Need some tips

[LoganSwearingen]

I'm a freshman photography major and our first assignment is portraits. My instructor doesn't give many tips besides showing us his own work (portraits of JFK and Ansel Adams, actually quite impressive) if I could just get some beginner tips that would be very helpful. I'm only working with my Canon rebel, no lighting equipment.

 

[frommrstomommy]

find a friend willing to model for you! practice and post a few images. people will offer guidance from there.

 

[alexzobi]

that's an ok quick video where all the guy uses is a fill flash. i suppose if you don't have a mounted flash, you could use the flash on the camera. also, a reflector would be worth picking up and it'll always be of use. you could use a car windshield reflector found in the automotive section at walmart. it costs about $5 and can make a huge difference if you're planning on outdoor photography.

 

[Derrel]

YouTube has a lot of video lessons on portraiture. One thing you might want to try is to work in an open, shaded area, out near the periphery of the shade, which creates some "direction" to the lighting. If you are in full shade, far away from the edge of the shade where the sky-light meets the shade, there's basically zero "direction" to the light.

One of the things that makes portraits interesting to look at is having at least some shadows on the face. Shadows show shape, and show contour, and show texture, and in short, shadows make things interesting to look at. If there are no shadows at all, it's probably not a portrait, but just a shot of a face.

So, work where the light is coming from a definable direction. SHooting photos with lighting that has zero direction, where the light just sort of comes out of nowhere, is a newbie thing. Try to avoid that pitfall.

 

[Gavjenks]

If you want a whole bunch of generic tips and tutorials / what a teacher should be doing for you, I would suggest books, actually. For portraiture specifically, and/or for general exposure, composition, etc.

 

[table1349]

Portrait Photography
Portrait Photography Tips
20 Fast Tips for Portrait Photography
How to Take Portrait Photographs: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

Last but not least: Let me google that for you

 

[texkam]

What school do you attend?

 

[Granddad]

The Canon Rebel is a respectable camera, that was my first DSLR and I got enough good results from it to realise that I had some potential and that I really enjoyed photography.

My portraiture tip is to remember that it's digital, you don't have to buy film or pay for developing and printing. Take lots of shots, fill the memory card and then dump everything you don't think makes the grade - even if you're only left with one image, or none. Then go out and shoot some more.

Posting your pics here is a great way to get tips, some of the C&C can seem harsh at times but if you can take a few lumps you'll learn lots.