need help for formal poses....please!

Toothie

Toothie

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Ruth
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Hi all

my sister and her b/friend what me to take formal pics of them.

so i have a 350d and nifty fifty and a 100mm prime / macro, back ground will be magnolia as doing it in my house. i have no external flash or lighting.

have never done this and will be cool to try, espically as its my sister and if all goes wrong she wont hold it against me.

any help or advice welcome:)
 
thanks that looks good:)

any ideas on what to do for lighting, i think the built in flash might be a bit harsh
 
Toothie said:
thanks that looks good:)

any ideas on what to do for lighting, i think the built in flash might be a bit harsh
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If thats all have and cant use natural light, something as simple as a thin piece of paper or tisuse to defuse the light can help.
 
thanks i read that but given the weather not sure natural lighting is going to be possible any other ideas?
 
Toothie said:
thanks i read that but given the weather not sure natural lighting is going to be possible any other ideas?
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no windows?

I took these on Sunday, indoors, when it was ****ing down outside. No flash, just the light from outside

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilevirgin/2044572503/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilevirgin/2044293294/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilevirgin/2043497587/

All taken at about 2 - 3pm with my 50mm f/1.8. I'm not so sure that CJ would rate them too highly - it was after all, a party and not a formal shoot, but I thought the results were ok.

Seeing as you're on a no pressure shoot, I'd give it a go. And experiment with some reflectors (try a sheet of A4 paper held just out of frame) and the like.
 
Toothie, the first rule in portraiture is to never set yourself up for failure. ;)

If you have no external flash or lighting, and don't think natural light will be a possibility, you are only leaving yourself the option of on-camera flash. You will not get great light out of on-camera flash.

First, I would suggest checking how much natural light you CAN get in your home before assuming it's not possible. If you have a nifty fifty and can get your subjects very close together (meaning on the same plane of focus) you very well may have enough light to pull it off. Remember that the more distance between the lens and the subjects, the more DOF you will have. As a natural light portrait photog in snowy Denver, I've learned to successfully shoot families of four or five indoors at f/2.8 when necessary. It's doable.

If you absolutely don't have enough natural light to make it work, schedule for another time or another location in which you WILL have enough light. Borrowing or renting studio lights is another option, but not one that I would recommend if you don't have any experience with them.

Finally, I would recommend not trying to tackle quite so many challenges all at once. If you're unsure of both posing and lighting, work on one at a time. You can't climb two mountains at once. ;)

- CJ
 
sheets of silver foil as reflectors?. have a play with good old iso.?i,ve shot at 1600 with the 350 in churches before now with good results.try a play with your white balance to if youve got tungsten(bulb) lighting in the room.theres a setting for tungsten.
important bit. have fun.
 
Mobilevirgin, not bad lighting at all under the circumstances. You just need to darken those midtones a bit to emphasize the depth and modeling shadows. Nicely managed.

- CJ
 
cjnicolai said:
Mobilevirgin, not bad lighting at all under the circumstances. You just need to darken those midtones a bit to emphasize the depth and modeling shadows. Nicely managed.

- CJ
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:notworthy:

That's praise indeed - I'm chuffed - thanks

At the risk of a thread-jack can you expand on the technique you're suggesting (I've got CS3 - but not sure of some of its deeper functions) - by PM if its better than steering this thread off course.

MV
 
Absolutely. If you wouldn't mind posting the images in question in a seperate thread, I'd be happy to expand and illustrate.

- CJ
 
cjnicolai said:
Toothie, the first rule in portraiture is to never set yourself up for failure. ;)

If you have no external flash or lighting, and don't think natural light will be a possibility, you are only leaving yourself the option of on-camera flash. You will not get great light out of on-camera flash.

First, I would suggest checking how much natural light you CAN get in your home before assuming it's not possible. If you have a nifty fifty and can get your subjects very close together (meaning on the same plane of focus) you very well may have enough light to pull it off. Remember that the more distance between the lens and the subjects, the more DOF you will have. As a natural light portrait photog in snowy Denver, I've learned to successfully shoot families of four or five indoors at f/2.8 when necessary. It's doable.

If you absolutely don't have enough natural light to make it work, schedule for another time or another location in which you WILL have enough light. Borrowing or renting studio lights is another option, but not one that I would recommend if you don't have any experience with them.

Finally, I would recommend not trying to tackle quite so many challenges all at once. If you're unsure of both posing and lighting, work on one at a time. You can't climb two mountains at once. ;)

- CJ
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice, i'm worried about natural light as the weather has been shocking and i dont have a very steady hand and i really want to avoide the use of a tripod. i rarely use my flash and would prefer natural light. The good news is its just for fun really so if all goes wrong i can learn and do it again another time. if all goes well she gets nice prints of her and sam and i get to learn so its win win either way.
 
InaGlo said:
Its all sounds as if its going to be very relaxed, so Im not quite sure what you mean by 'formal poses'.
Are you looking for couple poses?
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sorry for the confusion i got a pdf of different posses and stuff. the idea is they get into some posh cothes and we take pics of them together.

tbh lighting is really my main issue. but i think the thread title is miss leading sorry about that.
 
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