Question for those that shoot in studio

anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
edited August 18, 2011 in People
Out of curiosity, do those of you that shoot in studio keep yourself/camera in the same position on the horizontal axis and have the model move turn/move or do you also move from side to side?

May sound like a silly question but I have wondered about this for a bit. I notice a lot of big named pros shoot from a tripod so that would mean they aren't too mobile. I've tried shooting from a pod and just can't. I ditch it within seconds.
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Comments

  • HackboneHackbone Registered Users Posts: 4,027 Major grins
    edited August 17, 2011
    Most will shoot from one spot due to the bkg only being so wide. If we change the angle we would shoot off the bkg. Some of my bkgs are only 4' wide and others up to 10'. I shoot on a mono pole with a small very heavy base. I grap a pistol type grip and slide down to the floor and up to 8' in a few secs.

    If I'm shooting outside I use a tripod and will move around the subject to get different angles. However to get proper light patterns on the face she still will have to move some.
    Charles
    www.cameraone.biz
  • Bryce WilsonBryce Wilson Registered Users Posts: 1,586 Major grins
    edited August 17, 2011
    I too hate using a tripod for shooting people. I find it all but impossible when shooting young children. But, I also hate shooting off background. Depending on the width of the background you are using, side to side movement can cause me to shoot off the background. This problem becomes magnified as your subject is placed farther away from the background.

    What I've found works for me is to put a longish strip of duct tape on the floor at the dead center spot in the area I'm shooting from. As I move forward and backward, I can glance down and know I'm not getting too far off center.
  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited August 17, 2011
    Thanks for the replies guys. I have to remind myself to stay put when shooting with a background. For some reason, I start to stray. This ends up making for more work in post because I have to remove crap from the BG. Maybe if I get used to shooting with a pod, that will help me stay in one place. Or maybe I use the tape idea for a bit.
    "I'm not yelling. I'm Cuban. That's how we talk."

    Moderator of the People and Go Figure forums

    My Smug Site
  • Alex_Alex_ Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited August 18, 2011
    Depending on whether I'm doing a lookbook/catalog session, or something more free-flowing and editorial, I would change from tripod to handheld. For catalog all the shots are generally the same, the model doesn't change too much in her poses and we just need to get through 60 outfits as quickly as possible - so out comes the tripod. Shoot something a lot more creative where poses change from jumping, to sitting, to standing, to lying down - the tripod gets thrown out as the models usually work faster than I would be able to adjust the tripod and doing so would just hinder/bore the model. So I trade off the occasionally blurry/unfoccused shot for getting more amazing poses and "catching the model" in a moment that would not have been possible with a tripod.

    Each has their place.
    Fashion Photographer
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