Portrait Help

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chrisb1357

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Hi All,

Well just got myself a Canon 50mm F1.8 II to try and do some Portrait photo,s The problem i have been getting is i have only used the Auto and Portrait Mode on the dial of the 350D but the outcome is not that good. Should i use full Manual or AV / TV Mode for this sort of photo,

Also what metering mode should i have set

Thanks
Chris
 
It really all depends on what effect you are after as to what settings you would use. If you could be a bit more specific about what you are trying to achieve.
 
'pends what you are trying to do.

The lens is pretty good for portraiture on the 350D with its 1.6 multiplier. 80mm is about what you want.

Generally the idea is to concentrate on the face and lose the background. So use Av mode and large appertures f4 or lower .. the Depth Of Field (DOF) will get smaller the larger apperture you go for. f4 on the nifty 50 is roughly where its sweet spot is.

Keep your subject a good 6' from any background, it'll be blurred. If you want to PP it make the background a completely different colour from the subject (plain white would be good).
 
Well for a start i thought about just taking face photo's of the the gf just to see what i get from them

Chris
 
Just took these first few ones with the new lens,

Comments are welcome.

2040754595_5a02278a5a_o.jpg


2041551428_8bf0880eb3_o.jpg


Thanks
Chris
 
1st is not bad, verging on pretty good. Good background blur. Needs a tad more DOF (f3.5 - f4). Stray hairs need sorting.
2nd you missed, it isnt in focus. Bin it and try again.
 
One small thing I learned from CJ's workshop was to shoot down, from slightly higher that the GF's face - it'll produce a slightly more flattering picture..
A larger light source will give larger catchlights in the eyes - a window is perfect if there is enough light - try moving her closer of further from it to see how it affects the shadows.
She looks easy with you and at ease, so use her to try out as many poses and positions and see what you like - also try black and white sometime - adjust the camera settings for this, maytbe shoot RAW, as this will give you a B/W jpeg, and a colour RAW file so you can compare.
Have fun, and this is the first time I have ever felt able to offer advice - seems like I am learning from others here - not sure if my advice is helpful or good though...!
Cheers
Steve
 
CJNicolai - a member here who specialises in natural light portraiture, and is fab. Se recently help a workshop which I went to and learnt loads, and met some really nice people. She is possibly holding another in March next year out here in Spain, so keep your eyes peeled for a thread by me in the near future when I have managed to find a location, as it might be a great way to have a holiday and learn loads about portraiture. Have a look at here gallery to see some of what she does !
 
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