Good stuff, Walt! The first thing I'd say is be sure that both of you are quite clear on your goals for the shoot. It's TF (trade-for), so each of you should come away with something of value. You are going to get experience, and some possible portfolio shots. She's going to get ...? Perhaps some Facebook profile shots is enough. Maybe a headshot for her LinkedIn profile. Bring a list of specific shots you need to get to be sure you meet the goals.
Dress, makeup & hair can make a huge difference to the quality of the shots, but may be a little premature to worry about in a first photoshoot. But I prefer my subjects to wear solid colours; anyway avoiding busy patterns. If you want decent portraits, have her follow the makeup suggestions in the reading list below. For the best results, give her the Bob Pardue suggestions. If you want to just concentrate on getting candid-looking shots, then you must keep her occupied with something so you can shoot while her attention is on the task. Eg: shooting pool, or preparing a drink, or even just reading a menu. She could be conversing with someone. If she's simply standing or sitting around awkwardly you'll get awkward looking shots. Don't get hung-up with technical stuff. Especially if you venture into trying posed shots: - don't let her get bored while you adjust things; - talk to her about what you're doing, and show her the occasional shot; - if you screw something up, just let it go and carry on. _Do not_ stare at the screen and say "damn, that's awful" or anything like that -- she'll think she did something wrong and start getting uptight. Praise her a lot. Make sure she's comfortable. Keep it light and above all fun. Make one of your goals to get a follow-up shoot. Technical: #1: don't use that fecking popup flash--I beg you. Tape it shut. :-) - since you're using only ambient light be aware of the effect it's having on her face. Avoid locating her where she'll get racoon eyes or hollow cheeks, for example. You can use the ambient lighting for you by positioning the subject until it's flattering. - WB: set it to one of the fixed settings, _not_ auto. The preview image will be more useful to you if WB is set to the ambient light temp; in your case likely Fluorescent or Tungsten. If the light is mixed, find locations in the room to shoot where it isn't mixed if you can. - I always shoot a grey card to get a WB reference. If you don't have one, find something neutral in the area and shoot that. Shoot RAW so you can fine-adjust the WB later on. - focus on her nearest eye. - prefer a faster shutter speed, 1/60th and preferably faster. Open your aperture and/or go to higher ISOs to accomodate that. - metering: try different things. The light is going to be low and rather hard, and you want to get the exposure on her face good, so you might need to use center-weighted or spot and expose to her face, lock the AE and shoot. Practice that beforehand if you haven't done it before or often. Reading material: http://strobist.blogspot.ca/2012/08/on-photographing-people-pt-1.html http://strobist.blogspot.ca/2012/08/on-photographing-people-pt-2.html http://strobist.blogspot.ca/2012/08/on-photographing-people-pt-3.html http://www.bobpardue.com/glamour-makeup/ On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 6:56 PM, Walt <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > So, I've set up a photo shoot with LeeAnn in the next couple of days. I'll > be shooting at the club where I work before opening time, concentrating > mostly in the pool room area, and maybe some shots at the bar -- using > available light and possibly a little pop-up flash if absolutely necessary > and unavoidable. > > She loves the camera, and the camera seems to love her. Any tips on > interaction and getting unguarded, natural-looking shots? Technical > suggestions WRT metering, white balance, focus modes, etc.? > > -- Walt > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
