First "Shoot"! Tips & Advice?

[msmeghanmarie]

alright, so i'm planning my first shoot ever, and i'm not quite sure where to start. this is not going to be a paid shoot, just for experience and practice.

i am wanting it to be outside, most likely in the nearest town, as that is where the model lives. the camera i'm using is my nikon d3100, with the 18-55mm kit lens. is there anything i should strictly exercise? how can i use this kit lens to its full potential?

 

[KmH]

The more familiar you are with your camera and lens features and functions, the better your results will be.

Set your lens to 55 mm. At 55 mm it will have a maximum aperture of f/5.6. Select A mode (Aperture Priority) and set A mode to f/5.6 (see page 76 of your D3100 users manual that is on the software disc).

At a focus point distance of 8 feet your Depth-Of-Field (DoF - the field of acceptably sharp focus) will be 1.4 feet deep. that 1.4 foot deep zone of focus will start 7.35 feet in front of your camera, and will end 8.78 feet from the camera.
If you move closer than 8 feet, the DoF will get shallower, and if you move further away the DoF will get even deeper.
The further from the background your subject is, the more blurred the background will be. If your model is leaning against a wall, that part of the wall inside that 1.4 foot deep DoF will also be in focus.
Note: The plane of acceptably sharp focus is essentiall parallel to the plane of the image sensor in your camera. If you tile the camera up or down, you tilt the plane of sharp focus too.

Here is an online DoF calculator I used - Online Depth of Field Calculator

For making images of people in an urban environment, a primary concern needs to be light, light quality, and light angle.
Professional on-location shoots are usually done in the morning or in the evening (golden hours) to take advantage of a low Sun angle and a warmer sunlight color temperature.

Apparently you do not have a speedlight (hot shoe flash unit). But the built-in flash unit can be used for on the lens axis lighting. Unfortunately on the lens axis lighting tends to make people photos look flat, but used in manual mode with the power level turned down some it may be your only option. see pages 57 and 58 of your D3100 users manual that is on the software disc)
At the least having a reflector or 2 would be be helpful. http://www.dg28.com/technique/why_we_use_lights.htm

You can get inexpensive white foamboard at office supply stores.
Or a reflector like this Impact 7-in-1 Rectangular Reflector Disc (42 x 72")

The Sun would be your 'main' light. Reflectors are used to provide 'fill' lighting.
Unfortunatly, you can't put the Sun where you want it, and you can't make it brighter or darker.

Another key is to use spot metering mode to make sure your model is properly exposed. (see pages 79 - 81 of your D3100 users manual that is on the software disc)
You also want to be sure your camera auto focus is set to AF-S, or single focus, and that the auto focus area mode is set to single point AF (see pages 135, 68-70 of your D3100 users manual that is on the software disc).
The center auto focus point in your camera is the most accurate one because it is a cross-type focus point.. Use it to focus on your subject, and then recompose your framing.

 

[12sndsgood]

First shoot. I use these to try and improve. so think about what you need to improve on, and go out with a goal to work on that area of your photography. it's really easy to get distracted when your taking photos of someone and forget all about trying to actually improve. so keep that in your head at all times.

 

[texkam]

Pay attention to your backgrounds.

 

[shefjr]

Off hand a couple thoughts, or rules of thumb.
1.Shoot in portrait mode.
2.As stated above watch the background. Meaning make sure there isn't a tree growing out of the models head.
3. Don't leave a lot of empty space over the models head.
4. Focus on the eyes.

That's all I can think of. I don't do people so it's quite possible there are other things to watch for these are just the ones I know.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[Mully]

Make a small list of reminders and tape it to your camera. Write on the tape

 

[msmeghanmarie]

Thanks for your tips, guys! I appreciate them so much!

Keith (if I may call you that..) : You are saying to leave my lens at 55mm throughout the entire shoot and play around with my DoF then? I have yet to master calculating my DoF and applying it when I shoot (keep in mind I am very green with this, I bought my DSLR in November of 2012). I will most likely be using some reflective material from work, I even actually think there is foamboard there. What would happen if I were to adjust my lens to something smaller than 55mm? Should I just focusing on keeping it at f/5.6 at all times?

12sndsgood : yes, I am looking to improve right now, it's basically the entire reason I want to do this first shoot... I would like to work on my composition!

Tjanks everyone for your input! If anyone has any more, I will gladly listen . I think the "taping my notes to my camera" will be really essential to me learning new things, so I will definitely be trying that out!

 

[KmH]

Yes, keep it at 55 mm and f/5.6. The camera will choose the shutter speed and ISO.
Keep an eye on the shutter speed in the viewfinder, because hand holding the camera at less than 1/60 - 1/100 for shutter speed and not inducing camera shake blur becomes difficult.
If the shutter speed gets slower than 1/60, you need more light.

Use your feet to zoom in/out, and to control the DoF.

f/5.6 will give you about the sharpest focus the 18-55 is capable of, and if you stay close to 8 feet from the model the DoF will not become so shallow as to be difficult to control.
Like I said, the closer you get, the shallower the DoF becomes.
At 5 feet from the model using 55 mm and f/5.6, the DoF is only 0.5 feet deep (6 inches).
At those settings but 10 feet from the model the DoF is 2.25 feet deep.

 

[msmeghanmarie]

Okay, awesome, that I think I can do! I won't be asking any more questions about the shoot until after as to not overload myself with information... I will skim through my reference manual once more before I go out, and I will hopefully be back with some decent results!

If you've got any more pointers, though, please share, otherwise I'm just going to have fun with it! .

 

[msmeghanmarie]

I lied! I'm going to ask more questions, lol.

Metering - when should I get interested in this? Should I touch it?
AE-L/AF-L - same question.

 

[Patrice]

Metering is very important, don't ignore it, the goal is to fully understand how your camera's meter functions in its various modes. An important aspect of your meter is that it will try to make every exposure as if you were taking a picture of an 18% grey card. Of course very few of us photograph these things. So if the subject is lighter than the card the meter will tend to underexpose so you'll have compensate, reverse the process if the subject is darker. Your camera likely has a histogram display of the captured image. Read up in your manual to understand what that is and how to use it.

If you meter in centre weighted or spot then the AE lock and the exposure compensation features of your camera are your best friends when you use any mode other than full manual.

If you use your lens at fast apertures and are reasonable close to your subject then depth of field becomes quite shallow so focus is critical. Here is where your focus lock feature can be very helpful. Example is if once you've framed the image there are no focus points on the point you want to focus on, ie the eyes, then you'll have to focus on the eyes, lock focus and reframe. Be careful not to move the camera back or forward.

Outdoor light is rather difficult to work with as opposed to studio where you control every aspect. So if you don't have a flash, get one or borrow one. Fill flash outdoors is a powerful tool to have in your skills tool bag. A reflector is also right up there in terms of utility. This can be a store bought foldable contraption or simple a big piece of white foam or cardboard. You on board pop up flash can be used if you don't have anything else. The idea is to bring some light onto your model's face, reduce the under chin and under nose shadows and avoid racoon eyes. Best place to shoot would be in open shade or on a cloudy day so as to get even lighting from the big softbox over your head.

 

[KmH]

For people shots spot metering is the most accurate. it meters about 2% of the what you see in the viewfinder and the spot it meters is tied to whichever AF point you have chosen. (page 79 of the user's manual)
Earlier I recommended using the center AF point, because it is a cross-type AF point, and is most accurate focus point your D3100 has.

Center-weighted metering is also good for portraiture, but meters a larger portion of what is in the frame, and obviously meters in the middle of the frame.

Look at page 146 of the users manual for the AE-L/AF-L options. For now use it in AE/AF lock mode.

Eventually, you will likely want to use it in AF-On mode, which is often called 'back button focus' because in that mode the shutter no longer does AF when 1/2 pressed.

 

[msmeghanmarie]

Keith - I've heard on more than one occasion that back button focusing is very useful, and I'd like to learn more about it.

Patrice - when you say "lock focus and reframe" what do you mean?

 

[texkam]

You should learn how your camera works before bringing in a model, paid or unpaid. You should be able to successfully operate your camera in manual mode first, switching to the various auto settings only because you understand how they can have a positive impact.

 

[msmeghanmarie]

texkam - i am quite confident operating my camera; i can shoot in manual but i prefer aperture priority. it is the controls like the AF-L/AE-L button that i am unsure of.