Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Even better: turn instant-review right off. Just hit the chimp button when you need to. On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks, Dave. That's a habit I finally broke myself of by setting the instant review to one second. Chasing butterflies with a 50mm manual prime also helped a lot. As for the talking, that shouldn't be a problem. She's a pretty engaging person. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 10:40 PM, David Savage wrote: My biggest tips are keep talking don't fall into a shoot-chimp-shoot-chimp cycle. Nothing kills a good rhythm quicker. DS On 27/02/2013, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the tips and all the information, Bruce! I'm reading up on the Strobist links right now (just finished the first) and emailed the makeup tips to LeeAnn to give her a heads-up. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to do future shoots with her, as she really loves having her photo taken and didn't even flinch when I asked her if she'd pose for me. Also, warm weather is just around the corner and I'd really like to get some outdoor shots of her. Many thanks again for the help, Bruce. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 8:51 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: 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 ldott...@gmail.com 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
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
From: Aahz Maruch On Tue, Feb 26, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: - 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. This is something I saw today, anyone tried it? http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/white-balance-lens-cap/ I've got the ExpoDisc version and rarely use it. I mainly just leave the camera's white balance on Sunny stick a grey card and/or an old Macbeth Color Checker into the frame occasionally, since I'm going to adjust white balance in Camera Raw anyway. I am shooting RAW. I'm working on the theory that white balance is always wrong, but if you settle on one it's always wrong by the same amount in the same direction (for any specific light source/session) which makes fixing it in Camera Raw easier. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 10:47 AM, John Sessoms jsessoms...@nc.rr.com wrote: From: Aahz Maruch On Tue, Feb 26, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: - 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. This is something I saw today, anyone tried it? http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/white-balance-lens-cap/ I've got the ExpoDisc version and rarely use it. I mainly just leave the camera's white balance on Sunny stick a grey card and/or an old Macbeth Color Checker into the frame occasionally, since I'm going to adjust white balance in Camera Raw anyway. I am shooting RAW. I'm working on the theory that white balance is always wrong, but if you settle on one it's always wrong by the same amount in the same direction (for any specific light source/session) which makes fixing it in Camera Raw easier. +1 to that, John. But you _do_ have to stay alert to when the light changes materially, like moving from the pool table to the bar area, and reshoot the grey card. I gotta get me a colour checker too. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
From: Walt Thanks, Dave. That's a habit I finally broke myself of by setting the instant review to one second. Chasing butterflies with a 50mm manual prime also helped a lot. As for the talking, that shouldn't be a problem. She's a pretty engaging person. I like to check the histogram on the first couple of shots, just to make sure I'm not screwing everything up. After that, there's no need to chimp unless you get a big change in the light (at which point it's good to check the histogram again). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
I picked up something like that. I never use it. I have had the best luck with the pocket sized grey cards. Aahz Maruch a...@pobox.com wrote: On Tue, Feb 26, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: - 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. This is something I saw today, anyone tried it? http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/white-balance-lens-cap/ -- Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
On 2/27/2013 12:37 PM, John Sessoms wrote: From: Walt Thanks, Dave. That's a habit I finally broke myself of by setting the instant review to one second. Chasing butterflies with a 50mm manual prime also helped a lot. As for the talking, that shouldn't be a problem. She's a pretty engaging person. I like to check the histogram on the first couple of shots, just to make sure I'm not screwing everything up. After that, there's no need to chimp unless you get a big change in the light (at which point it's good to check the histogram again). I'll definitely check the histogram from time to time and will probably bracket most of my exposures. The bar area is a real pain in the ass when it comes to lighting, so I'll probably have to do a bit more chimping in there, but the pool room (which has recently been painted a much warmer color) should be a breeze. Thanks! -- Walt -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
You're more than welcome, Walt. Glad to help! On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 11:26 PM, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the tips and all the information, Bruce! I'm reading up on the Strobist links right now (just finished the first) and emailed the makeup tips to LeeAnn to give her a heads-up. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to do future shoots with her, as she really loves having her photo taken and didn't even flinch when I asked her if she'd pose for me. Also, warm weather is just around the corner and I'd really like to get some outdoor shots of her. Many thanks again for the help, Bruce. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 8:51 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: 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 ldott...@gmail.com 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 PDML@pdml.net 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Walt, don't concern yourself with this now, but file it away to think about after this shoot. Shooting in your bar area is very likely going to have you beginning to appreciate why additional lighting is often really useful in creative portraiture. You'd like to highlight your subject--after all, she's the point of the shot--but you don't want to lose the context (the bar surroundings). So you really want to literally spotlight your subject in a way that doesn't overwhelm the subtle bar downlights and undercounter accent lights, plus colourful reflections from glassware and all. A good way to do that is to setup a small flash source, like a small softbox, to one side of your subject casting a pool of light centered on her face. With camera on manual you set the aperture to expose for her face, then set the shutter speed to expose for the background illumination, but about 1 stop less than for the face. A very different way to get almost the same effect is point a colour-corrected LED array (preferably with extra diffusion) at your subject's face and increase the brightness until her face is slightly brighter than her surroundings (approx a stop). Then expose for her face and shoot. The LED approach will require much higher ISOs or wider apertures and she may have to hold still to avoid motion blur. You've probably seen this one before, something similar that I did in a restaurant bar with crappy light: http://www.flickr.com/bruce_m_walker/7395068796/in/set-72157630179005076/lightbox/ On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: On 2/27/2013 12:37 PM, John Sessoms wrote: From: Walt Thanks, Dave. That's a habit I finally broke myself of by setting the instant review to one second. Chasing butterflies with a 50mm manual prime also helped a lot. As for the talking, that shouldn't be a problem. She's a pretty engaging person. I like to check the histogram on the first couple of shots, just to make sure I'm not screwing everything up. After that, there's no need to chimp unless you get a big change in the light (at which point it's good to check the histogram again). I'll definitely check the histogram from time to time and will probably bracket most of my exposures. The bar area is a real pain in the ass when it comes to lighting, so I'll probably have to do a bit more chimping in there, but the pool room (which has recently been painted a much warmer color) should be a breeze. Thanks! -- Walt -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
On Feb 27, 2013, at 11:20 PM, Bruce Walker bruce.wal...@gmail.com wrote: Even better: turn instant-review right off. Just hit the chimp button when you need to. That's exactly what I'd suggest. I saw a couple of photographers at a sporting event a few weeks back. They were stationed on either side of the finish line getting photos of every competitor coming through. Every time somebody came through they'd get together and compare shots. It became a little annoying after a while... Cheers, Dave -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Photo-shoot coming up
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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
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 ldott...@gmail.com 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 PDML@pdml.net 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Thanks for the tips and all the information, Bruce! I'm reading up on the Strobist links right now (just finished the first) and emailed the makeup tips to LeeAnn to give her a heads-up. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to do future shoots with her, as she really loves having her photo taken and didn't even flinch when I asked her if she'd pose for me. Also, warm weather is just around the corner and I'd really like to get some outdoor shots of her. Many thanks again for the help, Bruce. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 8:51 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: 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 ldott...@gmail.com 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 PDML@pdml.net 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
On Tue, Feb 26, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: - 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. This is something I saw today, anyone tried it? http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/white-balance-lens-cap/ -- Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6http://rule6.info/ * * * Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Get her to bend over alot and were a loose fitting top. Kenneth Waller http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller - Original Message - From: Walt ldott...@gmail.com Subject: Photo-shoot coming up 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
My biggest tips are keep talking don't fall into a shoot-chimp-shoot-chimp cycle. Nothing kills a good rhythm quicker. DS On 27/02/2013, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the tips and all the information, Bruce! I'm reading up on the Strobist links right now (just finished the first) and emailed the makeup tips to LeeAnn to give her a heads-up. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to do future shoots with her, as she really loves having her photo taken and didn't even flinch when I asked her if she'd pose for me. Also, warm weather is just around the corner and I'd really like to get some outdoor shots of her. Many thanks again for the help, Bruce. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 8:51 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: 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 ldott...@gmail.com 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 PDML@pdml.net 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Still laughing at this one. Way to go Ken! On Feb 26, 2013, at 11:39 PM, kwal...@peoplepc.com wrote: Get her to bend over alot and were a loose fitting top. Kenneth Waller http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller - Original Message - From: Walt ldott...@gmail.com Subject: Photo-shoot coming up 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
I'm WAAAY ahead of you. Oh, that's a very cool top! Why don't we see if we can get some good shots of you shooting pool? On 2/26/2013 10:39 PM, kwal...@peoplepc.com wrote: Get her to bend over alot and were a loose fitting top. Kenneth Waller http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller - Original Message - From: Walt ldott...@gmail.com Subject: Photo-shoot coming up 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: Photo-shoot coming up
Thanks, Dave. That's a habit I finally broke myself of by setting the instant review to one second. Chasing butterflies with a 50mm manual prime also helped a lot. As for the talking, that shouldn't be a problem. She's a pretty engaging person. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 10:40 PM, David Savage wrote: My biggest tips are keep talking don't fall into a shoot-chimp-shoot-chimp cycle. Nothing kills a good rhythm quicker. DS On 27/02/2013, Walt ldott...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the tips and all the information, Bruce! I'm reading up on the Strobist links right now (just finished the first) and emailed the makeup tips to LeeAnn to give her a heads-up. I'm fairly sure I'll be able to do future shoots with her, as she really loves having her photo taken and didn't even flinch when I asked her if she'd pose for me. Also, warm weather is just around the corner and I'd really like to get some outdoor shots of her. Many thanks again for the help, Bruce. -- Walt On 2/26/2013 8:51 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: 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 ldott...@gmail.com 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the
