Outdoor portrait - what did I do wrong?

[jeff_becker]

<p>Hi. See the 2 photos below. The first photo below seems very overexposed and I struggled with this during the entire 45 minute photo shoot. Only when I zoomed in (see the bottom photo) did I have better results. Suggestions on what metering changes I need to do to not over-expose like I did on the top photo below? How do I meter for just the background and then refocus on the main subject yet not over-expose when the changes in light are so dynamic? Or should I have just reduced the Exposure Compensation?</p>

<p>Equipment: Nikon D40 with a 70-200 2.8 Tamron Lens.</p>

<p>The first photo below was taken at 105mm at 2.8 on Programmed Auto with 1/125s shutter speed. I used 'spot' metering and auto white balance. Normally I use Aperture Priority but we had limited time so I bounced back and forth between Programmed Auto and Aperture priority.<br>

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_afopmc_EnDc/SrZ_6g8lbEI/AAAAAAAAE3c/rWTx4hBPY_A/s800/Derek%20and%20Elizabeth%20248.jpg " alt="" width="800" height="532" /><br>

For this photo below I used the same equipment and it was taken at 155mm, at 1/320s shutter speed. Aperture was 2.8.<br>

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_afopmc_EnDc/SrZ_5Z8txDI/AAAAAAAAE3Y/AQsy1Q4YtUE/s800/Derek%20and%20Elizabeth%20247.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /></p>

 

[howard_m]

<p>I'd take the camera off automatic, meter the background, drop down 1.5-2 stops and add some TTL flash from camera right because even in the 2nd image, the subject is shaded and kinda flat.</p>

[theresa_skutt]

<p>I'm guessing off-camera lighting would have helped. You can bounce the flash off a reflector that is on the side, and get the golden glow with added dimension from the angled lighting.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>On-camera lighting would be fine if properly exposed. The problem is that the exposure needs to be set for the background and the flash used for fill. The second one isn't that bad, exposure-wise, but seems soft.</p>

[jeff_becker]

<p>Sounds like I needed to focus on the background, get that ready to expose properly and then shoot some flash towards my subject. Do you think the purchase of a SB-900 would help solve this? I have an SB-400 flash, but it's options are fairly limited compared to the SB-900.<br>

Thank you so much to each of you. <br>

Jeff</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>I needed to focus on the background</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I hope you meant that you would spend some time making sure the background was exposed the way you want it. The focus should be on the subject.</p>

[howard_m]

<p>I'd also gel the flash w/ 1/2 CTS or something to warm it up and start w/ -1 FEC</p>

[nathan_stiles]

<p>He shouldn't need to gel the light, unless he only want to warm the subject compared to the background? Since the flash is daylight balanced, he just needs to tweak the WB.</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>Get the camera out of auto so that <em>you</em> are controlling the exposure, otherwise what's the point? Don't use a shutter of 1/125 with a 200mm lens. It looks like the D40 has a max. sync speed of 1/500th (?) so I would be using at least 1/250th for the shutter and that lens. As mentioned, even the shot at 1/320th looks soft. Personally, I always use a tripod when I am using a longer, heavier lens. The SB900 will be a better flash (as would an SB600), but don't think that that alone will help you. In the first shot you are overexposed, a new flash won't help that. In the 2nd shot you don't have enough fill (a new flash might help with that) but it has a very soft focus and a new flash won't help with that. And as already mentioned, the best thing you can do is not use the flash on-camera. Using the flash off-camera will give you a direction of light. Alternatively, in this shot at least, you could use a reflector to bounce light back onto the subject foregoing flash altogether.</p>

[william_markey]

<p>One of the things that a lot of lesser experienced portrait photographers do is they look for a background first in which to put their subject. Then they fight like crazy to make the lighting work with that background. What you should look for first is where the good light is...the light is the most important thing in photography. The light should be good for your subject...but also for the background. In the first photo, the background shows way to much brightness in the background compared to your subject, thus the reason why your camera meter was fooled - there was too much exposure difference between your subject and the background for what your camera could handle. The second photo is better....but look at all the spottiness (dark and light spots) in the background--makes it very distracting and works against the subject. So, although I agree with the above posters that fill-flash would have helped, I think a different background altogether is needed. The busy-ness of the tree branches/trunks takes away from the subject too. When dealing with a background in a portrait...simplify, simplify, simplify.</p>

<p>The expression he has is good--which means you have the talent of putting people at ease for a portrait. That's a huge thing to overcome--so you've just got to nail down a couple of the smaller details and you're well on your way. Also, in my opinion...always shoot in manual and always on a tripod!</p>

[matters410]

<p>I agree with the above posters for the most part. The flash/reflector is great advice to help shot #1 if you have no other option for location and time of the shoot but Is tricky to learn how to do correctly and my be cumbersome at first. William is very right, simple is better. I don't think the solution is to go out and spend $500 buck on a flash. Outdoor light is wonderful, why complicate things even more by bringing a flash and reflector into the equation ( do use both occasionally, but would rather avoid it if possible). For pic #1 I would just looked for a better location that included soft, natural light with some direction and less of a contrast in exposure for subject vs. the background. (what time of day was it??)<br>

Try spot metering in manual mode to allow for best shutter speed/aperture to give you sharp image with the DOF you want. #2 looks underexposed to me. Check exposure on location using your histogram and expose to the right or use a grey card to guarantee you nail the exposure. They also both look soft to me. The plane of focus is at least and inch or two in front of his face in #1 (maybe he leaned back after you locked focus) because the tree is sharper than the subject. Zoom in on your screen on location and really make sure they are sharp before moving on to the next location and when shooting wide open make sure your focus point is right on his eye. The composition in #2 isn't bad, but I don't really like the tree growing out of his shoulder in #1. I agree the subject looks very relaxed and comfortable, which is great. Hope some of that is helpful. Oh yeah, I second the tripod advice.</p>

[alen_z]

<p>Completely agree w/ Jonathan....reflector + spot metering on face + manual mode. It's not always convenient to use a tripod (I hate walking around w/ a tripod), so if your camera has a Mirror Up mode, use it to reduce any camera shake.</p>