Portrait help

BrinkofDisaster5 · Jul 11, 2011

Hi everyone! I haven't been on here in a while!! Well, I recently got a new camera, sony alpha 390, my FIRST DSLR!!!! I mainly just shoot around as a hobby. Recently a friend of mine asked me to take some pictures of her so she can start building her modeling portfolio. Any tips, pointers, or ideas for me? ANY advice is appreciated!!! Thanks!

tirediron · Jul 11, 2011

That's really akin to asking, "I've driven Toyota Corolla all my life, and just bought a Kenworth; any tips on driving long-haul?" Portraits are far more about lighting and the control of lighting than about the camera. What I would suggest is read your camera's manual cover to cover. Then, when you're done that, read it again, and once you've done that, head down to your library and take out as many books as you can find on portraiture. It doesn't matter if they're from 1970; the techniques haven't changed. By all means, if you have specific questions ask away, there's a LOT of knowledge around here, but right now it's just a little too broad.

BrinkofDisaster5 · Jul 11, 2011

Thank you! Unfortunately, school takes up way too much time to do all the readings and such like I should. I was just looking to see if anyone had quick tips and opinions on what they do when taking portraits. I know the question was very broad!! I'm sorry.

Tkot · Jul 11, 2011

If you don't have time to hit the library, remember, many successful portrait photographers have websites with galleries. Go through those on your free time, and study the lighting, the poses, etc. Here's a list of photographers you could look up: Category

ortrait photographers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then I would say just go hang out with your friend and snap away! Practice makes perfect, and once you have a good selection of shots, study them the same way you studied the successful photographer's portraits, and try and figure out what you did wrong, how you could make them better, etc. Better yet, post them up on this site for C&C. Then, go and shoot again, and repeat.

Keep in mind, I've never shot a portrait in my life, so this isn't experienced advice, this is coming from a peer.

vtf · Jul 11, 2011

Put her 6' in front of a nice green hedge.
Stand about 10' away.
Have her strike a pose and smile.
Hold camera in vertical portrait orientation.
Focus.
Set aperature at f8
Shutter 1/60
iso 100
Adjust as necessary according to meter.
Look for "rule of thirds".
Press button.
Download.
Skin soften, remove blemishes.
Give cd to friend.

Good Luck, good shooting. :thumbup: