Easter Pictures

[zioneffect564]

Well I was just told today that I'm going to be taking pictures next weekend of the family in a bluebonnet field for our easter pictures. I was wondering about all of it from when I should take the pictures (what time of day) to what would be good for all of us to wear. I was also wondering about any specific camera settings that would be usefull, I was thinking if i was shooting midday i would use around f/16 for the aperature. I just want some advice to make them turn out good for us and any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks in advance..

 

[Funky]

well, if all else fails shoot on the sunset setting and lower the AV- thats what i do when im in a rush, or you could just take lighting pictures to get everything right. then shoot the ones that count

 

[KaraM]

I would also recommend morning or evening when the sun isn't overhead and can create harsh shadows and squiniting eyes. Maybe you can find shade under a tree if you take the pictures at midday.

I've seen lots of photos where the subjects wear white, but the contrast can sometimes be too strong. Not knowing anything about your particular camera, I don't know what kind of WB settings you have, but I would use whatever one matches the lighting situation you have.

BTW, what side of the Metroplex are you on and where are you planning to do this shoot? I know of some really nice (and big) patches, but they are out around Weatherford and Granbury.

 

[zioneffect564]

On my WB i have sunny, cloudy, tungsten, florescent, flash, and one other that i cant think of.

Im on the ft. worth side of the metroplex in mansfield (just south of arlington) and i have no idea where we are going i kinda want to know so i can go check it out before we go out there so i have an idea of what to do but i dont think im going to be able to..and im afraid that there are going to be a bunch of people out there especially on easter weekend.

anyways thanks for your replies and i hope this turns out good

 

[zioneffect564]

Well im thinking white shirts and jeans now in the evening. Also im going to definatly be shooting in raw and i'll post some pictures up here for everyone to chop up

 

[Big Mike]

I suggest avoiding mid-day, if you can help it. As mentioned, it creates dark shadows on people's faces and might also make them squint. Sunrise/sunset is usually the time when the light is more condusive to great portraits but you also have to consider that they want the photos in a field of bluebonnets, so you will want light that makes that looks good as well.

Do you have a powerful flash? One suggestion would be to go outside during the day light and then use flash for 'fill light' to light up the shadows in their faces. There are a few problems that you might run into though. When outside in bright light, your aperture will probably be small and/or your shutter speed will be fast. Most flash units are limited to the camera's max sync speed, which is 1/160 for your camera. So in bright light, with a shutter speed of 1/160, your aperture might be F16, F22 etc. It would take a very, very powerful flash to light up a group of people with an aperture of F22.

Another option would be to use something to reflect some light back onto their faces.

As for clothes to wear, I suggest co-ordinating them so that they all have something of similar color. If they all have blue jeans/pants on, and one person has white pants/shirt, that one person will stand out like a sore thumb.

 

[zioneffect564]

I was seriously considering renting a HVL-F56AM for my sony but i dont know where i can go to rent one..i shouldnt have a problem since im in the dfw area. I was also wondering about reflectors, should i go gold or silver i dont know where i could get a gold one i was thinking though that i might be able to get a silver windshield sun blocker for the cars.. any suggestions??

 

[Big Mike]

You can get those 5-in-one reflectors that have covers which can be taken off...it gives you 5 different materials to work with.

The gold ones give a warm light, like a sun set. The silver ones reflect a lot of light and can give you specular highlights (shiny spots). The white reflector gives a nice soft light.

The windshield reflector would be a good idea for a cheap reflector.

Are you doing a group shot? It may be hard to use reflectors with a group shot.

 

[zioneffect564]

yeah its going to be a group shot and then a lot of random shots of different people