Outdoor Photos...

[dana_mccleary]

Hi, I am new to this site adn new to photography. I am shadowing with a professional photographer right

now and he has been going with me on shoots. Tomorrow is my first shoot without him and i need some

pointers. I am shooting engagement photos for a family friend outside. It is going to be sunny and i am

shooting at 11 am. I am not good on the technical things but I have a Canon 30D, 430ex flash, diffuser

and polarizer.

 

Here are my questions:

-do i position my subjects with their backs to the sun?

-do i use a flash?

-do i need to use my polarizer? how do i know when i do and do not need one?

-i am shooting some photos with a red fire engine in the background- any suggestions on any special

techniques i need to do?

 

 

 

Any help will be great. this is only my 4th shoot.

 

Thank you!

Dana

[jimstrutz]

Maybe. Perhaps. Sometimes. Guess? Nope.

 

I'm not trying to get smart with you, but those are pretty generalized questions, and I don't think we can give you anything but generalized answers to them.

 

Portraits with the subjects back to the Sun are often nice, but it isn't the only thing that works. Flash can add fill, and reduce shadow intensity. Use it if you think it will help. Polarizers work to reduce reflections and darken the sky, but mostly when shooting at a right angle to the Sun. The polarizer might be good with the fire engine, as it tends to increase saturation by removing reflections.

 

The truth is, you will have to make these decisions based on what you see when you get there.

[beauh44]

Hi Dana, Here's my .02 cent's but Jim's right - these aren't things that are etched in stone and the weather will play a big part:<P>

 

<I>do i position my subjects with their backs to the sun?</i><P>

 

I'd probably take very few photos that way because you may end up with just silouhettes. If the sun's out and very intense you may want to pose them under some trees. Usually soft light (not direct sunlight at mid-day) is your friend. If you do try any shots with their backs to the sun, I'd use some flash to throw some light on their face.<P>

 

<I>do i use a flash?</i><P>

 

I'd certainly bring one. Even if there's plenty of light you can use "fill flash" to brighten up a face and/or put a catchlight in someone's eye. Usually I get good results by putting my camera in Av mode and dialing the flash back by around 1 to 1 1/2 stops. You don't want them to have that "deer in the headlights" look that too much flash can bring. In fact, I like it when the shot looks like I didn't use flash, but the subject is well-lit.<P>

 

<I>do i need to use my polarizer? how do i know when i do and do not need one?</i><P>

 

Polarizers can be very useful on sunny days. They can give colors extra punch and remove annoying reflections. However they do knock about 2 stops of light off what's reaching your camera's sensor.<P>

 

So, if it's a really sunny day with a bright, blue sky and puffy white clouds, a polarizer can really make things "pop" and look more saturated. But if it's a cloudy day, really all they'll do is maybe remove some reflections and probably aren't worth the 2-stop loss of light. So this is one of those things that the weather will largely determine for you. Again, for me, polarizers are most useful on bright, sunny days. You ideally want the sun off to your right or left shoulder (as opposed to in front or behind you) when you use them. Don't forget to turn the ring on the filter and watch to see the polarizing effect come and go as you do.<P>

 

With regards to the fire engine, again if it's sunny, you might try the polarizer. If it's cloudy, I'd probably not use it myself. If you want a really sharp shot, use a tripod with your camera's lens stopped down to around f/8 or so without the polarizer. Bracket your shots to make sure you get a good exposure in there somewhere.<P>

 

Sometimes a background like a red firetruck can be a distraction in a portrait because the viewer may be looking at the pretty red firetruck moreso than your subject. So you might try also positioning your subject so he/she is lit well (especially in the face) with a darker background. (Perhaps a tree or some woods) If you use a long, telephoto lens with a wide aperture you can make the background go out-of-focus and this really makes the subject stand out. Just a few thoughts - good luck!

[dana_mccleary]

I understand my questions are really general but thank you all for the good advice. I will let

you know how it goes :)

[jcuknz]

My suggestion is pretty simple ... force the flash to fire for every shot, shoot with the sun behind your subjects, and unless you want to supress reflections off the shiney fire-engine don't put the polariser on the camera. The polariser doesn't have a brain so you will need to rotate it to supress some of the reflections coming from the engine, you should be able to see the result you are getting through the viewfinder/EVF. Leave the camera on automatic, it is obvious that the camera knows more about things than you do :-)

It is a shame you have not started with a P&S camera until you learnt what you were doing when customers are involved.

[dana_mccleary]

Thank you all for you responses. Please understand that I am not charging anyone at this

point at customers. I am doing this for friends and family more so for experience. We all have

to start somewhere. I loved photography and what bettter way to start then to just dive right

in, correct? Please try not to be too hard on me ;-)

[jcuknz]

Well all the best to you, I hope it goes well :-)

[stormchaser]

Back to the sun? Never. That's called backlighting and it makes for huge detail loss.

Flash? No need. Even on overcast days, there's always enough natural light.

Polarizer? It darkens the skies, which looks nice, and it reduces reflections. Go for it.