portrait photography.

<p>I was told shooting for free is ok to get started, but move on quickly to charge some one for your time.<br>

Wednesday is the first real job, 50.00$ is what i will charge, so let me get to my question, i will be shooting in side and i am bringing some lights just in case,i have a 18-55MM 3.5-5.6 AND 18-135MM lens i also am using my new canon dslr 60D that i just received for christmas.<br>

I will be using an off colored background not a white sheet but blueish-white sheet for some shots,it is very light in color.<br>

I do have and will use my tripod , my lights are the kind we use on a construction site, like you would buy at sears,home depot, high and low halogen lights. I am just looking for some base line tips, i dont just want to use the portrait setting on the camera even tho it will do an ok job.<br>

I want to get a little creative and use the tv-and av settings as well, i will have 2-3 hours max. <br>

If any one has any good suggestions i would be very grateful, i have done many freebees mostly sports, but now is the time to branch out a little and slowly, i am in no rush that is why i am looking for a little help, and if they come out like crap i will not take her money( honestly is a good policy) and this girl is aware i am not a pro and do mostly sports. It will be a small adventure for us both.<br>

Thank you Quickshots </p>

 

<p>Shooting for free is definitely ok to get started. I'm a full time commercial photographer, and I still do TFP work every once in a while. You should, however, only charge for your time when you start offering a product worth charging for. If you can convince people to pay you though, all the power to you! But, if Av/Tv settings for you is "getting creative" then this might be a bit of an adventure.</p>

<p>Basic tips... make sure your light goes high enough. Sometimes with these shop lights they're too low and you get weird "campfire" like lighting which makes them look like their in a horror movie. Do you have anything to diffuse the light with, like a big white sheet? Those lights are pretty harsh and when you're shooting a woman you generally use soft light.</p>

<p>Posing... a general tip would be to make sure her shoulders aren't completely square to camera. Get her to slightly rotate so one shoulder is closer to the camera than other. Obviously there are lots of head-on shots that are incredible, but this is safe to start off with.</p>

<p>Play with head angles. A head tilted to lower shoulder is a bit more powerful, whereas the head tilted to the higher shoulder is considered more feminine. Also, look up short lighting, which is more flattering on most people.</p>

<p>I dunno... there are a lot of tips I can give those are just off the top of my head.</p>

<p>OH. Make sure the lens cap is off!<br>

Good luck!</p>

I doubt you will use your tripod much. Other than a place to keep your camera when you're doing something else.

 

The light from those construction lights is horrible for photos, especially portraits of people.

 

I would suggest budget 300w cfls on stands with umbrellas(cowboy studios for example).

 

Your lenses are slow, you will have lots of subject motion blur if your model is not statue-like. Make sure she

understands that.

 

Get some cheap 10x20 muslins from Amazon, there are some for almost $20. Get white, and you can RIT dye them or

paint them for cheap. You don't need a stand just yet, type them up to wall or ceiling with white or

black duct tape(I use Gorilla tape). Don't leave the tape on anything for more

than a couple hours, it will leave residue. Get gaffers tape if you can afford it, it won't mar.

<p>There is an alternative to studio type lights: bounced flash. You can bounce the flash off some white muslin so that it provides some nice side lighting together with something light on the opposite side to provide some subtle fill. However, Wednesday is a bit tight to practice this in time.</p>

<p>As Richard said, your lenses are slow. Shoot wide open - razor sharpness is not needed. However, DO focus on the nearest eye. Focal length wise, for a straight head shot, around the 70-80 mm mark is ideal, dropping to 50mm for a top half shot and 35mm for full length. Keep your ISO settings as low as possible too - to maximise dynamic range if nothing else. If using studio type lights, take a custom white balance reading - saves messing about in post-processing. Again, if using lights, take a grey card exposure reading and expose manually. When setting lights up, look out for shadows in unfortunate places e.g. under your subject's nose. </p>

<p>Soft lighting is best. Soft lighting means a large light source. Typically this will mean a large brolly or softbox</p>

<p>A tripod may not help that much - you need to be able to recompose quickly to grab the mood. OTOH, a monopod with ball or trigger head may be useful just to steady things up a bit.</p>

<p>hey dude check out my pics i took with my nikon d3000 this was my first shoot ever as well never used any lighting all natural light used my on board flash like once <a rel="nofollow" href="http://thomasminerphotography.shutterfly.com/pictures/110" target="_blank">http://thomasminerphotography.shutterfly.com/pictures/110</a><br />tip 1) never ever ever ever ever ever touch the model only under certain circumstances as in if there is no one but you and her then ask her to like maybe tuck a tag back in but if you have to ask her for permission like 2 times<br />tip2) make sure to talk to your model don't be like a awkward silent dude, and make sure to give her encouragement like "nice i like that pose", or "can you hold that it looks great".<br />tip3)be polite obviously don't be a jerk<br />and don't forget BREAKS if you have 2 to 3 hours take like a 5 minute break every 20 or 30 shots or so. she is not a object she is a person and make sure you have some little snacks or something and especially water for during breaks.<br />well hope this helps and have fun and don't be nervous.</p>

<p>Always have someone else there, assistant or whatever. This is to protect both you <em>and</em> the model.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I am going to agree that if TV and AV are creative, you aren't ready to start charging for your services. Not only that, but in charging for your services, you now have increased <em>your</em> liability. Notice I said <em>increased. </em>Even shooting for free means you have some liability. At any rate, I will also agree that you simply do not have the right tools for a portrait shoot. You need both competence and the right tools in order to do virtually any job. A surgeon with a steak knife would worry me. I might have a scalpel, but I am no surgeon! In photography, light is what we paint with. Simply having good light is no guarantee of a good image, but poor light will almost always guarantee a poor image. You have received a lot of different tips, but I have no idea what you are shooting? As example, I wouldn't shoot a family of 6 with a wide open aperture. As a matter of fact, to get the best out of any lens, you generally want to stop the lens down. So with a variable aperture consumer lens, this means about f/8. And f/8 with the halogens means an even slower shutter... to slow for portrait work really. Unless you bump the ISO to something like ISO 1600. One of the reasons portrait photographers use strobes is that the flash duration freezes the subject. There is advice that says don't touch the model. Sure, if you are working with a professional model. And even if you are working with an amateur, it is a good idea to ask before touching. But if you are working with a family, sometimes you have no choice but to carefully place a person or child where you need them. Finally, <em>learn</em> lighting. Learn why those lights are the right choice. Learn about direction of light, color of light, and more. And don't fall into the trap that natural is always best. It isn't. And when it is, you need to recognize it and not simply shoot natural light because you don't have the tools or knowledge to shoot otherwise.</p>

<p>Personally, from your OP, I suggest you pay her - and then if you get a couple of reasonable shots you can give her them for her portfolio. "honestly is a good policy" - yup, you're a beginner and you're using your customer to learn? Don't forget, any customer is part of your advertising stream, the last thing you need is a 'reputation' for charging for crap work - charging 'if they are good', is not a basis for a contract.<br>

Theoretically, if you got the white balance right and everything else you should be able to produce some acceptable images, but you'll struggle with a new camera (unless you've had, say, an earlier mark of canon), lights, background and an environment you're not familiar with.<br>

Have some idea of the poses you want her to adopt, if you can have a book of examples, even if they're simply cut from fashion mags, it will go a long way to helping her visualise what you want her to do.<br>

However you proceed, good luck - and remember the golden rule 'Don't touch.' (always have someone else there, even if they are not directly involved).</p>

<p>Thank you to all who responded to my questions, i will take all the advice and use it,this will most likely a free job. It sounds like i need a different lens/or lenses and some lighting tools. I did ask the model to have some one, or two other people there with her and she said why ofcorse.<br>

AGAIN :Thank you for the input, joe taylor! </p>

<blockquote>

<p>It sounds like i need a different lens/or lenses and some lighting tools</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Sort of. What you really need is <em>education.</em> Consider this, you buy a set of wrenches to rebuild your transmission. Only after checking with some friends, you need better wrenches. So you go out and get the best wrenches you can. Will you be able to rebuild your transmission? No. While the proper tools are certainly essential in any job, it is <em>knowing</em> how to use those tools that really matters. </p>

<p>Well said, John. That's a really great way to describe needing the knowledge as well as the tools!</p>

 

<p>Maybe I am missing something. But why couldn't you be creative with your camera set in AV mode? If the light is sufficient, you will have a faster shutter with the aperture wide open. You can still control the ISO in AV mode. The shutter speed is the only thing you can't control, but with a wide open aperture, this should help prevent motion blur. I have done many portrait photos in AV mode. I have also done them in Manual Mode. But when starting out, AV mode seems like a good choice. You can then look at the exif data later to help you when moving to manual.</p>