A_Lee said:
You're pictures and style are absolutely stellar IMO, so visualizing your advice is great. There are many other people on forums who give all sort of advice, but none of it is really portrayed through the quality of their photos.
Very flattering, but you'll learn soon enough that you'll be able to get the same and even better shots soon enough. The difference between people on forums talking about advice and those who actually produce good photos is that they actually go and practice what they preach. There's often too many people who just talk about what they've read about, or have a tiny bit of experience. You're on the right track, you're obsessed, like me =) Nothing bad will come out of it, you're just gonna get better, that's a fact. Soon your bar will rise in terms of looking at photos, and you won't take a second look at what most people do (like me!). I hope you keep with it, you have plenty of potential.
A_Lee said:
This person is a personal friend of mine, and we've known each other for a fair amount of time. I'll be sure we get lunch or something prior to attempting a shoot
Is there is a certain time of day you normally plan to do shoots at? I'd imagine somewhere between 1-3pm would be ideal being that the sun wouldn't be on top of you, nor would it be setting at all.
Winter time you'll have such little time to shoot. In the winter I start pretty early, I go out with my model and usually go get a quick breakfast with mimosas
It usually helps her relax a bit. Here's one (though I think it was a hard lemonade type drink rather than a mimosa haha):
Use the lunch hour to travel to another location, and to relax a bit. Not sure how long you plan to go shooting, I usually spend the entirety of the day, including dinner and then hanging out for drinks most of the night. I see photography with models as an all day fun outing =) It's awesome. It's like traveling and exploring the sights but locally (usually) with a purpose.
A_Lee said:
As far as reflectors go; well simply put I don't have them, and even if I did, or could borrow them, I wouldn't even really know how to use them
I'd love to learn in the future, but I don't think I have the time to do such at the moment. I'll be working with natural lighting, and my external flash if need be -it would be mounted on the hot shoe on my camera though, as I do not have a wireless trigger, or a stand for it to function off camera. Limited resources, I know :| Someday though! 8)
Keep reflectors in mind, they are Amazing.
Here's a friend of mine assisting and my photographer friend as well from another angle:
A_Lee said:
Do you prefer the model look directly into the camera? Or no?
If it tells a story. If she's just looking at me not really doing much, not that great. But if she looks like she's about to say something to me, or is thinking about me, or something like that, bam, I want those eyes focused. Looking at the viewer is incredibly engaging and important. Looking away is good if you want to portray some long lost thought, but in single model shoots, it's not always the best. If they're doing something, it's fine to focus on another object, but as soon as the model looks away from the camera, the focus is on something else, or at least not primarily on the model. It's either on the scene, a different subject, or a thought. recreations of some situation), just keep that in mind.
Looking towards:
Looking away:
In the former, he's looking right at you. You're engaged. In the latter, he's looking away. You wonder what he's looking at, and what he's thinking about. NOT about him particularly. Both interesting, but you get the idea.
A_Lee said:
I'm glad you're endorsing the 85 1.8 I have because it is one of my favorite lenses
Focuses quick, and you've got to be careful when you hold it, because it is sharp as hell
I rarely shoot wide open, normally 2.0-2.8, sometimes 3.5. Coolness.
Remember, I have a bias towards prime lenses. The 70-200 is probably equally as good, I just wouldn't use it personally over something like an 85mm or a 180mm for that matter. Reasons? I love what fixed lenses does for my composition, forces me to think, to move, to be creative. Also has quite the DOF control. Shooting 70-200 at 85mm and at f/2.8 is not nearly as sharp as shooting at 85mm at f/2.8 with your 85mm prime. 70-200 is sharp, no doubt, but probably closer to f/4 or whatever. Oh yeah, avoid shooting wide open, DOF can be so shallow that only a bit of their face is in focus. Stop down a few.
A_Lee said:
I will probably use the 17-40 for a couple shots to give some feeling of "vastness" to the picture, but the 85 is really going to be working!
Yeah use the 17-40 if you have some awesome background. I love the use of wide angles in portraits. A lot of people are afraid of them because of "distortion". =P It's art, not some technical blueprint.
A_Lee said:
I can easily see having a couple act candidly for the camera, but in this situation i will be shooting one person, so how do you recommend I get him to act candidly (being that he has no one to interact with in front of the camera)?
Have him take you around, show you something, talk to you, stuff like that. Talking also sucks, cuz you'll get him halfway through a word and he'll look horrible. Do continuous bursts of shots, especially when talking. But yeah, have him interact with you. Go do something you two would actually go too, but just have a camera and shoot him while you do it. Hopefully the activity is conducive to having a camera handy.
A_Lee said:
Thanks Art (for putting up with my noob-ishness), you're a life saver.
I love to help someone who's really going to take my suggestions into practice.
goodluck out there!
