7 Great Secrets for a Successful Portrait Photo Shoot

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Newbie Photography

By Kevin Landwer-Johan 

Do you want to know seven secrets for a successful photo shoot? These practical photography tips are essential for those amazing portrait photography sessions. I’ve put them all together here for you.

You can use these photo shoot tips to build up your personal photography portfolio. Your portrait photography sessions will be more fruitful.

 

7. Plan Ahead for Professional Results

Planning your photo shoot and being well prepared is vital. Your efficiency and creativity will both be enhanced. Knowing what you want to achieve from the portrait photo shoot narrows down your options and makes planning more effective.

So, how do I plan a photo shoot? Pre-visualising the photos you want will enable you to prepare for them. You may consider including your model(s) in this planning stage. I like to draw up a list of ideas and discuss this in advance with my model.

Obtaining a signed model release prior to starting the portrait photo shoot is always a good idea. Don’t risk leaving it until the end and forgetting about it.

You also need to pack well. Check and double-check you have the gear you’ll most need. It can be very disruptive to find you don’t have the right lens or your flash batteries are in the bag you did not bring. This type of oversight will affect your creative flow during the shoot. It will also impact your credibility as a photographer.

6. Include the Location in Your Portrait Photography

We all love photos taken in great locations. So many popular Instagram accounts are proof of this.

Plan your portrait photo shoot to embrace the locations you will be taking your model. Including the surroundings can make your portraits more interesting. Look for the best angles and lighting to compose with.

Keep in mind that your main aim is photographing your model and making them look good. If you are faced with a challenging location and struggle to find an angle, get creative. Blurring the background is probably the easiest and one of the most effective methods. Too much clutter can distract from your model.

In this photo, I wanted it to be obvious my model was in the city but keep the focus clearly on her. I chose my aperture setting so she is separate from the background yet you can still see she is in the city.

Photo by: Kevin Landwer-Johan

5. Variety Is Key to Better Portrait Photos

Make certain you take a real variety at every photo session. Having planned well and chosen the locations you want to make the most of them.

Stay within your game plan. But be sure to mix up the poses, expression, outfits, composition, lenses, and camera settings. Get your wide, medium and close up photos. Look for additional details everywhere and include them. I have a background in editorial photography. Therefore, I typically approach every photo session aiming to produce a spread of photos.

If my model wants mostly close up photos, I will make a series of medium and wider compositions as well. When they see them, they often remark they had not thought of that angle or style of photo. Remember, you are the photographer. Be creative.

Vary where your model is looking. Don’t always have them looking into your lens. Have them look to either side, up, down and gazing way off into the distance.
If you are not sure how to communicate this, ask them to look at something specific in the direction you wish them to face.

Photo by: Kevin Landwer-Johan

4. Control the Lighting for a Better Portrait

Be in control of the lighting. Bad lighting will ruin a portrait photo shoot of even the most attractive person. I find it best to use some kind of accessory, like flash and/or reflectors.

Having the ability to play with ambient light will allow you to control the mood of your portraits. During your planning, you will have decided on the look and overall feel you wanted to achieve. Much of this will be determined by how you control the lighting.

If you have opted to portray a dramatic image of your model, use harsh light and strong shadows. This will enhance the effect.

A more attractive feeling will be gained with softer light which wraps around your model as they pose. Using reflectors or diffused lights from more than one point in front of your model will give pleasing results.

There are many techniques you can employ to manipulate lighting to create mood in a portrait. If you are not mindful of your lighting and in control, you will not get the best results from your portrait photo shoot.

3. Communicate With Your Model for Easier Posing

Take time to connect with your model. You will get better pictures. If you are distant and non-communicative, your model will not respond so well.

Talk to your model before the photo session. If you know your model, ask some more specific questions. Ask them what they want to achieve from the photo shoot and share with them what you want. Working together in this way you will have more ideas to work with.

Model poses do not always come instinctively to people. A model will pose more naturally if they trust you and know what you want to achieve. Communicate clearly with them what you want. They might not understand or your idea simply is not working. Try explaining yourself more clearly or move on to something else.

Your model may have some good ideas for poses. Listen to their suggestions and try them, especially if they are having trouble relaxing. Photographing them in poses they suggest will mean they are more comfortable so the results will be better.

2. Don’t Fiddle With Your Camera During the Photo Shoot

During a photo session, you need to be focused on your model, not only your camera. The more you are paying attention to your model, the better your photographs will be. To be successful in this, you must know your camera and your craft.

Spending most of your time and attention on your camera and fiddling with the settings will likely lead to failure. You should know how to set your camera for the style of photos you have planned.

This means:

• Anticipating the shutter speed and aperture settings you will use.
• Having the ISO set correctly for the light.
• Choosing the focus mode you will work with.
• Setting up your flash and/or reflectors.

All this needs to be set and ready before you meet your model. Even if you need to make adjustments to your settings, they should only be minor.
If you are engaged with your camera, you will not be engaging enough with your model. They will find it more difficult to relax and pose well (unless they are truly professional).

If you are using flash or reflectors, make sure you know how to. If you are working with an assistant, make sure they understand your intentions for the photo shoot. The more attention you can give your model, the more they will enjoy it, and the better your photographs will be.

1. Follow Up After the Portrait Photo Shoot

Once you have finished, stay in touch with your model. If the photo session has gone well and you hope to work with your model again, this is crucial. Make sure to send them a thank you text or email.

Follow through with getting whatever copies of the photos you may have promised. Then follow up again a few days later to see what they thought of the photographs and of the experience.

Even if you think the photo session did not go so well, communicate a little more with your model! You may both learn from the experience.

If you are serious about developing your portrait photography, give your model a short questionnaire to fill out. It can be just a few questions about the photo session and the resulting portraits. Make sure to leave room for comments they might like to make.

These photoshoot tips will raise the level of your photography.
For many people, it’s not easy to manage the camera and the model at the same time. With these photography tips, I was able to improve the standard of my portraiture and enjoy the process far more.

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 Photography

8 Types Of Natural Light That Will Add Drama To Your Photographs

Anne McKinnell

 

8 Types Of Natural Light That Will Add Drama To Your Photographs – by Anne McKinnell

Just click on the link directly above (blue lettering) to get YOUR copy.  Enjoy!

 

 

How to Set Up Your Home Photography Studio

By Andrea Minoia

By Chad Verzosa 

 

Many photographers dream of having their own studio to practice their craft. Now you must be wondering, how can I make a photography studio at home?

Well, what if I told you it’s easy to get started? Here are some tips on how to set up a low-cost photo studio at home!

 

How Do You Set Up a Home Photography Studio?

Planning how to set up a home photography studio can be overwhelming. With so many elements to consider, where do you start?

The first step for me was to do some research on the photo studios near me. Of course, I didn’t have to visit those places physically. A simple internet search was enough.

A photo studio near me even had images of their facilities. Seeing their set-up allowed me to figure out how to arrange my equipment at home.

Remember that it would take years to acquire expensive equipment you see in professional studios. So for now, don’t be afraid to start small with the essentials.

Which Is Better: A Fixed Location or a Portable Studio?

Think about how you intend to do your photoshoots. Do you want to stay in a single place? Or do you see yourself shooting in different locations a lot?

If you’re not doing photoshoots on a regular basis, you can get away with a clean wall and window light. That’s all you really need for simple portraits.

But what if you’re shooting product photography several times a week? Then a dedicated home photography studio would be the most ideal.

It would be best to invest in equipment that is compact and easy to store away. That way, you have to option to have a permanent studio and still have the ability to move around gear to locations.

How Big Should Your Photography Studio Be?

You don’t need to have access to a 100 square metre venue to take studio portraits. You can convert a spare room or even a tool shed into a home photography studio.

Working in smaller spaces can be quite challenging. It demands a good deal of flexibility, the ability to make compromises, and a lot of creativity.

But then again, you are not going to need a lot of equipment for your home studio. In most cases, even a 100 square-foot room is enough to fit all of your home photography studio gear. Place your background stand against one of the walls, set up the light stands in front, and that’s it!

One factor you need to consider for your studio is the number of people you can fit in it.

Do you like to photograph groups of people? If so, look for big spaces for unobstructed motion.

For single-person portraits and headshots, a few square metres are enough. Portraits of newborns and toddlers are possible almost anywhere.

You should also beware that the size of your home studio may affect the light in your photos.

It’s easier to control artificial light in large photography studios. In very small places with a low ceiling, stray light can be more of a problem.

So if your space is small, it would be best to stick to window lighting. It never fails to create pleasing light no matter the size of your studio.

How Do you Manage a Small Studio Space?

Building complicated lighting sets can be trickier to do in small studios. This is because of the lack of space.

For the same reason, your expensive 70-200mm f/2.8 could end up being too ‘long’ for your space. Due to this, you will only be able to take headshots (at best).

In small photography studios, it may be better to invest in lenses with shorter focal lengths. Try any option between 80-100mm for taking larger portraits.

Finally, your home photography studio setup should have a few power sockets around.

You’ll likely have to plug in gear all the time when taking pictures. These could be lights, laptop (if you shoot tethered), and chargers. You may even fans for cooling your place or for portrait effects.

What Is The Basic Gear Setup for a Small Photography Studio?

There are tons of studio gear to choose from that it’s difficult to know which ones to buy first. So what equipment do you need for a photography studio?

Don’t obsess with buying all the gear as you start building your studio. It’s quite surprising how little equipment you need for most photoshoots.

Here is a handy list of basic gear setup for a small home studio:

• Lights – One light and a reflector are more than enough to start. But three lights will give you the best flexibility. Those lights can be three cheap manual speedlights. Try the Yongnou 560 IV, or studio strobes such as Godox strobes.
• Flash Trigger – This tool is necessary to trigger your flash units remotely. You’ll need a specific model that’s compatible with your strobes and your camera. Otherwise, it won’t work at all.
• Lighting modifiers – A reflector and umbrella are a must. Neewer and Godox produce cheap umbrellas, softboxes, and octaboxes. These are quite good and fold into small, easy-to-store packages.
• Light stands – You need one stand for each light. As a rule of thumb, the heavier your light is (along with the light modifier), the sturdier your stands need to be. Don’t invest in cheap gear or you will risk your lights being too unstable and wobbly. I prefer stands that extend to 2.4 metres and higher. Especially since the lights need to be above the model. But it is also useful to have a small stand. This can light the model from below or hide your rim/background light behind the model.
• Background – A collapsible background is a good way to start. That is if you cannot install a permanent background. Impact and other brands are not too expensive. Especially when compared to Lastoline collapsible backdrops.

Other Optional Gear

Photography gear aren’t the only pieces of equipment you need for your home photography studio. You should also get these everyday accessories you’ll need for your shoots:

• Step ladders – Ladders are useful to change your point of view on your model. But also to change the orientation and settings of your lights.
• Fans – A fan can introduce some motion into your portrait (think wind-blown hair or clothes). But they can also make it comfortable to work in hot studios. Continuous studio lights and strobes with modelling lights generate a fair amount of heat. A fan helps provide some comfort.
• Extensions and power strips – If you use studio lights other than portable lights, think about getting extension cords and power strips. You’ll need space to plug in your lighting equipment.
• Furniture – If you are going to do portraits larger than headshots, you should consider having some furniture around. Chairs and stools are must-haves.

So how much does it cost to build a photography studio?

When it comes to how to build a photography studio, you want to ensure your equipment meets your needs. Do not spend a lot of money on a light that you’ll never use.

The good news is you can find plenty of home studio kits online for cheap. You can get a package with muslin backdrops for about 160USD.

Most kits include two light stands two modifiers, background stand, and muslin backgrounds. The stands can be a bit flimsy, but they will last you years if you keep them in your home studio. If you plan on shooting in different locations, I suggest getting sturdier professional options. They may be more expensive, but at least they’ll last longer.

You should also beware that the lights from the kit are simple white bulbs and aren’t bright at all. But you can easily swap them out with the speedlights you already have.

Setting Up a Home Studio According to Portrait Photography Style

Think about the types of portraits you plan to take and how you want them to look. Do you like working with natural light? Then you will need a home studio with big windows.

Are you a flash photographer? Then an empty wine cellar or basement is great for shooting studio photography portrait.

How to Choose the Best Lighting Equipment for Your Home Studio

You have plenty of options when it comes to lighting in your home studio. We’ll discuss the two most popular ones below.

Speedlights

Pros:

• Perfect in small photography studios and for portable setups
• Lightweight and small
• Cheap, particularly manual units like Yongnuo, Phottix, etc.

Cons:

• Low power
• Lack of modelling light prevents you from seeing where the flash beam goes and fine-tuning your autofocus
• Can have long recycle time, particularly at full power, making hard to shoot in burst

Some of the speedlights’ shortcomings can be overcome by using flash units such as the Godox V850II. These are much more powerful than speedlights, whilst remaining portable. Unfortunately, these units are quite expensive.

Photography Studio Flashes

Pros:

• Powerful light
• Can have built-in a modelling light
• Includes an AC plug for batteryless operation

Cons:

• Price
• Heavy and bulky
• Need sturdy light stands
• Cheap units can overheat and stop working until they cool down

So how many lights should you have? I would say three lights. These will give you a great deal of flexibility in your work.

Whatever option you choose, remember that you’ll need one light stand for each flash unit. In most cases, two or three should be enough.

But don’t let the shopping fever get you. Start with one light. Learn the basics, and build up your equipment once you need more flexibility. You can also make great portraits with a single Speedlight as you can see in the example below.

Must-Have Light Modifiers

• Reflectors – They bounce light back into the scene. 5-in-1 reflectors provide various types of reflective surfaces. In one package, you get silver, gold, white, black, and translucent.
• Umbrellas – The cheapest light modifiers you can buy. They soften light from the flash. But the problem with them is that they let light spill everywhere. As a consequence, they reduce your ability to control the light, particularly in small studios.
• Softboxes/Octaboxes – more expensive than umbrellas, they allow you to have better control over your light. They also produce a softer glow in general.
• Grids – Grids concentrate the light in tight beams, making light very directional.
• Gels – Gels are sheets of semitransparent materials. They come in different shapes (to adapt to your light source) and colours. They change the background color when used on a background light. And they introduce light effects in your portrait. They are cheap too.
• Flags – They stop stray light from bouncing around the set. Flags can be from anything that is black. A panel, cardboard, a curtain, a cloth, etc. work really well. 5-in-1 reflectors have a black side allowing you to use them as flags.

Bear in mind that, the larger the light modifier is, the softer (but weaker) your effective light will become.

DIY Speedlite Flash Modifiers

If you have a Speedlite, why not try creating DIY modifiers?

Creating softboxes at home means that you get to try different ways to light your portraits. All without spending a lot of money.

With a few small pieces of plastic, you can create a few different modifiers. Other items you might have laying around the house.

You might need to buy a pack of Pringles, but then you can enjoy them too!

How to Choose a Background for Your Home Studio

There are two kinds of photography studio backgrounds you can choose from. A collapsible portrait backdrop. Or a professional photography studio backdrop on support or on a rail/roll system fixed to a wall or ceiling.

Collapsible Backgrounds

Pros:

• Relatively cheap
• Fold in a compact, portable package
• One face black, for low key portraiture. And the other one will turn it into a white photo backdrop for high-key photography.

Cons:

• Small, most suitable for headshots or single person portraiture
• The tissue can have creases
• Folding them is an art difficult to master

Professional Portrait Background

Pros:

• Paper, vinyl or tissue backgrounds
• Comes in many background sizes

Cons:

• A heavy system to carry around – not so compact
• Cheap models will not support heavy backgrounds, such as a 3 x 11 m paper roll

As per the background colour, they come in black, white, and grey. For small studios, a grey backdrop is the best solution. It can be black or white depending on your lighting setups

Gels can also work to change the colour of the background in your images.

How to Get Rid of Ambient Light

Keep in mind that when you work with flash indoors, you do not want natural ambient light. This can contaminate your photographic studio lighting setup.

Of course, not using ambient light does not mean you should work in total darkness. But it’s good to have a low level of ambient light. This will improve your portrait home photography studio setup.

You can achieve this by shielding the windows with curtains or by using flags (any kind of black panel or tissue). This will stop unwanted light from bouncing around the set.

To ensure your ambient light will is not affecting the photo, do a few test shots. Set up your camera to take a photo without firing your flash. Make sure that the resulting image is completely black.

You can then manipulate your lighting to achieve the exposure you want.

I usually photograph at f/8, ISO 200 (cannot go lower with my camera), and 1/125th of a second. I then use a flash meter or a trial-and-error process to set the power of the lights to match my target exposure.

How Do You Start a Home Photography Business?

Having a small studio is enough to start a business. Once you’re comfortable with your lighting set-up, ask your friends if they need professional portraits.

However, I recommend that you get a better location first before asking strangers to pay for their portraits. You need to conduct business in a proper environment for people to take you seriously. Your clients would definitely be put off paying you if you ask them to pose inside your living room.

Remember that presentation and professionalism are crucial elements for success. So if you’re not ready yet, stick to the people you know first. They’ll be more forgiving with your location and are always excited by your talents.

So what if taking paid portraits of strangers is still not possible? There are also tons of brands out there that need pictures of their products. You can ask local businesses if they need e-commerce photos and photograph their items for sale. Use the money you earn to buy more equipment and eventually rent a real studio for your business.

I hope these tips give you a good idea of the basics you’ll need to build your own home/portable studio.

My advice is to not get too stuck on the idea of the perfect, ideal photography studio and equipment. What counts the most is your creativity and your willingness to squeeze the most out from what you have to work with.

If you want to know more about how to create a photography studio anywhere, read this book from Nick Fancher.