Ok, well, maybe it's worthy but I haven't fully mastered it: I have a Nikon D50 with standard 18-55mm Nikkor lens. I also have a tripod but that's it.
A friend of mine just called and said her husband needs a portrait taken for his business cards. He's in real estate. He would like a shot from the chest up in the outdoors while the sun is setting at a location that represents his city. I think I have the location in mind and I know it well- I'm just afraid my camera is not worthy! I don't get the best focus (Nikon D50 only has a max of 5 focus points- it's ancient!) I cannot solve this problem by blurring the background because the whole point is to be identified with the cityscape.
Am planning on taking my laptop with to blow up pics on the spot and ensure they are satisfactory.
ANY ADVICE is welcomed! I hardly ever take pictures of people, even for fun, much less experience making it count (well, I did get on 365 to improve that)!
Mainly I'm excited and hope there is follow-through: last time I was asked to take a portrait they backed out :(
well now, that is VERY cool... i am not much on portraits, so i am very wary about giving advice... but i think you're equipment is going to be just fine for this...
the number of focus points probably isn't relevant... like i said, i am wary about giving advice, but i would probably first start by trying an aperture between 7.1 and 11 and focus on your friend's husband... hopefully others will respond with better and more detailed suggestions...
If his back will be to the sunset I'd recommend some sort of fill light to illuminate his face and front. Your dof will be large to get both him and the background, so your aperture will be small (f/10 to f/22) and shutter speed will be low, so I'd also recommend a tripod. Take lots of practice shots before the sun sets because once it does, it goes fast! Have fun and good luck!
Will you be shooting into the sun or with the sun behind you? If you are shooting into the sun you will need to use flash to light up the face of the subject.
The wider your depth of field (larger f number), the less critical focus is. If you need to get the subject and the city behind him all in focus, then you will need to use a wide depth of field, such as f/11-f/16, or even higher. This makes the accuracy of your focus a lot less critical, so you shouldn't have any issues with out of focus shots.
However, you can still lose sharpness in other ways. You should use your tripod, to avoid any blur from the movement of the camera. You will also be limited by the overall sharpness of the kit lens, although they are generally pretty acceptable.
Also, bear in mind that, while it is tempting to keep both the subject and background perfectly sharp so that the city is identified, a photo like this will look very 'flat', and the person will not stand out from the background. A small amount of background blur should still allow the city to be identified, but will isolate the subject from the background. This will require using a middle-of-the-road aperture setting, such as f/6.3-f/8. Take shots at a variety of settings so you have plenty to choose from.
Put the camera in burst mode so you can capture multiple shots just by holding down the shutter. You need to capture the subject looking natural, not with a forced smile or looking like a psychopath, so taking lots of shots in bursts allows you to pick the best pose.
Use the 55mm end of your lens, or thereabouts. Portraits taken with wide-angle lenses (or at the wide end of zoom lenses) do not look natural -- noses become too large and ears seem to be too far back on the head.
Think about composition -- it's easy to place the subject in the centre of the frame, but that's not a very interesting shot. If in doubt, a simple rule of thirds is rarely a bad option -- placing the subject 1/3rd of the way across the frame (either from the left or right).
@abirkill aha! this has been my biggest challenge... " You need to capture the subject looking natural, not with a forced smile or looking like a psychopath"!!! must remember burst mode!
FWIW, I'd not bother with a tripod -- way too much hassle.
If you're shooting at sunset, there should still be plenty of ambient light to get a decent shutter speed - 1/150 or so - if you meter for the sky (and if not, push the ISO until you can - a bit of noise is not going to be a problem in a 3" business card print :), then stick a flash off slightly to one side of the camera to light the subject. Smallish aperture - f16 or thereabouts. Shoot.
your camera and lens is fine. Your doing a picture that is being printed tiny. So no need to worry about lens sharpness, noise etc. - not important, your gear is more then fine. Dont need a tripod because that doesnt help with people movement. You most likely will want to back light your subject with the sun so your subject isnt squinting looking into the sun. You will need a reflector to bounce light back onto your subject as a fill. Unless your good with flash and can move the flash off camera I wouldnt even mess with flash as it will make it look worse most likely. If you dont have a reflector go get some white foam board which will work just fine. The main subject is the person so its ok to have the background slightly out of focus which helps direct your attention to your subject. The best thing to do is just go out and practice at the same time of day of the shoot and see what you get.
I agree with Kevin @soia that blurred background isn't necessarily a bad thing if you have an iconic back drop for your city. for example:
This one isn't great because the sun was in his eyes and he had to squint, but I post it for the background example.
I also agree with Kevin that flash can be tricky .... I rarely use it, but when I have had some success with it, I used the flash compensation button to lower the strength of the flash (the on camera one). I think reflective bouncers and then lifting exposures/shadows in post in targeted areas can give a more natural result.
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the number of focus points probably isn't relevant... like i said, i am wary about giving advice, but i would probably first start by trying an aperture between 7.1 and 11 and focus on your friend's husband... hopefully others will respond with better and more detailed suggestions...
The wider your depth of field (larger f number), the less critical focus is. If you need to get the subject and the city behind him all in focus, then you will need to use a wide depth of field, such as f/11-f/16, or even higher. This makes the accuracy of your focus a lot less critical, so you shouldn't have any issues with out of focus shots.
However, you can still lose sharpness in other ways. You should use your tripod, to avoid any blur from the movement of the camera. You will also be limited by the overall sharpness of the kit lens, although they are generally pretty acceptable.
Also, bear in mind that, while it is tempting to keep both the subject and background perfectly sharp so that the city is identified, a photo like this will look very 'flat', and the person will not stand out from the background. A small amount of background blur should still allow the city to be identified, but will isolate the subject from the background. This will require using a middle-of-the-road aperture setting, such as f/6.3-f/8. Take shots at a variety of settings so you have plenty to choose from.
Put the camera in burst mode so you can capture multiple shots just by holding down the shutter. You need to capture the subject looking natural, not with a forced smile or looking like a psychopath, so taking lots of shots in bursts allows you to pick the best pose.
Use the 55mm end of your lens, or thereabouts. Portraits taken with wide-angle lenses (or at the wide end of zoom lenses) do not look natural -- noses become too large and ears seem to be too far back on the head.
Think about composition -- it's easy to place the subject in the centre of the frame, but that's not a very interesting shot. If in doubt, a simple rule of thirds is rarely a bad option -- placing the subject 1/3rd of the way across the frame (either from the left or right).
If you're shooting at sunset, there should still be plenty of ambient light to get a decent shutter speed - 1/150 or so - if you meter for the sky (and if not, push the ISO until you can - a bit of noise is not going to be a problem in a 3" business card print :), then stick a flash off slightly to one side of the camera to light the subject. Smallish aperture - f16 or thereabouts. Shoot.
Bish, bosh. Done.
http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/18056/technique-challenge-6-professional-looking-portraits
This one isn't great because the sun was in his eyes and he had to squint, but I post it for the background example.
I also agree with Kevin that flash can be tricky .... I rarely use it, but when I have had some success with it, I used the flash compensation button to lower the strength of the flash (the on camera one). I think reflective bouncers and then lifting exposures/shadows in post in targeted areas can give a more natural result.