portrait help!??!?!?

[invncblsonic143]

Ok so i want to try my first portrait but i dont have much to work with all i have is a canon rebel xti with no special lens or set equipment ..... my girlfriend will be my model but if the shots arent atleast a little flatering i will not get another chance at using her for a model to practice on....can anyone give me any ideas or tips for beginner portraits?

 

[Quentin_Moyer]

but if the shots arent atleast a little flatering i will not get another chance at using her for a model to practice on

:shock:


Are you serious?

Anyway, if that's the case, you should probably invest in a speedlight and at least a cheap telephoto lens before you start, but I still think that's a bit ridiculous.

 

[joealcantar]

You can always find a model in Model Mayhem (bet she would love that). Since little gear is available , you are going to have to find a place with the right light at the right time of day and take the shots. You can make a cheap silver reflector to light up the subject easy enough.
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Shoot well, Joe

 

[Quentin_Moyer]

If you have any spent film canisters laying around you can cut one in half with an X-Acto knife and have a handy flash diffuser for your integral flash unit.

 

[oldmacman]

Ok so i want to try my first portrait but i dont have much to work with all i have is a canon rebel xti with no special lens or set equipment ..... my girlfriend will be my model but if the shots arent atleast a little flatering i will not get another chance at using her for a model to practice on....can anyone give me any ideas or tips for beginner portraits?

If you don't want to spend any money shoot out doors and use a big, white board as a reflector to fill in your subject. With the right light, there are lots of shots you can take. Do some googling on natural light portraits.

 

[invncblsonic143]

Its not a matter of wanting to spend money i would empty my bank account on gear of it was practical : P so i feel i should practice a little before i decide what gear is most important

 

[oldmacman]

Its not a matter of wanting to spend money i would empty my bank account on gear of it was practical : P so i feel i should practice a little before i decide what gear is most important

Didn't mean to be insulting, I was just saying that you can take awesome portraits without spending money. If you want lighting technical examples of one, two, three and four light set ups, you can check those here. It will be difficult to do any of those with just household lights as even 100+ watts will not be sufficient to give you the shutter speeds you'll require. Best of luck.

 

[invncblsonic143]

Thanks oldmacman ill check those out : ) and no offense taken i got pretty thick skin i grew up in an italian household!!!!!! Lol