Camera Settings For Glamour Shoot

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jtphoto93

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Hiya guys, im doing alot of Scene/Alt girl Front Magazine style glamour shoots but with underwear or bikinis on. Im wondering if you could give me any tips on settings for natural outdoor light because i dont have a studio.

My camera is a Cannon EOS 30D. Just the standard 18mm - 55mm lens.

Thanks
 
jtphoto93 said:
Hiya guys, im doing alot of Scene/Alt girl Front Magazine style glamour shoots but with underwear or bikinis on. Im wondering if you could give me any tips on settings for natural outdoor light because i dont have a studio.

My camera is a Cannon EOS 30D. Just the standard 18mm - 55mm lens.

Thanks
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No but can I come and watch?!! :D
 
Are you using flash or not? This will be a big factor in how you set what.

Generally I am using flash for portraits, so I will take a shot in aperture priority mode, selecting the appropriate depth of field I require, to get a metering of the scene, then switch to manual and underexpose by 1-2 stops to darken up the background a bit, then bump up the flashes to compensate and accurately expose the model or subject.
 
If you are using natural light then it's all about light. You need to be able to see it. That may sound like the statement of a loony but it's true. You can have a wonderful location but if you don't have good light it will still look flat. If you don't have good light then that's where the flash comes in and there are all sorts of creative goodies you can get up to.

For natural light especially at this time of year you will probably be looking to have your lens fairly wide open so about f4 and make sure you nail the focus. Keep looking to see where the light is coming from, after all, the sun is a big light source and clouds are softboxes so use it light studio lighting. The difference is that the sun is a bit fixed so you are the one who has to move. Turn your model into the light and watch how it affects the image. If you squint a bit, it makes seeing the light easier. (and gives your model a laugh!)
 
BouncyMelons said:
If you don't have good light then that's where the flash comes in and there are all sorts of creative goodies you can get up to.
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Good light or not, flash can definitely enhance it if used effectively.

It also allows you to use the natural light as a backlight/hair light while still giving you adequately exposed faces & features (of course, this depends on the power/quantity of flashes you use).
 
The OP asked specifically about natural light though so that's why I answered the question about natural light. No point in going into speedlight mastery if the OP doesn't have one ;)

In fact, if the OP does not have one make sure you DO have a reflector and if you can't lay your hands on a cheap one by then, have a look on youtube for how to make one yourself. That way you can bounce some of that lovely light back in to your model.
 
BouncyMelons said:
The OP asked specifically about natural light though so that's why I answered the question about natural light. No point in going into speedlight mastery if the OP doesn't have one ;)
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Fair point. I often don't shoot in a studio either, but I usually have 3 or 4 speedlights with me. :)

+1 on the reflectors though, take at least one of them with you if you can. If you don't have one, have a look at Flash's post for some great inexpensive ones.
 
Kaouthia said:
Fair point. I often don't shoot in a studio either, but I usually have 3 or 4 speedlights with me. :)

+1 on the reflectors though, take at least one of them with you if you can. If you don't have one, have a look at Flash's post for some great inexpensive ones.
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Me too :) I have 2 EX580's and 2 Vivitar HV's. Just been watching Damien Lovegrove's Speedlight Mastery DVD and although there is some good creative stuff in there it did annoy me somewhat because he kept using the new MiniTTL and Flex pocketwizards and when he is using three Flex and one mini that's about £1K of kit and not many of us have that kicking around in the bottom of a camera bag. Grrr.

Good call on Flash for the reflector :thumbs:
 
BouncyMelons said:
Good call on Flash for the reflector :thumbs:
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I picked up one of the trigrip reflectors and one of the diffusers from him to give them a try, and they're excellent from my tests so far. :)

Regarding the speedlight mastery... I have similar issues with Joe McNally's videos & books. At £300-340 a piece for SB-900 flashes, I always feel that no matter how many I get, there's always room for more (especially when I see shots like the KC-135 light by 47 of 'em - p283-285 of "The Hot Shoe Diaries"). Gets expensive. ;)
 
There was also the shot he did in the desert where he had something stupid like 17 flashes on one stand. Darned thing looked like a very expensive Christmas tree.

To be fair Damien did use both Canon and Nikon on the DVD and used ST-E2 and CLS with the SU-800. But there was still a significant amount with the new PW kit and shooting up to 1/4000. Sure Damien, keep dreaming.......... :)
 
thanks guys, this has been really helpful :) i will take it all into account and post some photos when i do the shoots soon :D
 
jtphoto93 said:
Hiya guys, im doing alot of Scene/Alt girl Front Magazine style glamour shoots but with underwear or bikinis on. Im wondering if you could give me any tips on settings for natural outdoor light because i dont have a studio.

My camera is a Cannon EOS 30D. Just the standard 18mm - 55mm lens.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Try searching on net for Boudoir photography...

This will give you ideas on the type of shots you want...

If you are not sure on light settings have you thought of purchasing a light meter can be used outside as well as in the studio...

:thumbs:
 
markw08 said:
If you are not sure on light settings have you thought of purchasing a light meter can be used outside as well as in the studio...
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He'd be better off spending that cash on a speedlight rather than a light meter. Light meters are pretty much redundant these days with the quality of meters now contained within DSLRs as well as the histogram.
 
yeah id agree with the above and say a lightmeter certainly shouldnt be the first thing to get. theres one in your camera for a start! a reflector or two is the first thing id buy/make. they really will make a huge difference to using natural light.

can you not borrow any lighting for the shoot? alt girl pics tend to have a particular style about them that may be pretty difficult to achieve without additional lighting.
 
Underwear and bikini shots inside but without a studio? Sounds like readers wives to me :naughty:
 
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