Tripod or handheld when shooting portraits

Andy77

Andy77

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,543
Name
andy
Edit My Images
No
When taking portraits do you use a tripod or just handhold the camera, also what kind of shutter speed do you use to keep a nice blur free image, i know you can only use up the 1/250th with off camera flash unless you go to high speed sync. Also i have a white vinyl backdrop, what other colour do you think would be useful for portraits as im going to buy a few more.

Andy
 
Last edited:
ive got 6 or 7 different colours but i tend to use black or white ...other colours just dont seem to look good and most of the tie you can remove the background in ps anyway..i tend to use handheld to be honest you can get the different shots by doing that
 
Handheld.

The flash freezes the subject, so you can get quite sharp images at ridiculously low shutterspeeds.

This was handheld for 2.5 seconds and I was intentionally moving the camera around during that 2.5 seconds to get the light trails.

5020998193_1621df7043_z_d.jpg
 
depends what kind of lighting you're using.

flash, it doesnt matter depending on your ambient light.

ambient light i would use 1/100th as a minimum.
 
sparkoss said:
depends what kind of lighting you're using.

flash, it doesnt matter depending on your ambient light.

ambient light i would use 1/100th as a minimum.
Click to expand...

Im just about to purchase the smartflash kit from lencarta so i'll be using studio flash
 
Group shots or Medium format 120 with a tripod

Single or couples 35mm or DSLR handheld - unless your pose is pretty static or it's a business kind of portrait
 
Andy77 said:
thats amazing for 2.5 sec exposure
Click to expand...

It's the flash, firing for a tiny fraction of a second, that freezes the subject and keeps him sharp.

In a studio, where you're not trying to pull in ambient, you can stick at the max sync speed so Nikon 1/250 and Canon typically around 1/160.

If you're on location, and need/want to pull in ambient, then you'll have to bring shutter speed down until you've got the ambinet exposure you want, then it becomes a case of how sharp do you need to background and how well you can handhold.
 
Under normal studio conditions it's absolutely pointless using the fastest shutter speed you can.
As for using a tripod, that depends on a number of factors including the type/size of camera, personal preference and the type of shot.
For medium format I often use a studio stand (like a tripod but more convenient) and I also often use it for fashion, where I want to think about poses/movement a lot, and the camera not at all
 
With flash, you are restricted to a maximum shutter speed dictated by the cycle of the focal plane shuttter. Google it and all will become clear. On your 40D that is 1/250sec, as you say. So your 'effective' shutter speed is the duration of the flash, which will be anything from about 1/800sec to 1/2000sec with most studio flash. With a hotshoe gun, it could be between 1/1000sec and 1/30,000sec.

The only thing to remember is that if you're using radio triggers with the Lencartas they introduce a delay, so your 1/250sec that you could normally use (with a sync cord for example) needs to be reduced to at least 1/200sec or 1/160sec to be absolutely sure of avoiding a dark band at the bottom of the frame as the shutter closes. But as noted above, the actual shutter speed doesn't matter with studio flash in terms of exposure, unless the ambient light is very bright.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top