thrown in at deep end last minute

[dean messenger]

just been told ive got a photoshoot to do tomorrow at home. its my wifes work colleague who is also a plus size model and wants some shots for her PF.

The scenario /set up is in my living room. i have one area of wall about 5 feet across thats a putty pale grey colour ( slightly texttured vertical lines faint but visible ). shooting distance is no more then around 6-8 feet from subject.

equpment. the 60D, nifty 50 1. lens, 2 speedlites and wireless triggers, also have 2 shoot through umbrellas and stands and a large rectangular reflector.

so have no idea what she'll be wearing.
i know she wants some full length shots too but think will do those outside ( around 7-8pm ) and maybe use off camera flash for some fill light.

So whats the best option if i stick with single speedlite so as not to complicate things.
was considering having her sitting for the head shots and shooting with teh flash /umbrella at 45 degrees to one side and doing some low light rembrandt shots and should be able to create a dark background that way even against a very light wall.

If she wants brighter shots whats the best way to set up for flattering light and to "white out" the background.

looking at the space just behind me i have around 6 feet wide by around 8 feet from wall to where i'll be positioned.

i guess to avoid shadows i need to have her sat at least 2-3 feet from the wall but then do i use one flash bounced and reflector. one flash bounced no reflector, one flash through umbrella, one flash through umbrella and reflector.. or 2 flashes ( with or without umbrellas.. or one with one without.. with or without reflector ?

and if two where to put them.. one next to me off camera direct or both either side and pointing at the subject ( with or without umbrellas ) . or either side pointing up to bounce of ceiling?

simple stick man diagrams would be the ideal option to see.

these will literally be head and shoulder ( maybe as low as chest area ).

all pointers much appreciated.

 

[big soft moose]

I'd suggest using one of the many backgrounds you'll doubtless have accumulated during your 30 year professional career , rather than shooting against a wall (may be not the nasty muslin ones off ebay)

If you want white high key background shots shooting against a white or at least light background is going to be essential (unless you go for the bodge it in photoshop approach)

To be honest I'm surprised someone with your level of experience needs to ask such basic questions - but if the surprise of having this job sprung on you has knocked all your accumulated wisdom out of your head , you can find some basic pointers here http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/08/free-portrait-lighting-cheat-sheet/

 

[dean messenger]

I'd suggest using one of the many backgrounds you'll doubtless have accumulated during your 30 year professional career , rather than shooting against a wall (may be not the nasty muslin ones off ebay)

If you want white high key background shots shooting against a white or at least light background is going to be essential (unless you go for the bodge it in photoshop approach)

To be honest I'm surprised someone with your level of experience needs to ask such basic questions - but if the surprise of having this job sprung on you has knocked all your accumulated wisdom out of your head , you can find some basic pointers here http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/08/free-portrait-lighting-cheat-sheet/

high level of experience... yes 30 years owning a camera and i have avoided portrait and wedding shots the whole time.. not much call for backdrops and the like when shooting cityscapes and landscapes and in fact i dont own any backdrops at all ( not even a dodgy ebay muslin one ( though i did have one once around 10 years ago but i think its more a frayed dirty grey now ).

in fact in 30 years i could probably count on one hand ( not including family shots at christmas of the kids opening presents and whatnot ) how many "official" indoor shoots ive done..

and even less outdoor portrait shots..
its simply not my thing.. and i dont think theres anything unusual in that.
as ive pointed out before there are many genres of photography and plenty of photographers who dont shoot them all.. for me its people, candids, portraits , weddings and the like ( maybe cos im an unsocial miserable SOB ) and plan to stay that way.

ive never shot underwater photography either ( i dont like swimming ). and never shot commercial photography of consumer goods or food.

so asking for advice i think is a pretty normal request because regardless of how many years youve been shooting there are plenty of photographers out there who most likely have some areas they have had little experience in.

As for the shoot. as i had little information prior to it, was hard to know exactly what was wanted and what she would be wearing etc. turned out it was for passport sized head and shoulders, small amount of very light makeup non smiling ( think police arrest ) shots. including some side on head and shoulder shots.

and yes i have been shooting 30 years. i got my first camera when i was 16. never said i turned pro 30 years ago and in those 30 years had numerous periods without a camera.

 

[Sir SR]

Are the results on your Flickr?

 

[big soft moose]

high level of experience... yes 30 years owning a camera and i have avoided portrait and wedding shots the whole time.. not much call for backdrops and the like when shooting cityscapes and landscapes and in fact i dont own any backdrops at all ( not even a dodgy ebay muslin one ( though i did have one once around 10 years ago but i think its more a frayed dirty grey now ).
.

I'm confused - both because on other threads (such as the any advice appereciated one) you were proffesing to be an expert in the business of weddings and portraiture and because on your website you say

DSLR Creations also offer a full portrait service for families, individuals, businesses, groups, artists, events and organisations.

How do you manage to offer such a service if you don't own any backdrops at all and avoid shooting portraits like the plague ?

 

[dean messenger]

nope never said i was an expert at weddings anywhere and have clearly stated ive never done a wedding nor would want to so unless you can show me otehrwsie where i have stated being a wedding expert i suggest you retract that comment... ive stated i have FRIENDS who are wedding photographers.. totally different thing.

as for the portrait service, that was a new venture i was about to start on before i had life saving surgery and nothing has been updated on the website for several months since.

I was in the process of setting up and getting backdrops ( had already purchased speedlites, umbrellas, reflectors , etc and had softbox umbrellas and some other items to purchase.

find it odd you seem to have to question everything said without actually reading whats been said. and you still fail to acknowledge the fact that photographers arent experts in EVERY field and so sometimes ask for advice.

an old saying Jack of all trades master of none. yet you seem to expect people to know everything there is about every aspect of photography.

 

[big soft moose]

nope never said i was an expert at weddings anywhere and have clearly stated ive never done a wedding nor would want to so unless you can show me otehrwsie where i have stated being a wedding expert i suggest you retract that comment... .

ive done the whole gamut of first starting out, shooting family and friends, moving up to local events and businesses and gradually building up a portfolio and reputation.. the key aspect is it shouldnt matter who or what you shoot, its the quality of the work you produce that should define you. !

Bottom line is that i don't expect everyone to know everything (there are wide areas of photography about which i know jack s*** myself) however I would expect someone who thinks that they can argue with the likes of hugh and lyndsay as an equal not to have to ask really basic questions about thier supposed feild of expertise

Anyway - returning to the original question - if you want high key you need a light background and you need to light the background effectively (which makes it difficult though not impossible to do with just one speedlight)

Also if you are shooting plus size models - do make sure you take a flattering angle - in my limited experience of that low angles may be best avoided (although that does also depend on what she's wearing)

 

[dean messenger]

the shoot was pure and simple passport sized headshots for her model portfolio website page. standard format side on and fron on, hair up, hair down, non smiling.
all done and shes happy with them. cant ask for more than that.

 

[Sir SR]

As you rightly say, all done and she's happy, so job done in that respect!

A few of my thoughts - meant in a helpful way.

Has she had headshots before?

I know they're supposed to be non smiling but there doesn't seem to be any connection with the person looking at them. No "sparkle" I'm sure non smiling doesn't equate to looking like you're not enjoying it.

It does look like you were shooting slightly low on her too.

You said you were going for police arrest shots and in that respect you achieved what you set out to.

Looking at the outdoor location, there was a plain concrete wall which might have been better to shoot against?

All just my opinion and things to look at next time maybe?

Shaheed

 

[dean messenger]

yeah the outdoor ones i wasnt happy with.. could have done with a slightly wider lens tbh. but she had the criteria on her ipad of what was needed ( she does catalogue work and she had the specifics of the shots they needed to put on her profile) At almost 6 feet tall then the high heels she had on was a challenge to get her in shot on the 50mm without feeling like i was shooting from a mile away and it badly affected the dof in shooting at 1.8mm
i had just sold my 18-135 which would have been far better to use. still she was great fun and i'll at some point be doing some much more relaxed bikini shots with her and some fun stuff too so its a nice learning curve and with someone whos very easy going will make it alot easier.
My view is it doesnt matter how long youve been shooting be it 1 year or 50 years, each day always brings something new to learn.

 

[big soft moose]

To be honest the 18-135 is just a glorrified kit lens - if you are going to do a lot of portraits (especially proffesionally) you'd be better looking at something like a 17-50 f2.8 (assuming you are on a crop body - if on full frame 24-70 or 24-105)

 

[dean messenger]

the 18-135 i had was the STM version.. a little better than the kit lens .. anyway its gone now .. next lens will be either the 70-200 F4 L or the 24-105 f/4 L or the 17-40 F/4 L.
the 70-300 f/4-5.6 appeals but a bit over current budget at the moment.
for now ive just got my 10-18 canon lens so will have that to play with for the next week while on hols

 

[nickjohnwatson]

24-70 2.8L is a lovely lens! i borrowed one a few weeks ago and loved it!

 

[big soft moose]

24-70 2.8L is a lovely lens! i borrowed one a few weeks ago and loved it!

I had one on a hired 5D3 a while back - it would definitely be my weapon of choice on a FF body - that said I belive the OP is using a 450D and imo 24 is a bit narrow for the wde end on a crop body. - I use a 17-50 f2.8 on my crop bodies

 

[dean messenger]

ouch around £900... a little over my budget for such a short focal range ( paying for the fast 2.8 ).. probably pin sharp but i think the 24-105 would fit in better for around £400 less enough to get a second hand 70-200 F4 L as well..
still it'll be several months yet before i venture down that road.. have to play nicely with the credit card for a while.

 

[big soft moose]

Thats about 1 wedding fee or a few portrait shoots - especially when you consider that it comes off your pretax income as an expense. (that said you can get them for less than that second hand) or you can get the sigma/tamron versions for about £550

 

[dean messenger]

with current situation from the surgery and not being able to walk without aid and further upcoming surgery which will put me out of action for at least 6 months not much chance of earning anything for a while. pretty much limited to plonk me on a beach or a hill and i'll take some landscapes before being wheeled off!
hopefully while down near portsmouth i can find a good spot to park my backside for a few hours and get plenty of shots around the harbour and Spinnaker tower.
its an expensive lark this photography and when youve got zero income and limkted mobility doesnt make things easier.
still at least im alive and that beats everything else

 

[big soft moose]

with current situation from the surgery and not being able to walk without aid and further upcoming surgery which will put me out of action for at least 6 months not much chance of earning anything for a while. pretty much limited to plonk me on a beach or a hill and i'll take some landscapes before being wheeled off!
hopefully while down near portsmouth i can find a good spot to park my backside for a few hours and get plenty of shots around the harbour and Spinnaker tower.
its an expensive lark this photography and when youve got zero income and limkted mobility doesnt make things easier.
still at least im alive and that beats everything else

It certainly doesnt - but if/when you get your portrait shoot business up and running , spending some of the income on kit would be a wise investment

 

[dean messenger]

could be a niche i guess... zimmer frame portrait service!

 

[nickjohnwatson]

It certainly doesnt - but if/when you get your portrait shoot business up and running , spending some of the income on kit would be a wise investment

this my my plan at the moment. doing work whilst still havin a full time job to save up so that i have the equipment i want to make the jump into proper paid work not just part time work here and there. its taking an age to sort out but fortunately i have use of some nice gear to help me on my way. I've got use of a 5Dmk2 with a 24-170 2.8L along with a 5Dmk1 & 70-200 2.8L for a wedding on saturday so kit wise i should be ok, just need to get my confidence up before taking more on.

 

[Phil V]

yeah the outdoor ones i wasnt happy with.. could have done with a slightly wider lens tbh. but she had the criteria on her ipad of what was needed ( she does catalogue work and she had the specifics of the shots they needed to put on her profile) At almost 6 feet tall then the high heels she had on was a challenge to get her in shot on the 50mm without feeling like i was shooting from a mile away and it badly affected the dof in shooting at 1.8mm
i had just sold my 18-135 which would have been far better to use. still she was great fun and i'll at some point be doing some much more relaxed bikini shots with her and some fun stuff too so its a nice learning curve and with someone whos very easy going will make it alot easier.
My view is it doesnt matter how long youve been shooting be it 1 year or 50 years, each day always brings something new to learn.

Dean - I'll be blunt (but I'll try to be nice).
My landscape photography sucks! It really sucks, in 30 years of photography I think I've shot 2 landscapes I'm happy with.
So - if I wanted to start making money from photography tomorrow, the worst thing I could do is to start trying to sell calendars of landscape shots. I wouldn't have a chance - because I haven't got the faintest idea how to shoot landscapes.

If you really want to make money with your camera, start with something you know a bit about. Re what Shaheed said, there's not a single portrait you have taken that has a 'connection', photographing people is about the people, if you don't communicate and connect you fail. You can persevere if you want, but you appear to me to be ill equipped on about every level.

I'm not simply saying 'stick to what you know', but if you were a skilled heating engineer, you'd be an idiot if you looked for transferrable skills to become a car mechanic. To go into business with your landscapes leaves you only needing to learn how to market landscapes, for a portrait business, you need to learn everything, buy kit, learn how to use it, learn how to market, learn bout people photography, and lighting, and posing, and on.......

And some of it is down to who we are as people, have a look at the work of @dancook or @Sir SR , they've been shooting people for a tiny amount of time in comparison to how long you've been shooting. But they love people and that connection shows (and I chose them because they're not pro's - just people who love to shoot people)

And remember - my landscape photography really is crap.