Some Family Portraits
pathfinder
Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
SO - you have the extended family over to your house for Thanksgiving dinner......
Then, what do you do for entertainment after the turkey and pumpkin pie have disappeared? Heee heee heee
I dragooned them into my inner sanctum in my garage, where I had esconced two umbrella reflectors at a roughly 3:1 ratio, and a 25 year old manual Vivitar 283 with a Fong Lightsphere shoved roughly onto it, to seperate the subject from the background, which was a grey studio paper backdrop. Now you gottem where you want them!! And bang away at your unsuspecting victims. The banging was done with an 85mm f1.8 on a 1Dmkll.
Many of you know that I shoot macros and landscapes usually - not people. This was my first ever attempt at this type of shooting so go easy on me when I post a few frames.
I did learn a few things from this exercise!!
1) Not all your guests will be thrilled.... surprise, surprise
2) Some could have used some costuming suggestions - "We're all gonna wear white shirts!" fer instance. Rather than plaids and stripes simultaneously.
3) Maybe a litte more wine with dinner would have helped some. Or a lot more, perhaps.
4) Shoot with an aperature smaller than f5 when shooting a group, or someone will always be just slightly out of focus. F8 or smaller I suspect is good advise for groups of people.
5) Move the lights around more, and use higher ratios for more dramatic lighting effects. But this is easier to do with models that you have hired than it is with family members who want to return to the game on TV.
6) Dim down the backround light - it is too bright here frequently.
7) Hire a make up consultant and give everyone ( guys and gals) a chance to powder their nose first.
This is a shot of my sister and her daughter
A nephew and his girl friend
Two nieces
Plaids and Stripes
There are more here - If you look at these in my gallery, please leave comments and/or suggestions
http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/gallery/998459/1/46166747
Then, what do you do for entertainment after the turkey and pumpkin pie have disappeared? Heee heee heee
I dragooned them into my inner sanctum in my garage, where I had esconced two umbrella reflectors at a roughly 3:1 ratio, and a 25 year old manual Vivitar 283 with a Fong Lightsphere shoved roughly onto it, to seperate the subject from the background, which was a grey studio paper backdrop. Now you gottem where you want them!! And bang away at your unsuspecting victims. The banging was done with an 85mm f1.8 on a 1Dmkll.
Many of you know that I shoot macros and landscapes usually - not people. This was my first ever attempt at this type of shooting so go easy on me when I post a few frames.
I did learn a few things from this exercise!!
1) Not all your guests will be thrilled.... surprise, surprise
2) Some could have used some costuming suggestions - "We're all gonna wear white shirts!" fer instance. Rather than plaids and stripes simultaneously.
3) Maybe a litte more wine with dinner would have helped some. Or a lot more, perhaps.
4) Shoot with an aperature smaller than f5 when shooting a group, or someone will always be just slightly out of focus. F8 or smaller I suspect is good advise for groups of people.
5) Move the lights around more, and use higher ratios for more dramatic lighting effects. But this is easier to do with models that you have hired than it is with family members who want to return to the game on TV.
6) Dim down the backround light - it is too bright here frequently.
7) Hire a make up consultant and give everyone ( guys and gals) a chance to powder their nose first.
This is a shot of my sister and her daughter
A nephew and his girl friend
Two nieces
Plaids and Stripes
There are more here - If you look at these in my gallery, please leave comments and/or suggestions
http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/gallery/998459/1/46166747
Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
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But even with that, I think these are fantastic photos
Looks like you have a cool and fun family.
Cheers
Tim
I like the plain background. Gives a nice crisp look.
I appreciate the pointers you give here since I know nothing about taking indoor portraits. The lighting is very tricky so I usually opt for natural light by a window or outdoors.
One pointer I found useful is in Scott Kelby's book. He suggests using the clone tool at about 20% strength to clone some flesh color over the shine spots on noses and foreheads. Works like a charm and doesn't affect other parts of the photo.
Nice work here.
Susan Appel Photography My Blog
I wanted to shoot with a plain background for several reasons, not the least of which, was the spare tires, screen doors and weight machines that would have been seen without the background screen.
I have seen the vari-colored screens, but thought plain grey could be altered to look lighter or darker by lighting it differently. I didn't really attempt that with these images, but it is a plan in development. A black background might be nice also.
Grey makes color balance easy too, since you can just click with the grey brush in ARC and bingo!!
I do have some shiny spots I could retouch better - I know.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Great Photos!
I usually do the same thing with family get togethers.
I have a hard time finding new models.
I have had a broke arm the past few weeks so, no photos
from me this Christmas or thanks giving. I was looking back threw
photos I took last year and found one of a family member that pasted away.
I am going to print a 8X10 to give to each of his kids.
Take Care,
Chuck
Aperture Focus Photography
http://aperturefocus.com