Highly Detailed Portraits

[jamesbjenkins]

I should probably divulge that the photos will be nudes so the focus will be on the entirety of the body, and not just the face or torso.

So you're brand new to photography and you're trying to shoot nudes? Classy.

You should probably focus on the fundamentals of the craft before you worry about the best gear and certainly before you shoot nudes.

 

[Vautrin]

james; everyone has interests... if he wants to shoot models whats the problem? not everyone wants to photograph architecture

 

[Vautrin]

im more impressed someone agreed to nudes with an amateur... which says to
me maybe its a significant other, in which case, let the kids have fun

or maybe its a
model, which means hes paying for it, so let him
gey what he
spent good money on

 

[KmH]

If you're brand new to photography and your interest is in shooting nudes - go for it. :thumbup:

No doubt learning the fundamentals of doing photography and lighting will be beneficial, and learning the fundamentals by shooting nudes is as good as any other way of learning the fundamentals.

 

[Derrel]

I should probably divulge that the photos will be nudes so the focus will be on the entirety of the body, and not just the face or torso.

So you're brand new to photography and you're trying to shoot nudes? Classy.

You should probably focus on the fundamentals of the craft before you worry about the best gear and certainly before you shoot nudes.

WHY NOT? For hundreds of years, beginning art students all over the world have taken life drawing classes, as a way to learn how to draw and paint the nude human form. I mean come on James!!! Nudes are an academic tradition!

And besides the hundreds of years of academic tradition, there's naked chicks!!!

 

[amolitor]

If I was gonna shoot nudes, I'd actually hire as expensive a model as I could afford, and lay it all out for her (or him). I'd want an experienced model who was willing to work with me, with the clear understanding that for the most part money will pass from me to the model, and learning will pass in the other direction. A good model is worth every penny. The cheaper you go, the less of a bargain, generally. The right significant other can be fine, but they don't tend to know anything and, not being paid, can become bored and/or exasperated with the process fairly quickly.

 

[Vautrin]

yeah but you can (and should) do research online

are you doing classic nudes? just her against a plain backdrop?

something sexier maybe (like lingerie)?

her innothing but a leather jacket?

also remember half of portrait shooting is building rapport

if you start off the shoot ordering her to get naked and pulling out a basket of sex toys, shell probably run

better the first shoot is clothed (at least bikini) amd you spend some time talking to her and getting her comfortable

also, i kid you not, if you have a smart phone you can download posing apps showing classic poses

or you can find them to print out online

do you know the model btw?

 

[fonsolo]

Yes, I should have added that I'm not a complete beginner. I do understand certain concepts, like ISO, f-stops, aperture, as well as camera models and there features. I'm not to informed, however, on lenses, and I have yet to find the right combination of settings to achieve what I am looking for. I haven't tried shooting RAW yet so that may help, and with my strobes I have had a hard time shooting at any shutter speed faster than 1/25(I use a hotshoe transmitter, any suggestions on this would help as well).
Here is a photo I took recently, using one strobe outside. This photo has not been edited what-so-ever and was shot as a JPG.
http://i.imgur.com/e22Tz.jpg

And here are some links to a few examples of something I would like to achieve, or at least attempt

NSFW - imgur: the simple image sharer
NSFW - imgur: the simple image sharer

 

[Vautrin]

1/25 is waaaay to slow

it depends on the camera and if there is image stabilisation (vr in nikon terms)

but i find anything under 1/60 too slow and 1/120 is the slowest i like to go

you need to be doing 1/125 at f8 and the images will look a whole lot better

also detail is lost in jpeg. what settings do you use?

better is raw theres no compression artefacts

but you know , it may sound silly, but line up some beer cans or soda cans and take pictures. vary aperture and shutterspeed

try with and without a tripod

youll start to understand what is blurry because shutter is too slow and what is depth of field


oh yeah if you STILL cant get a sharp picture, can you get it at all with that camera? lenses do break sometimes... ive also heard of non nikon lenses that dont autofocuscorrectly

 

[Vautrin]

the sharpness youre looking for should not be difficult to get at all

 

[fonsolo]

@jamesbjenkins There's always one condescending jerk who has nothing to add but still give's his 2 cents. Thanks for making this discussion complete!
@vautrin Any idea how to get a faster speed or slow the flash on the strobes down? When I attempt anything faster than 1/25, it appears as if it shoot before the flash. As I mentioned, I am using a hotshoe transmitter, but I'm willing to explore alternatives.

 

[fonsolo]

@jamesbjenkins Oh, and forgive me for beating this subject to death, but your so-called "fundamentals" of photography aren't too far off from those of various other art forms which I am knowledgeable in. I just need to know specific workings of the camera which is exactly why I am here.

 

[Mike_E]

1/25th max shutter sync is bad wrong.

Have you checked to make sure that you don't have the flash set to rear sync?

Also, for best results a tripod is in order.

 

[fonsolo]

Alright, I think I have this figured out. Thank you all for your help and for teaching me so much in a day! I'll post some of the results later on this week if anyone is interested(non-nudes probably).

 

[Designer]

Yes, I should have added that I'm not a complete beginner. I do understand certain concepts, like ISO, f-stops, aperture, as well as camera models and there features.

Pardon me if I have a difficult time believing that. Shooting at 1/25, and missing the flash doesn't add up. Perhaps you should have another look at your remote trigger to make sure it is working.

Furthermore, I did go to the link you provided and looked at the photo for which you said you used a strobe. I don't see an evidence of any light being used in that photo.