Portrait photography advice?

[weepete]

Hi all,

My best mate has asked me if I could shoot some portrait shots for his CV as he is in a profesional job. The goal will be to try and get some classic pro style studio shots of him suited and booted. Now, I mostly shoot landscapes and wildlife so this is a bit out of my comfort zone, but worst comes to the worst we'll have a laugh and waste a few hours so there's no issues if I make a mess of it and there will not be any kind of payment involved.

Lighting wise I was just going to go for a Rembrant style lighting as the main light shot from the front with a speedlight through a shoot through umbrella, and a reflector on the opposite side to lift the shadows just a little. Not planning on using a hair light as he doesn't have any hair but I'll have a second speedlight there in case we need a little extra light on his shoulders. Ideally the background will be dark grey. Posing I'm not too sure of but I'd like to try and get one shot of him standing and one sitting.

What I'm not sure about is how much room we'll need between him and the background so I'd really appreciate some advice on that so I can choose somewhere suitable to shoot. Also some advise about backgrounds would be very welcome as I've seen a few cheap vinal ones on fleabay that look good but I've no idea if they are any good or not and it's probably not going to be used again.

 

[Derrel]

Distance between subject and background depends a bit: six,seven,eight,ten,12 feet is nice if you have the width of background to do it. The longer the lens focal length, the narrower the angle of view behind the subject. There's a sweet spot between focal length and camera-to-subject distance and capture format size. AVOID shooting inside of seven feet with any lens length.

On a sitting shot, have him sit on the very front edge of a stool or chair, then have him lean forward from the waist,so his head is actually at knee-distance, pull his shoulders back, and project his chin. This extreme posture will look great on-film: rugged, dynamic, masculine. If you want, have one foot placed on a 4- to 6-inch high shoebox-sized block of wood, another classic pose. Same with foot-on-stool, hand on raised knee type standing shots. You need a dynamic look, in a static pose!

Suitable backgrounds are easier to find if you use a longer telephoto lens, like 105 to 180mm or so (35mm format equivalent FOV), so the angle of view behind him is narrow, and easy to control.Plain walls, blankets suspended on a rod, an office themed background wall, perhaps a backdrop of the office or the exterior of the building where he works, or what you can find handy; curtains, sliding wall dividers, doorway arch, door, etc..

With a larger-format camera, you can blur the heck out of many things with a long lens from 10 to 20 feet, and make it a suitable background. I think large queen- or king-sized dark grey microfiber blankets from the large department stores make a fine backdrop material when hung on a crossbar.

 

[weepete]

Superb advice. Thanks Derrel! I'll have a looksee for those type of poses, they sound spot on.

 

[Derrel]

For anybody who wants insight into hundreds of years' worth of posing the human body (in marble, in bronze, in oil painting, in photography) check out the classical lessons taught here, for free. Ignore the clothing styles, and look at the images and read the text, and there is tremendous insight into the visual language of western civilization.

Zeltsman Apporach to Traditionla Classic Portraiture

Chapters 4 and 5 detail many secrets to successfully posing the male form. This is classical posing, and the principles are still the same as they were years ago. The masculine pose has just a couple simple rules to it regarding head placement. Other than that, it can encompass hundreds of props, any kind of wardrobe, and so on. There are many small fundamentals that the average untrained photography enthusiast is typically totally unaware of. In the past we've had some heated discussions here on TPF, regarding how to pose people according to a visual language tradition that goes back to the Renaissance in 2-D (painting), and to the ancient Greeks and Romans in 3-D (sculpture).

 

[weepete]

Thanks mate! That is such a good read on classic posing for portature and just on a quick read addressed most of the things I wasn't quite sure about with posing (particularly head position) and highlighted dome stuff I need to pay attention to (like leg position when sitting) that I'd not even thoght of yet. It really does wonders with that strong traditional posing and gives a whole variety of shots based on some very simple methods. That gives me over 30 options for shots I could run through and that's without different expressions and props or backgrounds. Seriously good content in that, I've bookmarked it and will be referring back to it. Thanks!

 

[weepete]

After a bit of experimentation with my shoot through umbrellas and a little hand from the wean (who is not so little now) there was too much light scatter for my liking so I've ordered a cheap bowens adapter and a softbox. I'm more fond of octagonal ones but they were a bit priceier than I was willing to spend so ended up with a square one (though I was keen on the internal diffuser). Some experimentation is now needed, but thanks to amžon prime should come Saturday.

 

[KmH]

Scatter and some of the limitations of softboxes is the major part of why I mostly used brolly's.

 

[tirediron]

After a bit of experimentation with my shoot through umbrellas and a little hand from the wean (who is not so little now) there was too much light scatter for my liking so I've ordered a cheap bowens adapter and a softbox. I'm more fond of octagonal ones but they were a bit priceier than I was willing to spend so ended up with a square one (though I was keen on the internal diffuser). Some experimentation is now needed, but thanks to amžon prime should come Saturday.

Shoot-through umbrellas are (IMO) not at all suitable for portrait work unless you're in the business of driver's license & passport portraits. They send light EVERYWHERE; a good 32" white or silver reflecting umbrella on the other hand is the single best modifier EVER! I've got softboxes from 24x24" to 48x60", brolly boxes, beauty dishes.. but the one thing I never leave home without are two 32" silver reflecting umbrellas. They take up virtually no room, and I KNOW that no matter what, I can get good results with them. Karsh used umbrellas... need one say more?

 

[weepete]

Scatter and some of the limitations of softboxes is the major part of why I mostly used brolly's.

Shoot-through umbrellas are (IMO) not at all suitable for portrait work unless you're in the business of driver's license & passport portraits. They send light EVERYWHER; a good 32" white or silver reflecting umbrella on the other hand is the single best modifier EVER! I've got softboxes from 24x24" to 48x60", brolly boxes, beauty dishes.. but the one thing I never leave home without are two 32" silver reflecting umbrellas. They take up virtually no room, and I KNOW that no matter what, I can get good results with them. Karsh used umbrellas... need one say more?

Thanks chaps. I've ended up slightly more flush than I expected towards the end of the month so I'll add a brolly or two to the shopping list!

 

[Derrel]

This is a nice umbrella box, $29.95 US for the pair. Steve Kaeser Enterprises also has an Amazon storefront. I have used a pair of these and similar Lastolite Umbrella Box units since 2007. I prefer these to the more-costly Lastolite Umbrella Box model, which is heavier, and uses a three-ziper closure as opposed to the drawstring closure these use.

Pretty hard to beat a pair of 42-inch umbrella boxes for under $30.

Softbox Umbrella Reflective 42inch

This type of modifier, a reflecting umbrella with a diffusing face on it gives what I call double diffusion; first the light hits the inner bowl and is scrambled a bit, and then that light goes through a close-in diffusing panel, softening the light additionally. This creates a softer light than either a shoot-through or a plain reflecting umbrella. One gets much of the benefit from a softbox, but without the need for a mounting ring, and with almost instant set-up, plus easy teardown and transport.

As far as umbrellas go, there are so many different sizes and types. Inner linings on reflecting umbrellas do change the light quality quite a bit: soft-silvery white-colored fabric is the norm, but there is also metalized silver, gold-and-silver or zebra, gold metalized, and also one of my favorites, the hard to find dull,matte white vinyl interior. You might find that silver-lined umbrellas make the rounded planes of the face light up a bit, which may be considered too specular in color images, but which adds a sense of dimension in B&W conversions. Also, smaller reflecting umbrellas give more contrast to the light than do big umbrellas, and that too can look good in B&W conversions. Thirty and 32-inch umbrellas have more usefulness than many people give them credit for these days, and work great with speedlights and quick setups. I like 32-inch umbrellas, and I like 40- to 43-incher's as well.

 

[jake337]

For anybody who wants insight into hundreds of years' worth of posing the human body (in marble, in bronze, in oil painting, in photography) check out the classical lessons taught here, for free. Ignore the clothing styles, and look at the images and read the text, and there is tremendous insight into the visual language of western civilization.

Zeltsman Apporach to Traditionla Classic Portraiture

Chapters 4 and 5 detail many secrets to successfully posing the male form. This is classical posing, and the principles are still the same as they were years ago. The masculine pose has just a couple simple rules to it regarding head placement. Other than that, it can encompass hundreds of props, any kind of wardrobe, and so on. There are many small fundamentals that the average untrained photography enthusiast is typically totally unaware of. In the past we've had some heated discussions here on TPF, regarding how to pose people according to a visual language tradition that goes back to the Renaissance in 2-D (painting), and to the ancient Greeks and Romans in 3-D (sculpture).

Bookmarked!

 

[weepete]

Thanks Derrel,

Those umbrellas aren't avalible on amazon UK at the moment but I've read good things about that double diffused type. Ended up just ordering some cheap 33" silver reflective type ones. At least I'll have a few different options now. Gonna try setting up some self portraits first and get some practise in!

 

[table1349]

If you decide to go with some softboxes these are available. Godox® 120cm / 47.2in Portable Octagon Softbox Umbrella: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

 

[chuasam]

After a bit of experimentation with my shoot through umbrellas and a little hand from the wean (who is not so little now) there was too much light scatter for my liking so I've ordered a cheap bowens adapter and a softbox. I'm more fond of octagonal ones but they were a bit priceier than I was willing to spend so ended up with a square one (though I was keen on the internal diffuser). Some experimentation is now needed, but thanks to amžon prime should come Saturday.

Shoot-through umbrellas are (IMO) not at all suitable for portrait work unless you're in the business of driver's license & passport portraits. They send light EVERYWHERE; a good 32" white or silver reflecting umbrella on the other hand is the single best modifier EVER! I've got softboxes from 24x24" to 48x60", brolly boxes, beauty dishes.. but the one thing I never leave home without are two 32" silver reflecting umbrellas. They take up virtually no room, and I KNOW that no matter what, I can get good results with them. Karsh used umbrellas... need one say more?

You get what you pay for.
The friend is looking for free shots, he should also expect equivalent quality.

 

[chuasam]

Karsh used umbrellas... need one say more?

That`s cuz Karsh did not have access to the Mola catalogue
MOLA Mantti 43.5″- 110cm White Interior - MOLA Softlights