Portrait Photography


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lsolaTioN

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Nov 20, 2004
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Eh...i'm not sure if its e right place for this thread...but e portrait thread seem to be mostly on model shoots and stuff...

Anyway...i'm quite new to photography...e interest has been there for a long time but its only recently that i outgrew my entry level camera and recently bought a canon S2 IS

One of those areas i'm pretty interested in is portrait photography but i don't really know how exactly should i start and if i should have any equipment...budget wise i'm rather tight as in i cant afford any expensive lighting equipment...at least i get e impression that they are expensive...I also hear of PAs for some shoots and does it help? and how to be a PA?

Another thing i'm concerned about is....generally when talking about portrait photography e camera of choice tend to be SLRs so can my camera do it? what is it about SLRs that make it more suited for this kind of photography?

Thanks for any comments~! :)
 

me not a pro but ur cam is fine. most high-end SLRs (digi or film):->
. hav faster & more accurate focusing den consumer models (tink runaway shooting)
. SLRs hav wider flash options 4 studio shots (posed shots)
. ability 2 change lenses 2 suit d situations
. etc...

more experienced & helpful CSers will b betta able 2 guide u along on tis. i m a hobbyist who anyhow shoot anything (den learn from mistake)! that's my kinda fun!:bsmilie:
 

lsolaTioN said:
Eh...i'm not sure if its e right place for this thread...but e portrait thread seem to be mostly on model shoots and stuff...

Anyway...i'm quite new to photography...e interest has been there for a long time but its only recently that i outgrew my entry level camera and recently bought a canon S2 IS

One of those areas i'm pretty interested in is portrait photography but i don't really know how exactly should i start and if i should have any equipment...budget wise i'm rather tight as in i cant afford any expensive lighting equipment...at least i get e impression that they are expensive...I also hear of PAs for some shoots and does it help? and how to be a PA?

Another thing i'm concerned about is....generally when talking about portrait photography e camera of choice tend to be SLRs so can my camera do it? what is it about SLRs that make it more suited for this kind of photography?

Thanks for any comments~! :)
Why don't you go out, get friends to pose for you, shoot alot, get a book or 2, read about what others did before you, surf the web for more infomation and pointers, then, shoot some more ... repeat the process all over again

S2 is fine. Forget about complicate lights, as a matter of fact, turn off the flash on the S2, shoot available light only. Keep it simple.
 

Sunlight is actually a fabulous light source, but unfortunately in order to have complete control of it you may require a spot meter, mainly due to the fact that it is a single light source. Im not sure if the S2 IS has manual control but it might then be good to buy an external spot meter and use it together with the manual mode if there is one.

Oh btw, i think MF is usually the preferred choice in the industry for portraiture. It's really fantastic because now MF set-ups can be had at just over a 1000(think bronica systems)! Unfortunately you've already bought the s2 is, else a bronica system will see you further down the road in your portraiture work. Ultimately, if you ever reach commercial portraiture photography, you usually wind up shooting MF or LF and less likely 35mm. Why not start with MF? Would it be too much to ask you to sell your S2 IS? :)

Just a suggestion.
 

Lord_Angelus said:
i seen some people with short lens for run way...

which kind of Lens is better to use for runway?

u mean short focal length lense? d advantage is a deep depth-of-view, i'll do d same if my cam (lense combo) focusing is slow or inaccurate. my prev lense gave me d same prob.

if u hav spare $$ get a lense w/ focal range abt 70-200mm. do make sure its focusing speed is fast too. if u r rite infront den dun need long zoom...;p

hope that helps...;)
 

hi, you're concentrating on the wrong thing.
take your camera, just take photos of the people you're interested in photographing and try to figure out what you want to capture about them.
after that, then figure out the technical aspects. trust me, you'll appreciate it more this way
 

ya i cannot agree more with jing...since u are new to this just try it out with ya fwens first... i dun tink anyone can come in and straigh away start to shoot say fashion...doubt i happens like tt....

and stoned...its true tt most ppl in the line use MFs..but its not compulsary...the end product says alot...less thatn 1000....and u get a system that works in the direct opposite viewing direction compared to an slr...and tink digital backs...u tink the commerical photographers out there still shoot film for their assignments? i tink not
and unfortunately the sun is a great source of light....but a spotmeter is not everyting ...most camera systems have it inbuilt anyway....

lets not confuse him now....find some subjects and take some shots... be it mood or posed or anything..its an extension of ya "self"... if u wanna find out more about the commerical industry along the way...u can look out in consumers corner and see if anyone needs P.A. for shoots...then u juz go along and look see look see u will pick up some stuff one

Lord angelus, for runways...theres no precise focal lenght to use...it depends on the stage...but wat i have seen during the last month's fashion show is that alot of csers use telezooms ... to take face and half body closeups of the shows... if u are paid for the walk and if u studying fashion magazines properly. the paid photographers actuall tend to shoot wide and include face and clothes "while the model is walking" and looking straight... its for the clothes company to catalogue their clothes tt way.... so it depends on mindset...

juz my 2 cts worth

cheers...
 

Lord_Angelus said:
i seen some people with short lens for run way...

which kind of Lens is better to use for runway?


some photogs are using fast primes for runways. these can easily be mistaken for short lenses because they are physically smaller and less prominent that big long zooms, but i think they perform very well for runways because you can get pretty much the same shots plus primes are often sharper and have more contrast than similar grade zooms.

i recently used a 85 f1.8 and 135 f2 for a recent fashion shoot. it was impromptu and i had been taking shots earlier in the day. i went to paragon and they were having a fashion show, so i just got my camera from the car and started snapping. it worked for me, but hey.. i'm a total newbie, so this is just my uninformed opinion. :)

i did see a bunch of guys with ladders and monopods though, and they looked damn pro..
 

Hello Isolation....this is my 1st post too. I'm new to the forum but not that new to photography though.

About portrait photography, I have a link here that might give you some ideas:

http://www.pbase.com/luminous/favorites

The guy used a Canon A80 in that gallery.....which is less superior to a Canon S2 but the photos turned out great.

I 'copied' his way and tried taking pics of my siblings, cousins etc ....it kinda worked OK for me.
:)
 

Astin said:
Wow a bunch of guya with ladders, that must have been very pro...

r they retired firemen?:bsmilie: :bsmilie:
 

Stoned said:
Sunlight is actually a fabulous light source, but unfortunately in order to have complete control of it you may require a spot meter, mainly due to the fact that it is a single light source. Im not sure if the S2 IS has manual control but it might then be good to buy an external spot meter and use it together with the manual mode if there is one.

Oh btw, i think MF is usually the preferred choice in the industry for portraiture. It's really fantastic because now MF set-ups can be had at just over a 1000(think bronica systems)! Unfortunately you've already bought the s2 is, else a bronica system will see you further down the road in your portraiture work. Ultimately, if you ever reach commercial portraiture photography, you usually wind up shooting MF or LF and less likely 35mm. Why not start with MF? Would it be too much to ask you to sell your S2 IS? :)

Just a suggestion.

erm...
i kinda just bought it...or rather...my father bought it and i paid half of it so that i'll feel that its more "mine" if u get what i mean...i was hoping to improve with this camera and maybe when i'm more proficient and erm...more affluent then i'll get a better camera~ =)
erm...by MF and LF do u mean large and medium format?
 

Deadpoet said:
Why don't you go out, get friends to pose for you, shoot alot, get a book or 2, read about what others did before you, surf the web for more infomation and pointers, then, shoot some more ... repeat the process all over again

S2 is fine. Forget about complicate lights, as a matter of fact, turn off the flash on the S2, shoot available light only. Keep it simple.

Thanks for your comments!
As a matter of fact...i managed to convince a friend of mine to be my model (took alot of sweet talking though...) i bought a book about posing also...its my first book on portrait photography and i thought that's as good a place to start as any~
And here i am trying to get pointers!
I'm just worried that e first shoot might be a let down though...for me and for her~
 

Thanks DEX!
I'll definitely go check it out~
Guess one of e ways of improving is looking at e works of others and getting ideas too =)

Witness:
I'm too sure and do correct me if i'm wrong but from what i understand from protraiture there seem to be many different kinds..
there are those improptu ones whereby u capture ppl on e streets and stuff and there is e planned protraitures whereby well...its planned
then there is fashion or glamour...
i don't really know which kinds i'm really interested in now so i'm kinda like testing e waters and seeing which ones really pique my interest

Stoned:
One more thing...
about using sunlight...
u do mean taking e pictures outdoors right?

actually as a first timer...should i start with indoors or outdoors?
And from what i gather...u guys think wif juz my camera alone no and other equipment its enough to make pretty good portraits already right?
 

Start shooting with friends and look through some magazines for ideas on the kind of mood and poses you want. You want inspiration first, technicalities come later. No inspiration, everything you shoot still turns out to be sh!t.
 

TMC said:
Start shooting with friends and look through some magazines for ideas on the kind of mood and poses you want. You want inspiration first, technicalities come later. No inspiration, everything you shoot still turns out to be sh!t.

Totally agree :thumbsup:

Have beeen trying portrail since i got my D50, photo turn out to be very bad no feeling, cant express anything, refer to my signature link. very sad of myself.:cry:

I pay too much attention on the technical things and forget about the style and composition and feeling and term.
My newib friend can take better shoots using the "P"erfect mode.

Like to know what is the meaning of runway in the previous post .
 

fatjp said:
Totally agree :thumbsup:

Have beeen trying portrail since i got my D50, photo turn out to be very bad no feeling, cant express anything, refer to my signature link. very sad of myself.:cry:

I pay too much attention on the technical things and forget about the style and composition and feeling and term.
My newib friend can take better shoots using the "P"erfect mode.

Like to know what is the meaning of runway in the previous post .
U should start by "communicating" to your subject first, good communication is a key to portrait photography, whatever portrait u are taking. Try to talk and shoot at the same time.
 

DEX said:
Hello Isolation....this is my 1st post too. I'm new to the forum but not that new to photography though.

About portrait photography, I have a link here that might give you some ideas:

http://www.pbase.com/luminous/favorites

The guy used a Canon A80 in that gallery.....which is less superior to a Canon S2 but the photos turned out great.

I 'copied' his way and tried taking pics of my siblings, cousins etc ....it kinda worked OK for me.
:)

:eek: Man.... with a A80?

I look at the shots... it's wonderful.... I like a lot..... wah... I guess it's not about the camera, but it's the person behind it.... :thumbsup:
 

Yup...

www.pbase.com/luminous (the photograper's name is Doug R by the way) is my 'source' of inspiration when it comes to portrait photography. It's like a whole new concept

It seems that his models are siblings, friends, relative members whom are of course easy to communicate with. Thus, he's able to create different moods.

Some of his galleries that he used Canon A80...i'm still wondering how he did it. The photos are just too cool.
 

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