bump the D3100 to ISO1600 or ISO3200.

One technical point about using the higher ISO – do not underexpose: Underexposure does exacerbate the appearance of noise and underexposure also can stuff-up various other artefacts of the digital file making Post Production more problematic.

If you want ‘advice’ - then play it ‘safe’ most of the time, but live dangerously some of the time, too.

***

I also am a little bit confused about which lens to start with. [Bill] mentioned using the 18-55 first, but my initial thought was "would I risk too much distortion with that one?" Manfred (in post #7) indicated that the 55-200 lens would tend to result in more flattering images. I don't mean to question either of you in a negative way; I'm just curious and want to understand how photographers make these types of decisions.

Haha, that made me laugh. What I mean is, I don’t ever mind “being questioned” (I’ll bet a Mars Bar Manfred feels similar). The written word within the medium of a forum is especially cumbersome to account for many variables.

I do not “disagree” with Manfred, we are probably merely conceiving different Portrait Compositions and also consider that we both have a different nuance of taste, for “portraiture”.

I can explain why I suggested using the 18 to 55 lens: because that lens will allow a greater Range of Shots for a single Portrait Subject in an Outdoor Situation.

“Range of Shots” means, with that lens mounted on an APS-C Camera you can easily make –

Bust Shot Portrait
Half Shot Portrait
Three-quarter Shot Portrait
Full Length Shot Portrait – Vertical Orientation
Full Length Shot Portrait – Horizontal Orientation;
Wide Shot Environmental Portrait

Using the 55 to 200 will not allow as easily all those range of shots listed above –AND – using the longer telephoto you will be at a greater shooting distance from the Subject for some, hence you may have less control of and contact with the Subject.

On the other hand - IF your aim is to only make ½ Shots and Tighter than ½ Shots: then yes, I would also suggest using the 55 to 200.

*

BUT - a working example might be best to illustrate:

Let’s say you have the 55 to 200 loaded, then for a ¾ Shot using the lens set at 85mm on the Nikon APS-C you’ll be about 18ft from the Subject, which is a little but too far away for my liking – I like to work at a maximum of about 15ft for this type of Portrait shoot.

So if you move to a Full Length Shot (and also zoom out to 55mm lens), you’ll still be at about 18 ft.

So if you want a wider shot than a Full Length Shot made in Vertical Orientation, you will be stepping a lot further away and I think that is not a good idea for the reasons of PERSPECTIVE and also RAPPORT.

On the other hand – IF you are using the 18 to 55 lens and you want a tight shot, for example a Bust Shot, you can still set the lens to 55mm and stand about 12ft away and CROP to a Bust Shot framing in Post Production you will not lose that much image real-estate in the crop.

So, predicated on how much time that you will NOT have during this ‘golden hour’ I suggested the 18 to 55 to allow the greater RANGE of Portrait Shots without the need for any lens changes.

Perspective is determined by the Camera’s Viewpoint (Camera's Elevation and Camera's Distance to Subject), not by the Len’s Focal Length - you have control of where you place the camera.

Technically correct procedure is to first choose the Camera's Viewpoint for the desired PERSPECTIVE of the Shot and then choose the FOCAL LENGTH of the lens for the desired Field of View of the Shot.

However, with zoom lenses being so commonplace, often due consideration is not given to the PERSPECTIVE of the shot in the first instance.

***

. . . I am going to my grandparents' farm this evening . . . formulate a more structured plan.

Good Idea.

***

. . . that's a good reminder about making sure we have enough space between my sister and the background. . . .

Yes. It is very good advice.

Especially because you are essentially only using F/5.6 Maximum Aperture Lenses, which will show best IQ at around F/8 and therefore a (relatively) large Subject to Background Distance, will better affect SUBJECT SEPARATION.

WW

[klpurkett]

Bill, thanks so much for the detailed explanations! I REALLY appreciate your taking the time to respond with such clarity. I will post some of the results in the next couple days... Looking forward to all I'm going to learn through this experience! So far it looks like good weather for the shoot tonight. Thanks again!