Portaiture in the woods

[Bryant]

Hey, so I've got a model, not professional, just a friend, that I'm photographing. She wants a portrait shot that has the foliage that's coming upon us. I have the spot, but I've never done a portrait. Should I use a flash? What's the best time of day... morning or night? Any insight would be great

 

[DeadEye]

Hey, so I've got a model, not professional, just a friend, that I'm photographing. She wants a portrait shot that has the foliage that's coming upon us. I have the spot, but I've never done a portrait. Should I use a flash? What's the best time of day... morning or night? Any insight would be great

Well bryant the question is difficult to answer as asked. I would say early morning when light is still soft but you have to evaluate the light at that time and decide from there. Direct flash from on camera in general makes a snapshot not portraiture.

 

[Johnboy2978]

The "Golden" or Magic hour is usually the first or last hour of sun light and is much softer and better to work with. If you are in the woods with foliage however, you might consider extending it to the first or last 2 hours depending on how wooded it is. Fill flash would likely help the portrait, but built in flash would make it snapshotty as dead eye pointed out. Good fill flash from a speed light will enhance the shot and remove the shadows around the eyes, etc.

 

[Bryant]

Is there any place that talks about portraiture and how to achieve certain aspects, like tutorials online.

 

[E6filmuser]

Beware of green casts from reflections off foliage.

It might even be worth experimenting with a polarizer.

If your model looks towards a strong light (not flash) her pupils will contract which is not an attractive look.

A reflector (make one from cooking foil) can give a more subtle and controlable fill.

 

[DeadEye]

Beware of green casts from reflections off foliage.

It might even be worth experimenting with a polarizer.

If your model looks towards a strong light (not flash) her pupils will contract which is not an attractive look.

A reflector (make one from cooking foil) can give a more subtle and controlable fill.

I guess if the pupil was a wee tiney dot that will be the case. I would be more concern that she squints ( not good portraiture ) . I will in fact aim a halogen at a model in studio to shrink the pupil and thus show the pretty color of the iris.

 

[Stogie]

I always use flash when shooting. When shooting outdoors, pay special attention to whats behind your subjects head. There's nothing like getting your pictures back and it looks like a tree limb growing out of your subjects head. Like someone else said, foilage will cause color cast if your not careful. Fuji makes a 4 layer film that helps prevent that.

 

[ksmattfish]

I'm not so concerned with pupil size as squinting. I try to orient my subjects so they are looking into a dark area or scene. If they are facing a bright sky they'll probably be squinting.

I love back lit foliage combined with fill flash for portraits in the woods.

 

[Mike_E]

Fill flash is good.

The thing with early and late light isn't so much the color (you can always use filters) but the angle. You can't fake the shadows or the texture you get with low light. (ok, you can but it's really tough!) Think about shooting a portrait with someone sitting directly under a bare lightbulb and then one with the light in another room coming through a door.

Enjoy the day!

mike

 

[Dao]

I got this link from a forum member before.

http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=confessions+of+a+photographer&search_type=&aq=f