Advice & help on portrait photography? Thanks

[Connors37]

Hi all, I'm currently studying photography at college and for my end of year unit I can take a series of photographs of anything I like. I normally photograph landscapes and transport but have desided to go out of my comfort zone and try something new!

I was wondering if anybody could advise me on how to take some really nice portrait photographs of my model in a park local to where I live, I have a 50mm lens and think this will work great for portraits so really do want to try it out.

Would it be a good idea to buy some props for my model to hold, e.g. an umberlella on a rainy day?

I would like to take some really proffesional looking photographs and if anybody has some portraits that they would like to share with me then please leave a link below so i can take a look and be enspired by you

Many Thanks

Connor Owen Skidmore

 

[EOS_JD]

This is such a wide question it's impossible to answer. The light conditions will dictate what you will get - unless you are able to add your own?
Google images can be your friend but without knowing the exact light on the day they won't be that much help. Scout your location, get the right backdrops, look at the direction of the light and make your decisions where to shoot based on that. I guess you learnt about light direction and portrait light patterns in college so use that - posing can be tough. But as I say google images and I'm sure the good people here will show some great work to help.

 

[helloimkev]

A big part of getting the top shots, in my experience is how comfortable the model is with you photographing him/her. Build a rapport with the model & spend a bit of time just talking beforehand, this way you should be able to get more natural looking, comfortable poses from the model. In terms of technical aspects, just consider what you want from final image when setting up, I've made the mistake of shooting with too wide an aperture in the past so just take a minute or two to run through all your settings & ensure everything is as you want it.

Most importantly, try to have fun & let the shoot flow.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Hi all, I'm currently studying photography at college and for my end of year unit I can take a series of photographs of anything I like. I normally photograph landscapes and transport but have desided to go out of my comfort zone and try something new!

Good on ya!... everyone should.

I was wondering if anybody could advise me on how to take some really nice portrait photographs of my model in a park local to where I live, I have a 50mm lens and think this will work great for portraits so really do want to try it out.

a 50 is fine if you don't get too close with it, but then again, there's more to portrait phtography than just obeying the rules, but to start with, stick with longer lenses. Don't try for close ups with a 50 unless you want to add distortion to unsettle the viewer, or show a stark reality instead of flattering. Avoid clichéd poses unless it's something the person naturally does anyway. No arsing about with hands holding hair up, or pointlessly held at the side of the face.. it looks stupid.

Are you trying to create fashion images? Documentary style portraits? Editorial or lifestyle? There's no "one way" to shoot portraits. What have you seen that you admire? Who's work do you like? Find someone renowned for the type of portraits you want. Fashion?.. look at Nick Knight if you want great poses in a more mainstream way.. look at Tim Walker for more challenging ideas. Documentary style? Look at Julian Germain or Alec Soth to see how breaking all the trite, bullsh1t rules works if you want to stri people to ther bare essentials... Thomas Ruff too.

In short, there is no one way... find work you admire, and seek out the work of those already acknowledged to be the masters in their field and analyse their work.

Would it be a good idea to buy some props for my model to hold, e.g. an umberlella on a rainy day?

Not necessarily. Would it help the viewer get an insight into their personality? Is that important? Again... depends what type of portraiture you're doing. If it's lifestyle or editorial, or possibly documentary, then maybe, but it's got to be relevant to them... no point just having them a random object that has nothing to do with their persona, job, lifestyle etc.

I would like to take some really professional looking photographs and if anybody has some portraits that they would like to share with me then please leave a link below so i can take a look and be inspired by you

Many Thanks

Connor Owen Skidmore

My portraits are mainly editorial, , and lately, quite a lot of Theatre production PR or Editorial Fashion. Both location, and studio. This will give you a flavour of what I tend to do with people.

There's no "one way" to photograph people. Look at tons of work. Find stuff you admire, and get influenced by that. Borrow elements of this, bits of that... mix it up... it will all eventually synthesise into your own style.

 

[Blu3fire]

Loving the one ironing the carpet, is that metaphorical? xD

 

[mrtoad]

for what its worth
use a mid to long lens...i used to use a quite open 105mm (you then have to apply the crop factor to that to get a non full frame or 35mm focal length) which would be 52 or so on my 4/3 camera
i like head and some shoulder perhaps
i want to get the persona rather than artificial poses and not really wild on props
lighting for me should be natural and tending to have shadows in the background
having said that i have only done self portraits...which makes the above a criteria for
good luck with the studies
cheers
geof