Portrait Pictures - advise needed

[Kev_mk3]

My Girlfriend has said i can use her to experiment with taking portrait pictures (fully clothed i must add) but as im a newbie to all things in the photography world can anyone give me a idiots guide / aka a few pointers to get me on my way please


Thanks and thank you for your Patience

Kev :nuts:

 

[Garry Edwards]

Outdoor shots?
Studio shots?
If you want pointers to studio shots this thread may help

 

[chris321]

I can't really offer all that much advice, having never done it, but I'll have a go......

Try and make sure she's as relaxed as possible! You could be be an amazing photographer with incredible kit but if she's looking nervous or really uncomfortable it'll come out through the photo and you'll both be dissapointed with the results.

Try to avoid cluttered backgrounds if you're doing it around the house, plenty of people take nice photos but in the background are some boxes/the washing machine etc which ruin the effect!

That's all I can really say, I've never really done portrait stuff before, just experiment and see what works and what doesn't! Good luck!

Chris

 

[AliB]

It's attention to detail that makes a portrait work. As Chris has said, pay attention to backgrounds, if you are shooting outdoors get some distance between her and the background so you can shoot with a wider aperture and you can throw it all out of focus. Or shoot her against an interesting background, some urban stuff can work really well.

Look out for locations when you are out and about if you plan to go al-fresco. Indoors is a bit different, you can utilise available light quite nicely by just putting a muslin type sheet over a window (makes it a big softbox) or you can use flash (bounce it/diffuse it to get rid of horrible shadows). And pay attention to white balance/colour temp with any kind of artificial lights.

You could do the business look if she wears suits at work? Shoot her sitting on steps outside an office?

Oh there are lots of things you could do!

 

[chriscrafter]

Once you have taken a few and you are both getting more comfortable try to experiment with different angles and lighting. I can't remember which thread I got the following link from about light but it gives a fair rendition of the way light falls on the body Light Cage

 

[Kev_mk3]

many thanks guys they will be out door shots as we're going to York for a weekend away in a couple of weeks so well see what we get then

thank you ***