Disclaimer: I know there's a thread about close ups of eyes, but that's not really what I'm trying to do.
I've recently started taking pictures of my friends as practice and I've been learning a few things. However, I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do about their eyes.
One of my friends has gorgeous green eyes and I would love to get a shot that captures them in natural lighting obviously. But she's either squinting from the sun or etc etc etc
Do you guys have any advice about taking portraits in natural lighting in such a way that I can get good face shots, including their eyes?
I have a canon powershot G12 if that means anything
I would position her so she is not facing the sun then use a white reflector or just a bit of white card to reflect the light onto her face that way there's less chance of squint and enough light to get a good picture
You could have her stand at the edge of a shade spot facing the sun, the light should still catch her eyes, but at the same time shade them. Just make sure the shade isn't dappled.
I'm a complete amateur but I've done this with my kids and it worked pretty well! Here is an example of one that I did that way, it is turned b&w but his eyes still gleam.
Shoot at 90 degress to the sun. That way neither she or you will be facing into the sun. It is best if the sun is lower than direct overhead, even better if it is little cloudy. Then a low power fill flash is a good shadow filler, even in strong natural light. Your on board camera flash should be OK if you make sure you have adjusted the power properly. Check your manual if not clear from your camera menus. Watch out for Red Eye with a flash of any kind, but most cameras and all editors have ability to get rid of this. Reflectors are great as well, but that has already been mentioned.
Below image was shot in natural light, somewhat overcast, no fill flash, no formal reflector but a tack sharp lens. The big brown eyes show nicely in color, even though this image has been converted into B/W. Note how I am not shooting into the light nor is she looking into it. The light is actually being reflected off the back wall, from behind and to the left of her shoulder. You can see the highlights on her face.
Make sure you focus directly onto the eyes if your camera will let you select that. Also, if you haven't noticed already, step back a little from the subject and home in with a telephoto or zoom to "fill the frame." It will give a much more pleasing and "accurate" perspective with minimal distortion. The shot below is taken at the maximum zoom (200mm) of the lens. Also, if you can't adjust the DoF aperture very much, P&S typically don't give you much flexibility that way, make sure there is a lot of empty space behind the subject, or something very neutral for a background.
you dont need a professional reflector a piece of white card some white paper a white sheet anything or even the dull side of a piece of kitchen foil work equally well (as using the shiney side would cause just as much glare as looking directly at the sun.)
@kaleidoscopeyes The sun was, actually, behind clouds, so the "sun in the eyes" was not an issue here, The sun actually would have been fairly high and about 30 degrees right of where the model is looking. Just before 2 p.m. and this was on the south lawn of the expo. If you are going to edit your shots out of the camera, then best to always shoot in RAW. Not an issue specific to portraits. There is so much more detail in the 14 bit (for Nikon) RAW file, and you won't lose data, which you will, always, for an 8 bit JPEG image.
@kaleidoscopeyes For the reflector or white paper, it would have to go below the subject, angled up into her face. Close in, just out of the frame of the image. Pros have assistants who can do this of course! If you have a willing subject, she could hold this herself.
Shot in the shade, sun pretty much overhead, we were under a large chestnut tree:
Next to windows, midday, window faces north.
Near another big window
Yup, big windows are great, not with the sun shining directly in, but when they let in a bunch of diffused light. And turn other lighting off, so you don't get wonky white balance issues.
You can also go in and edit the eyes, brighten them up a bit :-)
You can get some beautiful natural light shots indoors which I tend to do mostly, my eldest son hates having his photos taken outside as he has really sensitive eyes. Most times I'll stand with my back to the window and my model facing the window. Also reflectors can be really handy but like it was mentioned you can easiily make one or you can buy them quite cheap too. I tend to lay mine on the floor and get the kids to sit on it as it bounces up some lovely light that way, it's just a case of experimenting though.
Here's some examples of indoor photos I've taken:
As for outdoors I try to do it on an overcast day or if it's sunny in a nice shady spot, it's helps. Here are a couple of examples:
The sun as you can see was behind and to the side of him and we were in the shade of the trampoline:
This was the sun behind and using a reflector (yes you can use them outside) in front.
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I'm a complete amateur but I've done this with my kids and it worked pretty well! Here is an example of one that I did that way, it is turned b&w but his eyes still gleam.
Below image was shot in natural light, somewhat overcast, no fill flash, no formal reflector but a tack sharp lens. The big brown eyes show nicely in color, even though this image has been converted into B/W. Note how I am not shooting into the light nor is she looking into it. The light is actually being reflected off the back wall, from behind and to the left of her shoulder. You can see the highlights on her face.
Make sure you focus directly onto the eyes if your camera will let you select that. Also, if you haven't noticed already, step back a little from the subject and home in with a telephoto or zoom to "fill the frame." It will give a much more pleasing and "accurate" perspective with minimal distortion. The shot below is taken at the maximum zoom (200mm) of the lens. Also, if you can't adjust the DoF aperture very much, P&S typically don't give you much flexibility that way, make sure there is a lot of empty space behind the subject, or something very neutral for a background.
Good luck and good shooting!
Where were you and your subject standing in reference to where the sun was for that picture?
And should I shoot in RAW when doing portraits?
Next to windows, midday, window faces north.
Near another big window
Yup, big windows are great, not with the sun shining directly in, but when they let in a bunch of diffused light. And turn other lighting off, so you don't get wonky white balance issues.
You can also go in and edit the eyes, brighten them up a bit :-)
Here's some examples of indoor photos I've taken:
As for outdoors I try to do it on an overcast day or if it's sunny in a nice shady spot, it's helps. Here are a couple of examples:
The sun as you can see was behind and to the side of him and we were in the shade of the trampoline:
This was the sun behind and using a reflector (yes you can use them outside) in front.
....... and the beauty of a good set of lashes.
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