Doing my first portrait session in two weeks!

PinkPoodle

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Hello!!

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the correct forum. If it would be better placed somewhere else, please let me know.

So I'm doing my first portrait session in a few weeks and I'm nervous, scared and super excited! Please give me your top tips and advice to have the session run as smooth as possible.

Here's what I know so far- It will be a mom, dad and young daughter who are my friends. Thankfully they are friends, as that takes some pressure off. We're planning on doing it in the late afternoon before the sun sets at a park in Redondo Beach.

Of course I'm doing lots of research and practicing but would love to hear anything extra. What are your favorite lenses for a family park shoot??
 
Scout the venue before hand, at the same time of day as the shoot in order to know where the light is good and where it isn't. Be cognizant of your backgrounds... many a wonderful portrait has been ruined by an errant trash-can in the background. Discuss clothing with the client; they don't all need to match, but you don't want mom in a sundress, dad in a suit, and junior in punk clothes... coordinated but not matching is my preference. As for lenses, I use 85, 105, and 200 as my go-to glass. Make sure that you have a reflector or some way of getting a little light into the eyes.
 
Scout the venue before hand, at the same time of day as the shoot in order to know where the light is good and where it isn't. Be cognizant of your backgrounds... many a wonderful portrait has been ruined by an errant trash-can in the background. Discuss clothing with the client; they don't all need to match, but you don't want mom in a sundress, dad in a suit, and junior in punk clothes... coordinated but not matching is my preference. As for lenses, I use 85, 105, and 200 as my go-to glass. Make sure that you have a reflector or some way of getting a little light into the eyes.

Thank you SO much for these tips!! I will definitely take them ALL to heart. I'm shooting with an Olympus OMD EM5, and I'm slightly confused about the lenses. (I've been using a Canon Rebel). I need to figure out the equivalent of an 85 for the OMD EM5 and get that ordered soon.
 
I need to figure out the equivalent of an 85 for the OMD EM5 and get that ordered soon.
Maybe you already have a lens that will work. It doesn't have to be "the equivalent of an 85". Something in that range should be fine. There is nothing magic about a particular focal length.
 
I need to figure out the equivalent of an 85 for the OMD EM5 and get that ordered soon.
Maybe you already have a lens that will work. It doesn't have to be "the equivalent of an 85". Something in that range should be fine. There is nothing magic about a particular focal length.
Agreed; I'd try and keep it above 50mm but other than that, almost anything will work.
 
A bit more seriously:
^+1 to everything John said.

Couple of extras, off the top of my head:

1. Shoot wider than you need to. In other words, shoot a little wide so that if you end up wanting/needing to do some cropping, you have room to do it without losing little things such as fingers and toes, and tops of heads.
2. Posing is the toughest part of it for me! Do a little research on good, basic poses so that if your subjects aren't just naturally good at posing (and most of them really aren't), you'll be able to lend direction.
3. Be very mindful that you do not ACCIDENTALLY cut off body parts in your photos. If it is your INTENT to cut off a part of a person, do it intentionally--for instance, if you don't intend to include the full body, down to the feet, then cut it off between the knees and ankles, or midway through the thighs. Don't cut off tips of toes, or fingers, or just a teeny bit of a head or an elbow.
 
I've started making myself index card cheet sheets. I start with a background note, add in poses for that background and lighting diagram on the back. I end up with 3-4 cards total, one for each background that I want to use during the shoot. I review them several times before the shoot and usullu don't have to peek at them during, but I know they are there if I draw a blank!
 
I've started making myself index card cheet sheets. I start with a background note, add in poses for that background and lighting diagram on the back. I end up with 3-4 cards total, one for each background that I want to use during the shoot. I review them several times before the shoot and usullu don't have to peek at them during, but I know they are there if I draw a blank!
Really clever! I like this.
 
I have a 'things-to-take-with-me' cheat sheet.
I conscientiously reformat my memory cards, charge all my batteries, pack everything I want to take and put it all in one obvious spot.
 
Outdoors, a 70-200mm zoom is good on FX, but an 85mm prime is also very handy for outdoor portraiture. It's nice to have some focal length flexibility, meaning zoom, or a set of prime lenses that have some "space" between the ends of the set. Semi-wide-angle, 35mm equivalent in FX (17mm in Oly's m4/3 format) is very handy for group shots that show people loosely posed around something, like a fire pit or picnic table, or playground equipment, in a loose gathering, not all bunched up and posed formally, but just sort of close to one another, and engaged in some kind of activity. You can also use a normal lens for that, aka 50mm in FX, a 25mm in m4/3, but that does move you back a bit, and it does make the background arrears larger, and visually more important than the semi-wide-angle lens does.

Honestly, when it comes right down to it, I would look at the 14-40mm zoom as the lens for this type of a shoot...it has the wide, semi-wide,normal, and short telephoto options all in one handy, easy to use lens.

SInce it's coming onto October tomorrow, keep in mind that in the evenings, people can be faced toward the low sun, with the sun off to the side at a 3/4 angle, and they probably will not be squinting too terribly much, so you'll get some eye sparkle, and some modeling on their faces, for good facial shape. You will probably be able to use the low, late afternoon sunlight to give a fairly warm look to the photos. i

If you decide to shoot backlighted, with the sun behind your people, then come in very close and take a meter reading off of a person's face, and use that exposure value in manual mode, and let the backgrounds go really bright and over-exposed. Use a tiny squirt of low-powered flash, just for eye-sparkle, not really for fill light.
 
I've started making myself index card cheet sheets. I start with a background note, add in poses for that background and lighting diagram on the back. I end up with 3-4 cards total, one for each background that I want to use during the shoot. I review them several times before the shoot and usullu don't have to peek at them during, but I know they are there if I draw a blank!
Really clever! I like this.
Thank you!! It's worked really well for me the few times I have used it. I also make index cards for the Photoshop tutorials I've watched. I need to invest in a box to hold them all so they aren't loose all over my desk.....
 
Know your cameras and settings well so you don't have to think about it when you want to make something beautiful.

Have an overall idea of what you want to convey, and all of your poses, lighting, props, etc will follow that general idea.

Always project and instill confidence, project your confidence and instill confidence into your clients. It will make them trust you more and making them look less awkward in photos.

Have a bit of fun. Photography is suppose to be fun. When you're stressed out it kills your creativity.

I usually shoot by feel and the moment so no notes for me. I just go with the flow :D
 
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I've started making myself index card cheet sheets. I start with a background note, add in poses for that background and lighting diagram on the back. I end up with 3-4 cards total, one for each background that I want to use during the shoot. I review them several times before the shoot and usullu don't have to peek at them during, but I know they are there if I draw a blank!
Really clever! I like this.
Thank you!! It's worked really well for me the few times I have used it. I also make index cards for the Photoshop tutorials I've watched. I need to invest in a box to hold them all so they aren't loose all over my desk.....

May work for you or not, but I either type notes in my phone (galaxy note 4 - no pun...) or I take pictures of notes.
 

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