This is literally my first post on PhotoCamel, and I have to say "thank you"! Great info and those lighting setup diagram really helps.
I don't have any studio equipment yet. All I have right now is Canon 580EX flash. Is it a wise way if I buy one more 580EX and try to play with them first? I like outdoor portraits better, so dual flash setup seems better for me. What other essential accessory do I need?
Thanks again.
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Originally Posted by Benji
There are nearly 40 rules (suggestions) that should be followed if one expects his or her portrait images to rise above the "that is a nice picture" to "WOW you did that?" status. I have never seen them assembled into a book and published, other than a book by master photographer Don Peterson written in 1985. He listed 25 of them. Even when Googling it all I get is his rules (posted by myself and one other person) over the past several years on various websites. Several of those "old rules" have become "obsolete" in the new millennium. My list has been garnered over the last 25 years and modified somewhat by the "relaxation" of posing in the last ten years or so.
Why rules? People will simply not spend $100.00 for an 8 x 10 snapshot. They will however spend $100.00 for an 8 x 10 if it is a beautiful portrait, and if you follow the rules you should get beautiful portraits. Once you learn them you can then judiciously bend or break them a little to acheive that "perfect" image that you see in your mind.
These rules are for PORTRAIT images. Just as there is a difference between a pick up truck and a sports car, even though both are motor vehicles, both run on gasoline and both will get you to your destination in comfort, there is also a difference between portraiture and fashion images. In portraiture it is all about the face. In fact the word "portrait" literally means "A pictorial likeness or photograph of a face." In fashion photography it is all about the clothing. While some rules will cross over some don't.
Benji
P.S. I have "cleaned up" this tutorial so it can be made into a PDF file. I kept only the rules and the images and deleted all of the other comments.
(Above edited on 12 -06- 06)
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