Where to start

[hershy314]

During my last visit home I was at my brother's house. While I was there playing with my nephews, my sister-in-law asked me if I would photograph the boys so she wouldn't have to pay a professional. I considered doing it since I am moving back to the area this spring. Problem though is I don't know if I have the right equipment. I know a lot of photographers who do portraits use a soft box or a beauty dish. I don't know if those are a must have or not. Also I don't know if I would need to buy a different flash than what comes with my camera. I'd like to help out my brother and sister-in-law but they could be better off going to a professional for the boys photos.

 

[hawkeye]

Professionals use soft boxes and light modifiers to get the results you are after, but you can get pretty close with a lot less.Direct flash is very harsh light, so the first thing to do is get the flash off of the camera. Adding a single umbrella and stand, which are rather inexpensive, will make a major difference. Two is better but if you only have one flash, consider using a reflector to fill shadows. Even a large piece of white fabric or cardboard can serve as a reflector.
Remember the larger the light source, the softer the light. Therefore a big umbrella will give you softer light than will a small umbrella. I recommend at least a 42", larger is even better if you have the space and budget to accommodate it.
If you don't want buy anything, just bouncing the flash off of a white surface is better than direct flash.

 

[hershy314]

Where I'm moving to is really small, really it's a motel room that I'll be renting for a couple of months while I try to find work and what not. If there are umberlla's like your talking about that folds up then that might be the way I'll go. Really don't know yet.

 

[hawkeye]

Yes, umbrellas fold up and light stands fold and collapse. You should be able to get an inexpensive umbrella, stand and bracket for under $50. Check out Adorama,com or bhphotovideo.com.

 

[hershy314]

I didn't know if the umberella would fold up, but guess that makes sense lol. I'll look into it more once I move. Thanks.

 

[Tom Mann]

Hawkeye is absolutely right: A single, off-camera flash is an excellent way to begin to explore portraiture. The only additional piece of gear that you will need that hasn't been mentioned yet, is that you will need some way to trigger the off-camera flash to fire when the camera's shutter is open. The 2 easiest and least expensive methods are a long (eg, 10-15 feet) flash cord, or an inexpensive optical trigger. The latter start around $15, and go up to well over $100 each. Here's an example of an inexpensive optical trigger that will work quite well for indoor, close range work.

Attached immediately below is a test shot from a series of photos I took just a couple of days ago for friends who had just brought home a new baby from the hospital. All I used was a single off-camera flash and a relatively big (60") umbrella, with the new dad standing so close to the umbrella (and slightly front of the center line) that he was practically enveloped by it. As you can see, it can give beautiful, wrap-around light, yet still preserve male skin texture. Changing from a silver lining to a white lining, is the way to go for pix of women, who typically don't want as much skin texture.




There are many good tutorials on single off-camera lighting technique available on the net, but here's one that I particularly liked because it shows the various looks one can achieve with this technique:
https://robertharringtonstudios.wordpress.com/

That being said, an even cheaper method is to simply hang a piece of white sheet in front of a window, and stand the subject close to it. This method can give equally beautiful lighting, but it usually isn't quite as bright as a strobe into an umbrella, so you have to crank up the ISO a bit. There also are many tutorials on this method that discuss the details. Here's one I liked:
http://www.picturesbymom.com/photography/how-to-take-a-beautiful-natural-window-light-portrait.html

To be honest, I haven't used the sheet-over-the-window technique in probably 20 years because it is so dependent on time-of-day, weather, availability of a window facing the right direction. If I go to some location to take a photo, I need to be able to generate a good image almost immediately, whatever time of the day it happens to be, without any waiting for the sun to be in the right part of the sky, and other fussing around. Using a flash completely eliminates the photographer's dependence on such factors.

HTH,

Tom M

 

[hershy314]

Thanks Tom, this is very helpful. When I was suggested to use a off camera flash, my first thought was how do I trigger it. I knew there was equipment out there to help with that, but I thought it was going to be hundreds of dollars lol. Then again I hadn't looked that hard either. The sheet over the window is a interesting idea but wouldn't work at my brothers house. At least not in the room my sister-in-law would want to use. Although judging from previous photos they've had done with my nephews they like to do this out doors. I'm sure that changes things a little, but maybe not much. Does the type of lens matter? Sorry if I missed that part. I have two lenses right now. One 17.5-45mm and a 40-150mm zoom lens.

 

[hawkeye]

If you take the pictures outdoors, look for open shade. Avoid direct sunlight if you can, especially mid-day sun. I took this shot in open shade using nothing but natural light.

 

[hershy314]

That makes things easier, thanks.

 

[f2bthere]

Outdoors in full shade (no bits of brighter light filtering through as sometimes happens with trees) is your easiest solution.

Add a reflector and shine a little extra light on your subjects can help. 5 in 1 reflectors are cheap on Amazon.com and give you several options. White tends to be the most useful.

The picture above is good. Notice how their faces are darker and the background is lighter? If you reflect a bit of light into their faces, it would brighten them a little and they stand out more, making it even better.

Have a person hold the reflector off to your side out of view of the camera and move the reflector till the light hits your subject in a way that looks good. Be careful if using gold or silver not to reflect too much in their eyes (ouch). I recommend using white.

Alternative, especially if you can't get even shade: If you use a tiny amount of on camera flash as a fill light, this can even out the light and make your subjects slightly brighter. If you keep it at a low setting, it won't compete with your main light (the sun) and let you keep the natural look.

Whatever technique you use, practice with someone patient to work out the details. That way your subjects won't get bored when you fiddle. You will have practiced and you will be more efficient.