THP Tip #2: Portrait Photography

My first THP Tip on Bokeh for portrait photography which can be seen here.  So here is my second THP Tip for portrait photography:

Comfort!

One of my top goals of a photo shoot is just making sure the model is comfortable.  It seems intuitive however sometimes people forget some things which you can see it in photos sometimes.  

There are many ways to make a subject comfortable for example, making sure they are not too hot or too cold during a shoot.  Easy things like that.  However I have asked a lot of people who don't model to model for me and I have learned a lot from working with first time models.  Here are some things I have learned in terms of communication.  

First, if you are working with a subject that has not been in front of a camera for portraits a lot, it is a good idea to keep it simple.  I usually let them pick out their favourite outfits.  Normally I add in some ideas so they know what to think of wearing and so they don't pick anything too crazy.  But sometimes it is nice to have a model wear something different that is not the norm.  

Chances are if they are really comfortable with wearing their outfit, they will be more comfortable getting photos taken in it.  I think that if you push someone too far out of their comfort zone, it will show in the photos.  Also I give some edited photos to my friends who model for me for Facebook or what ever personal use they use it for.  If I make them wear a ridiculous outfit they don't like or feel comfortable in, and it shows in the photos... Then you are giving them photos of themselves looking awkward in an outfit they didn't like.  What a great keepsake from a shoot that they will love to showoff...

Another thing is always suggest is if they bring a friend or someone along to the shoot.  I always do that now because it makes for a much better shoot usually.  Also you just got yourself an assistant sometimes out of that deal.  I have done shoots for a friend who does makeup and we usually have a couple of friends to model there.  Having a group at a shoot is always a bonus.  They can help hold light stands, fix hair, help with clothing ideas and such.  Never hurts to have more hands, or at least someone to help keep conversations going while you get stunning photos.  Sometimes they even help guide their friends for poses and help give ideas.  So when a model, or whomever, brings a chaperone is a win-win situation usually.

I could keep writing on this subject however I will call it here.  So there are many ways of making sure the model is comfortable and this tip was just one or two things to do.  So if you just do the things I stated here you might not get a return customer.  However if you add bits of all of this to what you already do (or read if you are just starting) then you will hopefully make you subjects more comfortable.  This will help your photos because keeping the model comfortable is paramount since uncomfortable looking photos don't help you, the model or how people interpret your photos.  I personally think it looks bad for a photographer if a model looks really uncomfortable in the photos.

THP Tip #1: Portrait Photography

Hey,

So I decided since my blog has gotten enough views (+2000, thank you!) that you might actually care to hear my opinion and thoughts on some things.  So I will started doing some Tom Houston Photography Tips for things and Opinion pieces.  Just so that it is easier for me to write the tips in a timely fashion I am going to write them one at a time.  Since they are not my top ten tips since most of them would be the same with all the others you can read, I thought I would do the tips you might no see elsewhere.

There are many sources for finding tips for portraits and I encourage you to read those as well.  I don't know everything about portrait photography so this should just be one of the many resources you read to help you with your portraits.  

So here in no particular order, here is the first tip you might not see elsewhere. 

(As a quick disclaimer, most of the portraits I shoot are female so in some cases it might only apply to working with female subjects)

#1.  Bokeh, Bokeh, and more Bokeh.  

I love having bokeh in my portraits because it just makes your subject the only focus in the photo.  Personally I often, for outdoor portraits, stop my 50mm down to 1.4 or my 105mm to 2.8 and keep it there.  This makes the background into a lovely out of focus blur and makes your subject pop.  Sometimes I even do it in my studio because having such a narrow depth of field really helps focus the viewer on what you want.  

So as seen in the photo below, the background is almost indiscernible which makes the detail of the subject pop out.  It also brings the focus of the photo directly to their eyes.  This is obvious since it is really the main thing in focus, duh.  But that is also another tip mostly all photographers would say, focus on the eyes.  So write that down somewhere too.  Also another note with using wide apertures outside is be careful with blowing out your photo.  It is hard to keep your photos exposed well with using f/1.4 on the bright and lovely sunny day as seen below.  Her cheek bone might actually be blown out just a tad in this photo because of the sun.  On a quick side note I took this photo to just show what effect aperture has on the photo.  I am very glad I did since this is one of my favourite portrait shots I have.  

Portrait - 50mm

This photo below I took in my studio (however you can't really tell) and used my 50mm to get a really shallow depth of field so the eyes and rose were in focus.  I had to stand precariously on a stool to get to the right angle to do that but it was worth it.  

Portrait - 50mm 

Another reason (or amazing bonus) to shoot at a wide aperture is to get as little detail in the skin as possible.  This mostly comes into play for females however it still is a good thing to keep in mind.  Females tend to not want to see all the detail in their skin in photos.  Eye yes, skin no.

So if you have the ability to shoot wide open for portraits, give it a shot.  It is a very pleasing look I think.

I hope you try this and I will have Tip #2 coming on the weekend!

How To: My Macro Shoot

How To: My Macro Shoot

I was wanting to take some photos so I went out and bought a Daisy to do some macro photography with.  This was the first time I have done "serious" in-door macro shoot and I like my results.  so I thought it would be helpful to explain how I got the shots that I did.

So the gear I used was:

- Camera (Captain obvious)
- Tripod
- Macro lens (105mm VR Macro f/2.8)
- SB-600 (Since I lack a Macro flash/ring)
- Light stand (To hold said flash)
- Wireless Shutter Release

- Stool
- Flower (Gerbera Daisy)
- Vase

So what did all that look like?  Well I decided to take a photo of the setup with my phone to show yeah.  However as I mentioned there, it was with my phone so sorry for the quality:

My Macro Shoot Setup

So I had my SB-600 left of camera pointed at the daisy which was mounted on my light stand.  The D90 with the 105mm VR Macro lens on my tripod.  I had a lamp lighting the flower however I had my flash set to overpower the lamp so it didn't effect my photo.  The lamp was just so I could see the flower so I could focus on it.

To the right side of the photo you can see the light getting by my black curtain which is what I used as a black background to get this effect:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

Where as I used my wall for the white background however it wasn't white enough for what I wanted so I used a sheet of printer paper.  So I held a sheet of printer paper behind the flower to get a white background as seen here:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

As for other details, you mostly get the shots you want after experimenting.  I didn't really have an idea of certain photos I wanted, I just tried different angles, lighting and backgrounds.  As for camera settings, you have a lot more control over them inside than you do out in a garden.  I was continually changing my aperture and shutter speed to see what effect it had on that on the photos.  Usually I am restricted by aperture when I do shots outside since I want a very fast shutter speed to freeze any motion from wind or my hand shaking since I mostly shoot handheld.  Another tip I can give is keep checking your histogram to make sure nothing is too far off the left or right side.  As well it helps to have the most information in the centre of the histogram and as close to the top of the of the chart as possible without going off the top.  The larger the area in the histogram the more information in the photos usually.  

Also I just thought of one thing I did that was extra was I washed off some pollen of the petals.  I was doing some 1:1 shots so I wanted to make sure I didn't have extra pollen on the flower. 

I hope that helps and again any and all questions are welcome.  Just send me an e-mail at tomhouston7@gmail.com and I will gladly answer your questions.