No. 24 says all there is to say about outdoor glamour

great work well done both of you

hanks for taking the time to comment - it's appreciated. It's the first time I've been out taking pictures of a model for ages and I'd almost forgotten just how much fun it is!

Quotes....

" Tell me all your secrets, etc, etc....."

Secrets - hmmmm, well, I just wish I knew some. Technical expertise isn't really my strong point. I'm afraid the embarrasing truth is that I have very little. Nine times out of ten, if there's an easy option then that's the one I'm gonna take.

Oh, finding a good model is an important thing! Can't find much better than Carrie!


So, no secrets - but, at the risk of sounding like a total idiot to many of the experienced photographers on here, the best advice I can think of giving is simply to concentrate on the basics. Rule Number One - when photographing people, especially models, enjoy it. If it starts to feel like hard work then you're probably not doing it right.

When I go out to take pictures of someone I try to think about what's likely to work for them as an individual. This will vary according to looks, age, weight, height, etc - and, of course, the particular place where you are photographing them. I'll always try to avoid attempting to shoe-horn them into some look or position I might have seen in some other picture. It rarely works.

Try to keep on top of things like exposure. Okay, I know this might be a big subject. There's another good thread on the forum at the moment dealing specifically with stuff like using light meters (which I know very little about). Personally I nearly always have my camera set to manual mode, take a picture, check the screen, adjust the exposure up or down as needed, then shoot away. That's one of the biggest advantages of using a digital camera. There's no need to guess - just check the screen on the back and you'll know if you've got it right there and then. Use 'sensible' settings. No point in using ISO-1600 in bright daylight, but don't hesitate to use it if you need a faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake. It's relatively easy to deal with a little noise in your pictures but practically impossible to fix a shakey shot.

While it's great to learn about using flash, personally, for pictures of models especially, I'd only use it as a last resort. Natural daylight gives pictures some kind of lovely subtle quality that flash, no matter how carefully used, tends to destroy. Nearly all the pictures above were taken using daylight only. On a few I did use a reflector and, on the last one, when it was dark, I used a flashgun. On the other hand there are many occasions when flash is very useful. Take newspaper pictures as an example. If you are taking a picture where you can't ask the subjects to move to a different position, then flash is great for dealing with things like possible harsh shadows from overhead sun etc. For me personally (others might disagree) if I can ask the person or people to move then I'll mostly try to work with normal daylight. However, during times or in places where there is little or no natural daylight then flash is the way to go!

The type of camera and lens you use are probably the least important things. While I use a 40D, which is a pretty good camera, for pictures of people/models. But while gear might marginally help one to mechanically take better pictures, is it fair to say that cameras do very little in the way of making one a better photographer?

The tehnical aspects of taking pictures are obviously important, but there is also the less tangible non-technical aspects to think about. Seeing a good shot, creativity in composition, all that stuff. Going out and taking lots of pictures, doing it often and trying to learn from the results is probably the way to go. What exactly is a 'good' picture? The quick answer is that it's a subjective thing. If you like it, hey, that's what matters - right?

That's about all I can come up with for now....

Hope none of this makes me sound like I'm an expert photographer - I'm not. Still very much on the learning curve and still enjoying it!

lol.....so can we take it you were not using a 300 f2.8 lens, and a portable stand with an umbrella and flash then Cliff?
Cliff??  

Cliff
You should have been a SF councillor in the '70's because despite using a lot of words, there is little or no answer to the questions. 
I think what people are asking is for more specific assistance with regard to technique.  For instance take photograph 23, how on earth have you got the exposure of Carrie that you have?   What direction is the light coming from, and why is nothing else as well exposed as she is?
Or take number 15 - I can see clearly that the sun is shining in from the left as you look.  But how come Carrie's face is not more shadowed as it is turned away from the sun?   You can see how bright the sun light is, which for me equates to shadows in the side turned away from the sun?   And if you have used a reflector, how do you hold it if you dont have an assistant etc?

Or do you use something like a contrast mask in the post processing stage to improve the appearance of shadows etc?

Sorry to quiz you, but I hope this gives you an idea of the difficulties people see, and likewise, don't feel you have to respond.

Ross

Quote

"You're sounding like a sf councillor and not telling me what I want to know... etc"

Has anything changed, lol....

Ross, I hope I'm not coming across as obtuse or evasive - I don't mean to be! Maybe I've rambled on a too much above but, boiled down, I guess what I'm saying is just keep things simple. Let's say I'm out taking pictures of a model. I ask her to sit or stand in a certain place. I move around a little to see if I can get a good angle. If it looks like it might work I'll take a picture. If it looks like it won't work, or there's too many shadows, too bright highlights or whatever, then nine times out of ten I'd ask her to move and try somewhere else. If there was some compelling reason why I had to take the pictues in that particular place - do battle with nature if you will - then it's time to think about using flash or reflectors. But, to say it again, mostly the easier option is to look for a better place.

The two pictures you've singled out were both taken without using flash or a reflector. The only time I used flash was the last picture posted above (it was dark at the time!) To my eyes it doesn't work as well as those with natural light. The only ones taken using a reflector are the ones where Carrie is standing at the shed door where the shadows were too dark. I had a 300mm lens from work for a football match and, while not exactly the most ideal or convenient thing for portraits, decided to make use of it. Other pictures were taken with my own 70-200mm and 50mm. A big lens is fun to play with but won't necessarily produce better pictures than a normal - you just use them in different ways.

Afterwards I'll have tweaked the levels/curves some to improve the contrast and overall look - but certainly nothing to make a dramatic change to the way the lighting looked at the time. Some have been dodged and burned in places, and as you've mentioned I often use contrast masks to even things out. However, I always try to get things as close as possible when pressing the shutter. In my little weekend hobby of taking football pictures, for example, there is often no opportunity at all to adjust the jpegs before they get used - it is often a case of handing over the memory card so an editor can choose what they want, or maybe emailing from a laptop when it impossible to see the screen properly outdoors.

In the picture where Carrie is sitting outdoors on a step, the sunlight is all around - bouncing off the walls, the ground, everything. Yes the sun is in one direction, but you're forgetting there's a big blue sky everywhere else to chase away the shadows. The one where she is sitting in the shed is more directional because the light just comes in through the door.

Hope that doesn't sound too imprecise! It's difficult to be more specific as every situation is different. I can't help think that maybe you are over-analysing about where the shadows are etc. Surely the best guide is that if it looks okay then it probably is? The more times I go out to take pictures and see afterwards how they worked out, the better I get at knowing what stands a chance of working and what doesn't. Maybe it sounds somewhat blase to say go for the easy options but, then again, why complicate things more than you need to?

I think an important factor in successful model photography (or even just regular poprtrait photography) is the interaction with ones subject. Too many photographers simply expect the model to "perform" for the camera while they simply click away. It just doesn't work like that! The more rapport you can build with your subject, the better the resulting images will be.

- Thorsten.

I agree that expressions have a lot to do with setting the mood for a picture.

Maybe a different kind of mood for Carrie in this pic, taken on the same evening as the others above...