Digital SLR Portraiture Course 2

DSLRPORTRAITURE

Alex Harvey-Brown

Plan of the weekend

INTRO WHY A DSLR & WHAT MAKES A GOOD PHOTO? THE HOLY TRINITY OF DSLR PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION ISO

MOBILE Phone 8mpxl Camera NIKON DSLR with 50mm f/1.8 lens

What makes a good portrait?

LIGHT

DEPTH OF FIELD

CONTRAST(FIGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY)

EYES

COMPOSITION

YUSUF KARSH

CECIL BEATON

CHARLENE SHREUDER

The Exposure Triangle

APERTURE

SHUTTER SPEED

ISO

APERTURE

Remember: The lower the ‘f-number’ or

‘f-stop’ the WIDER the aperture

APERTUREEFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY

SQUINTING gives you a larger depth of field.So does having a small aperture/high f-stop.

The smaller the F-Number (therefore the wider the aperture) the shallower the depth of field.

APERTUREEFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITYLIGHT

Wider apertures let more light into the camera, smaller apertures do the opposite.

Great in dark situations and keeps the shutter speed FAST and ISO DOWN.

Wide aperture prime lenses:Perfect for portraits!

<-85mm f/1.8

Zooms with wide apertures, known as ‘fast zooms’ are VERY expensive.

Fast prime lenses have a fixed focal length but are cheaper…and more creative!

EXERCISE

• SWITCH TO ‘A’ or ‘Ap’ – Mode / Keep ISO to 300/400

• The camera will manage your shutter speed, so you can manually adjust your aperture’s size.

• Try shooting different objects close to you at your lowest f-number (widest aperture setting) and again at the highest f-number (smallest aperture).

SHUTTER SPEED

The length of time that the camera’s film or sensor are exposed to light.

Time, measured in fractions of a second that the shutter is OPEN.

1/8000 - 30 seconds / *Bulb

*Bulb - an option that allows you to keep the shutter open indefinitely.Only usable with

shutter release cable.

EFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY

SHUTTER SPEED

-Faster speeds give sharper images when hand holding.

-No lower than 1/80 when hand holding.

1/400 1/60 1/30

EFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY

SHUTTER SPEED

Exercise 2

• Set your camera to Shutter Priority Mode ‘S’ or ‘Sp’ – the camera will manage the aperture setting, allowing you control of the shutter speed and exposure time.

• Experiment with different shutter speeds and capture the party popper’s motion, either freezing it – or capturing the movement.

• Start by trying the following speeds 1/30, 1/100, 1/500

ISO (international standards organisation)

• Dictates the camera sensor’s sensitivity to light.

• The higher ISO number, the higher the sensitivity.

• High sensitivity keeps the shutter speed higher, but increases grain/noise.

The Photographer’s Juggling Act

ISO

Aperture

Shutter

Speed

COMPOSITION

The rule of thirds A solid guideline to discourage placement of the subject at the center, or prevent a horizon from appearing to divide the picture in half.

COMPOSITION

The rule of thirds In portraits – try to align the eyes up with the line of the top third.

COMPOSITION

• The classic rule of thumb: ‘Fill the frame’ • Zooming into a face will always give a feature to a photograph

COMPOSITION

• The classic rule of thumb: ‘Fill the frame’

The Impact of Lighting

http://vimeo.com/63602119

Portraiture Tips

Even lighting on the face is essential. Always try and shoot in the shade but avoid mottled light from leaves! Clouds are a natural diffuser – cloudy conditions usually provide perfect light.

Portraiture Tips

Get a vintage look – get creative and use sun flare to your advantage.

The best Lenses for portraits

Ideal mix of wide aperture and long focal length.

Fast zooms and prime lenses are perfect.Prime lenses much cheaper.

Portraiture Tips

In bright sun? Turn the subject’s back to the it and light their face with flash or a reflector to balance.

Tip: Focal length compression

120mmZoom lenses compress features, great for portraits!

200mm

Useful Accessories

Reflectors/diffusers

Off camera flash / speedlight