Portrait Photography

marklarry28

Hi guys,

I have a question for you PROs.

If I shoot outdoors portrait between 5pm to 7pm what is the best aperture, exposure, lens and flash setup for my camera?

I am using a 20D with sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG or Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS USM and Canon 580EX Speedlite.

Thanks
:thumb

Andyman

I think you should also specify what time of year and possible weather conditions.

marklarry28

I'd say during fall in a sunny day.
I know the conditions can change, but must have something that can give the basics.


Like... try to be between f4 and 8
If you using the flash +2 stop you get nice background....


I only need some directions.

Thank guys

cdhames

hey
that's kind of a difficult question to answer. for portraits in a studio, you make your camera settings and adjust your light sources accordingly. So if I wanted to shoot at ISO 200, 200/F11, I'd adjust my flash heads to provide for those settings.

Outside, you're gonna have to make adjustments dependant on the available light as the sun sets. I'd make a practice run at the hours you listed, just to be familiar with the general level of light you'll be dealing with. Then I'd shoot in AV mode and use ISO and F-stops to compensate for lost light. Don't go below 1/200. For your stops and since it's outdoors, that really depends on what DOF you're looking to get.

gus

Honestly if you are serious about this question then you have no possible idea what you are doing & most advice is not going to work. The only thing you can do is shoot...shoot...shoot & shoot more until you understand your equipment better & see what has what effect re camera settings.

AntoineD

gus wrote:

Honestly if you are serious about this question then you have no possible idea what you are doing & most advice is not going to work. The only thing you can do is shoot...shoot...shoot & shoot more until you understand your equipment better & see what has what effect re camera settings.

That's for sure (I hate this thumb but cannot help using it...).


There is no real good advice for what you're asking because it really depends on what you want to say/shoot.

Do you want little DOF? Then play with the aperture, make it big ( = small number). You don't want any ambiant light, just the flash ? Then take a hi-speed (1/200, 1/250...) and fix your aperture according to the distance from subject to flash.

Well, this is very-very-very-quick résumé but that's the idea

And all we can say is: give it a try!

Moreover, you've got a dslr so you can see what's happening almost in real time and change your setup in accord.

Shay Stephens

marklarry28 wrote:

Hi guys,

I have a question for you PROs.

If I shoot outdoors portrait between 5pm to 7pm what is the best aperture, exposure, lens and flash setup for my camera?

I am using a 20D with sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG or Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS USM and Canon 580EX Speedlite.

Thanks

Honestly, there is no way to answer this question. It's kind of like asking:
Ok you car drivers, when I am driving on the freeway, which gear do I need to be in, and what speed and direction should I turn the wheel?

You can see by that example that the exposure settings you need for the camera depend on the scene conditions at the time the photo is taken.

Now generically, you can always pre choose the aperture you want to use based on what kind of depth of field you want (shallow or wide), you might want to choose instead the shutter speed you will use (to freeze motion or blur it), but you can't do both until you get to the scene and measure the lighting conditions.

So, learn to use the cameras light meter/histogram if you have not already done so. Or pick up a incident/flash meter and learn to use it. That is about the only way you can determine what you need once you are there.

marklarry28

Thank guys.

Same as you said, I need shoot, shoot and shoot.

I just got my gear a month ago, I know the very well how to use my gear, and also the theory about portrait.:D

But real life is different, I will go there take a few shoot and post a few here okay.

Also my photography class start is only in 2 weeks.

Thanks again

marklarry28

This is one I took last week