More portrait tips today!

If you have been reading this blog any length of time, you have heard me speak about the 3 building blocks that make a great photo.

1) Lighting

2) Composition

3) Moments

Without those components your photos are just not going to be that memorable to your viewers.

Here’s a few more examples from my daughter’s photo shoot that we did recently. We spent a total of about 15 minutes at each site, so we really didn’t spend that much time but, were able to capture some very nice portraits. Let me talk you through my thought process.

1. I was driving somewhere recently and came across a small portion of train track that was asphalted over on the street, but ran beside a warehouse near our home. Perfect for a quick location. One of my daughter’s favorite past time’s is to pick dandelion’s and blow the seeds away! Bummer for my lawn, but good for photos on location.

So, let’s reverse engineer this photo to see what makes it memorable. Lighting? Backlighting but nice even illumination from the camera. I just overexposed to make sure that the subject wasn’t turned into a silhouette. Composition? Her eyes are placed near the upper right area of convergence(the intersection of the upper horizontal third and the right vertical third). Moment? The look in her eye shows her personality which makes for a great and memorable image.

2. Our next image really showcases our subject’s personality. Moment? Totally at ease in front of the camera. For some subjects this takes forever. Most can be put at ease after just a few minutes of talking from the photographer. Ask about anything. The goal is to get your subject thinking about anything but having their picture taken. It really works.

Composition? There is something called an S curve that our subject has contorted her body into. It isn’t fake or posed looking. It places her face in the upper right area of convergence and takes the viewer’s eye from the top right to the lower left! Easy!

Light? Same backlight situation as the first. Which gives our photo beautiful light that highlights our subject’s hair and shows off the train rails.

3. I was able to put a special technique on this image, but the building blocks are still the same. A side-view put a rim light on our entire subject and her head is in the upper left area of convergence.

4. Finally, we have a change of venue and outfit. The lighting is ambient, non-direct that allows for a very soft light washing over our subject. The composition places the subject’s eyes in the left upper area of convergence. It takes the viewer’s eyes into the image and the placement of the subject’s arm takes the viewer’s eyes back into our subject’s face and vice versa.

Talk to your subjects to relax them.

Utilize composition to lead your viewer’s eyes to keep them invested in your image.

Look for lighting that will be complimentary to your subjects.

A few posts ago, I wrote about senior portraits. I want to re-visit that topic and add a few more tips.

Tip #1 Let their be action. Have your subject move around for more realistic images. Let’s take a look at the first image of the girl jumping. She really wanted to have her shoot have the look and feel of a model shoot. So…we talked a bit and showed her where and how to jump(holding her hands a certain way, etc.)I think the photo speaks for itself. She looks like a teen model at her latest model shoot. Yah for me! Her ease also spills over into her portrait in the next image.

Tip #2 Let them live out a fantasy. Our next set of images shows a subject that wanted to be a bit rock star/fashionista. We went to go look for a location that said cool/urban/fashion and found it in a place that had a wall that looked pretty dirty and smelled even worse. But, it was the perfect location for our subject and she slipped into character very easily. The place or setting you choose to shoot in will allow your subject to start feeling like whatever their fantasy is. She wanted to look cool and the urban feel really achieved that.

Tip #3 Props are good! This subject has a personality that can light up a room, but she needed some inspiration. Just like our subject in the previous tip, our subject in this tip needed some help. It came in the form of a playground. She was able to climb and spin around on the swings and her personality really came out during this portion of the shoot.

Tip #4 Help them to focus on doing something. Our last set of pics shows a male subject. They can be a lot more hesitant to pose and be real. But, after writing his name in the sand and having him play around a bit, our subject became a lot more at ease. Look at his portrait. I feel that his ability to not pose or mug for the camera left and he was able to let his guard down and actually reveal a real look at who he is.

To sum it all up…Senior portraits are a process of utilizing whatever you have at your disposal to help your subject relax and start to show a slice of who they really are. Keep shooting and enjoy!

Last time we looked at some portrait basics. I would like to go a little bit more in depth today at photography portrait tips. To let you into my thought process during a portrait session.

In our first photo our model is leaning against a wall in downtown Orange. It was a senior photo session, so I want my subject to have a variety of situations and outfits. The most important thing I want is for the subject to feel at ease. Keep your subject focused on you and the atmosphere that you are creating. That way they aren’t intimidated by onlookers etc.

Still looking at our first image, I used a long lens and a small f/stop to create a shallow depth of field. That way the subject pops out of the canvas and really captures the viewer’s eye. I’ve placed our subject’s head in the upper right area of convergence to lead our viewer’s eye right to her face.

The photos are shown in a chronological order to show our subject’s level of comfort at being in front of the camera.

In the second image, We have the same outfit, but my assistant suggested a pose from a popular singer’s CD. I always try to include input from my subjects. It’s just one more thing to put our subject at ease.

Her head is in the upper left area of convergence and I had her put her knees together for modesty and the lines that her legs and arms would make. Her pose is casual and playful and it matches her smile. The light is coming from higher up and from camera left. Let’s move to the next image.

A new outfit and location is part of our third photo.

A nice shaft of light coming from camera left set the stage for this 3/4 portrait. The light is strong, but pleasing and does not cast any harsh shadows. It’s dramatic light, so I didn’t ask my subject to smile. Instead she opted for a more calm and serious look. In our next and fourth image, I wanted to demonstrate that when you find good light, work it!

Don’t forget to try out different layouts, both vertical and horizontal. Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised at how different your images can look just by changing the orientation of your camera. My subject is using her arm as a design element to lead the viewer’s eye right to her face.

The fifth image is where our subject really started to feel at ease. She put her jacket back on and I moved closer to capture her facial expressions. Her eyes are in the areas of convergence and that is what the viewer is lead to.

My last image really captured her personality and her ability to dance. I always ask about hobbies that my subject’s might pursue and might be an expert in. My subject had danced for years so I asked her to move around. Bu this time of the shoot she didn’t have any hesitation and didn’t mind the occasional passerby. It was fabulous! Her body is in the right vertical third with her head in the upper convergence area. The viewer’s eye will be lead to our subject making a much stronger composition.

So to review:

Help your subject to feel at ease. Be open to input from your subject and helpers. Look to match your subject’s mood with the surroundings and lighting. Try different orientations when you find good light. Once your subject starts feeling at ease really push for great facial expressions and poses. Finally, ask your subject about areas that they might have expertise. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Family beach portraits have always been popular, but let’s try a few tricks to make them unique and memorable.

We are used to seeing a family all dressed in white sitting on the rocks with the waves in the background. Capturing a moment in a portrait can make a break your image. Would the Mona Lisa be so memorable without that tiny little smile? That’s a moment.

So how can we capture a real moment with a family on a beach?

Let them do whatever comes naturally!

The first image was the mom and dad  of the family just hanging out. Their body language tells the story of their love!

Same thing in the second image. A pretty basic pose, but I just let the couple get relaxed and show their real feelings during the session. In the group images we let the group pose and then had them run towards the camera.

So, instead of a stiff posed family, you have an image that shows the personalities of the family and a unique image.

Try to make your subjects more at ease with various techniques. To review, running, talking with them or even having them show their feelings for each other. Finally, you can even let your more athletic subjects go wild. Enjoy!

Hello from the soggy O.C., where it is pouring! But fear not, I was able to make a very nice portrait while staying dry and comfortable inside my house. Today I’d like to show you a segment about portrait photography and lighting.

Manipulating the available light is something that every photographer from beginning to advanced needs to have in their bag of tricks.

In the first image above is a portrait of my daughter, Tara.

I placed her in next to a bank of three windows in our living room that faces north. Very soft even lighting exists here, since the light is not directly striking my subject and due to the sheer curtains, the light is very diffused and soft.

Unfortunately, there is too much shadow on her left side of her face or camera right. A quick a simple way to fix this is with a reflector. Now you can run down to your nearest camera store where they will be happy to sell you a fancy-schmansy reflector for a bunch of money. But wait!

I have a quick and inexpensive solution that is almost always available.

Anything white will do. I grabbed an old poster out of the garage and placed it on top of the piano bench that my daughter is resting her arms on. Look carefully at the reflection in her eyes and you will see it in the lower half of her iris.

Since we didn’t have another assistant available and my labs aren’t very good at standing still, I just had my daughter use her left arm to bend the poster board up towards her face which nicely redirected some of the light from the window back into her face.Loo

See the huge difference it makes? You need to practice how close you need to bring your reflector in to work effectively, but in no time at all you should get the hang of this. Almost anything will work. Try a piece of paper, a napkin anything that will reflect the light from one direction back into your subject will work.

Practice makes perfect and is a lot less expensive than a store-bought reflector. Enjoy!

A lot of cameras were given and received as Christmas presents. Here’s an entry about children’s photography. Too many times in my earlier days, I tried to make the perfect portrait of my children. It usually ended with me being frustrated and my kids crying and a lot of bad photos.

Forget about the perfect smile and the kids looking directly at the camera. What works and is the best way to make photos is to just have fun during the portrait session.

Whatever the kids do is cute.  That’s the key. If they cry or run away or smile it will be fine.

In a nutshell that is the key or secret. Too many sessions are ruined by overzealous parents trying to make children do what they want.

You cannot reason with a tired or hungry three-year-old! However long they give you, consider it a gift.

The gallery photos that I have included are from a recent session for a 16 month old and his mom. I made sure that the timing of the session was after his nap and that he had eaten. Then we went to a local park and let him run around.

I utilized a lot of compositional techniques as he ran around and waited for various lighting situations to maximize my opportunities for the most good photos. Practice photographing a small child with your main subject in the areas of convergence. Don’t expect great results on your first session, but practice to achieve greater and greater results.

Enjoy and success!

A little bit ago @Sylvia asked if I could post a photo of the infamous snoot that I have been using lately on some of my freelance jobs.

The first image shows a piece of black foam paper that I bought at Wal-Mart for I believe 69 cents(maybe 99). I added velcro strips, both the loops and the hooks and stretched it to fit my Canon 580 EXII. I made this one to be about 7 inches long. Just smush it down into the shape you want it and modify your light!

With the snoot, I can add light into a scene without overlighting the entire photo. This photo needed just a bit of light on the subject’s face, but not anywhere else. So as not to overexpose the light from the snoot, I dialed it to about 1 1/2 stops over the existing ambient exposure. I believe the ambient exposure was around f5.6 at 1/200 at ISO 200, thus the snooted light was set to f 8.5 to achieve just a bit of additional lighting on our subject’s face. There is some spill onto the paddle, jacket and the piling behind our subject, but it still works for me.

I hope that helps and thanks for your patience. Enjoy!

Today I would like to share more about photographic composition and how it affects our viewers.

Our subject is Victor Pang a Pacific Islander who speaks out about cancer to his fellow islanders. Support groups and helping those who are currently battling cancer or those who might be survivors is one of his many passions. I was asked to photograph Mr. Pang for CURE magazine. I decided a portrait near the water would make sense and put him in an environment that he loves.

He brought his paddle, authentic hat and a flowered shirt and the rest was up to me. Let’s talk about the composition of this photo.

I wanted to show Victor near the water, so we walked right under the pier as close to water without getting wet. The pier acted like a giant screen blocking out the light, but not the ambient light that was nicely diffused due to the clouds.

I decided to place my subject’s head in the upper right area of convergence of the top horizontal and the right vertical thirds of the image. The paddle, I carefully made sure that it didn’t blend into the darkeness of the underside of the pier. So, I had it surrounded by the clouds, that way it was sure to stand out in the frame. The horizon is on a standard 1/3rd sky and 2/3rds land ration. I wanted to emphasize the water and the land, thus, the 2/3rds devoted to that.

Finally, I wanted to show the vanishing point of the pier, I placed that in the convergence of the upper left corner. The lighting was achieved with one off-camera Canon 580EXII at 1/2 power which gave me a ratio of about 1 1/2 stops over the ambient, or so. That’s another post in the future. All in all, I was very pleased that a simple portrait could be so visually effective.

You can see some of my other poses that were part of my creative process, but in the end, the first frame is the one that I like the best.

Simple composition can lead your viewer’s eyes exactly to the places that you desire to highlight. Thanks for looking and enjoy!

The past few days I’ve had the pleasure to take a few senior portraits. Senior portrait photography is a special genre that requires a flair for fashion and an ability to push the envelope. Here’s a couple of examples from two recent shoots. One is for a high school senior and the other if for a college senior.

Good composition and lighting are a must. Each image was carefully crafted to lead the viewer’s eye to the main subject. But, I also tried to make the subject’s feel like supermodels on their very own fashion shoot.

Even Heidi Klum, one of the most beautiful women in the world and one of the highest paid supermodels, complains about her “trouble” spots. So, I always work to highlight every subject’s best features and to minimize any “flaws” or less favorite attributes.

It’s a fine line but every photographer should try to make their subjects feel like your care and are doing your best to show them in the best possible way.

Layering a photograph is a great digital photography technique. It creates visual complexity and when combined with effective composition, it helps to lead your viewers eye to your main subject while maintaining visual interest.

Here’s a few techniques:

Look to place items such as plants, other people even parts of your main subjects body like their hands.

In the photo with the boy holding his hand, his hand leads you straight to the subject’s eyes. This is a great example of how the technique helps to lead the viewer’s eyes to the subject.

The photo of the boy looking through the bars at a playground helps to illustrate utilizing whatever is in the environment to create visual complexity. The pattern of the red bars leads the viewers eye right to the boy’s face.

Our image of the little girl smelling the flower uses a plant in a backyard to create multiple layers for the viewers. Because of the use of shallow depth of field, that also creates more visual layers that leads to the in focus area where our main subject is. Enjoy!