Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“She had large, questioning eyes that seemed to draw me in and a sense of quiet outrage that simmered just beneath the surface. More than anything, within her features, there was a streak of wild quirkiness that made her dazzlingly attractive.” ― Shades of Grey
There are all kinds of so-called rules telling you what the ideal lighting ratio for portraiture should be. is Renaissance painters used a approach they called chiaroscuro that featured lighting ratios that would make most studio photographer’s hair stand on end but created art that transcended the centuries.
Here’s a few tips
When shooting portraits outdoor. I like to measure the light on both sides of a person’s face in order to determine the image’s lighting ratio. For me, the right ratio varies depends on the shape of the subject’s face and the overall look that I want for the final image.
Talk to your subject. I’ll never forget the advice that one of my mentors gave me years ago when I was getting started making portraits. When I asked him what was the worst thing I could do when making a portrait, I expected to hear about how to avoid technical problems but his answer surprised me. “If you don’t talk to the people, you’re never going make a good portrait.” More than 40 plus years later, I’ve never forgotten that advice and would like to pass it on to you.
Using a hand-held meter not only lets you easily measure the light falling on a subject as I mentioned above but also provides an opportunity for you to interact with the subject. When talking a meter reading you can talk to your subject and reassure them that they look fabulous. Photographing people combines elements of psychology as much camera technology and how you interact with your subject will have more to do with the success of your session than the camera or lens you decide to use.
Watch the background. It’s easy to become so enthralled by the person you’re photographing that you forget about the background where you’ve placed them. One of Farace’s Laws is that if you watch the background, the foreground will take care of itself. Nowhere is this more true that in shooting outdoor portraits. Busy, ugly backgrounds can be thrown out of focus by using longer focal length lenses and wide apertures but it’s not uncommon to have to physically clean up a site before you make a portrait. While you can always digitally remove beer cans and fast food wrappers, taking the time to physically clean up the trash before you make a portrait leaves it clean for everybody else too.
How I made this portrait: I photographed Jade outdoors in Phoenix, Arizona using a Canon EOS 10D with an EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens set at 105mm. That lens used to be affordable, is optically quite good and I’m sorry I sold it back when I was wrapped up in a “newer is better” attitude that I’ve since gotten over. The exposure was 1/60 sec at f/7.1 and ISO 100 with a Canon 550EX speedlite used as fill, along with a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce, diffuser attached to soften the light.
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If you’re interested in learning how I shoot available light glamour portraits, please pick up a copy of Available Light Glamour Photography which is available new from Amazon.com for $29.95. The Kindle version is $29.95 for those preferring a digital format.
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