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Question from Jacob: “Does anyone have any tips for improving on photographing portraits for people? I’m getting my first DSLR camera, and hopefully planning to make something out of it (small business or just a hobby,) in the future.”
Rick: I would have to say the one thing that helped me out the most when I first started was, I was told to practice the the single focus point instead of using auto. Learn to put that single focus point over the subjects eye to keep the subject in sharp focus. I tended to allow the camera to do this in the beginning at couldn’t figure out why my subjects faces were always slightly out of focus. When you let the camera figure it out it will focus on the closest point to the camera and that tends to be an arm or shoulder etc…
Karla: Read some good photography books, get a 50mm prime lens, take some classes.
Andrea: An important thing is to find your style… That takes time sometimes so what I did is I would like other photographer’s pages and follow them and learn.
Depending on how serious you plan on getting Lightroom is a great program for photographer’s. I know pro’s who use this only and it’s much less expensive then photoshop (great site to purchase LR is newegg – usually have sales, I got photoshop at $400 off)
Practice practice practice on family or friends or offer free sessions just to build your portfolio
And I can’t stress this enough, learn your lighting. You do not want light to be your enemy. You need to embrace it. See what it does in certain situations
And also white balance is very important cause it can make or break a picture (yea you can edit this later but why add the stress & pain)
Hope this helps you out!
And Good Luck
Colleen: experiment….try different f stops, then see what happens when you shoot various moving subjects at different shutter speeds…you’ll need to have a visual of the implications in order to photograph people (i.e. moving children). also, take photos of someone facing all 4 directions to see the impact of light on their eyes and faces…and to understand when you need to compensate from what your camera is telling you is the proper exposure. Just keep playing with all the ‘parts’ of the camera….including ISO…to understand how and when you need to over-ride the camera or make decisions for the best photo. And know your camera…what’s the highest ISO you can shoot without noise, for example… Good luck to you…enjoy…
Jose: The best tip I can give you is this…ALWAYS focus in the eyes of your model, the rest will slowly fall into place. Be your own critic, and don’t get down when someone says they don’t like a picture…if you wouldn’t pay for it…don’t expect people to do just that!.
Jose: Have the camera with you at all times and be prepared because candid photography will give you amazing shots.
Jaye: First and foremost learn how to use it. I cannot tell you how many of my friends get entry level DSLRs thinking they will suddenly become pro photographers with amazing pictures, then can’t figure out why their pictures look terrible. If you don’t understand aperture, ISO, and shutter speed and how they work together to create an image then nothing else will matter. The book “Understand Exposure” is a great place to start to learn all of that.
After you get that down you can get focus down, learn editing, find a style, etc.
Sheena: I started getting into photography about a year ago, with your same intentions. All this advice is perfect. I really recommend taking a class. It forces uses to learn stuff. Shoot in manual mode always and learn it inside and out. “Bloom” online is where I have takin all my classes and I don’t regret one minute of it. Practice practice practice. I have done about 40 sessions and still learn something new everytime.
Sheena: And it doesn’t matter how well you can edit, or how much you know about the editing software…. it all starts with taking a great, well exposed, clear picture to begin with. I wouldn’t focus so much on editing until you know how to take proper pictures. The editing will be easier after that
Kathleen: Creative live is another amazing resource for online classes. Worth every penny!
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