The Rules Of Good Portraiture

[Benji]

Kelly,

My suggestions.

1. Shoot raw.

2. Take accurate meter readings (make sure the meter is calibrated. Here is how to do it.)* Take an 18% gray card and clip it to a stand (or prop it up in a chair) then take one studio flash unit at about a 20 degree angle to the card and take a meter reading by holding the meter just above the center of the card with the dome level with the edge of the card and pointed directly at the light source. Fire the flash and (after making sure your camera and the meter are both at the exact same ISO) set that reading into the camera aperture.* Fill the frame with the gray card (you might have to manually focus) and make the exposure (Jpeg setting.)* Load the image into Photoshop and click on "Window" then "Histogram."* There will only be one spike and it should be dead center in the box. If not, your meter and camera are not calibrated.* If you need to calibrate your meter there is a small dial inside the battery compartment On a Minolta anyway.)* Simply take a small flat bladed screwdriver and turn the screw to either + or - depending on whether the spike is to the right or left of center.* Redo the test several times until the spike is centered.* On other meters I would check with you manual.

3. Shoot a zebra card or gray card first thing.* This will give you perfect white balance and exposure.

4. The main must be more powerful than the fill light (by about two stops or so.)* *You have the fill more powerful than the main right now (based on your above statements.)* Set the camera aperture at the main light reading whether you are using a fill light or a fill light.

5 Pose the subject and light him or her as you desire. Take you meter reading of the main light and set that in your camera.* Take the exposures then load them into Adobe Camera Raw.*

Benji

[KellyL]

Humbly, I thank you again.

I have read and reread your post and will experiment today. I need to start working on another wedding video, but had to get my computer recovered from the most recent crash before I did. Now, I can start loading video and editing.

It is a good thing I go back to school next week...it will fill the void. Grading papers.....taking pictures....let's guess which one I would rather be doing full time.

[Worm324]

Awesome Thread

Jay

[KellyL]

Glad you think so Jay! You should join in on the discussion.

Kellly

[Jess]

wow, I didn't realize I had missed so much in the past week or so. I've been obscessed on another site trying to figure out setting up a website. I guess that if a person has no experience in whatever they are trying to accomplish, every little detail isa huge mountain ! Kelly keep trying and experimenting!

[Worm324]

Originally Posted by KellyL

Glad you think so Jay! You should join in on the discussion.

Kellly

I just did my firend * Seriously though; I have no equipment yet to go along with this as you are,* but I'm fallowing this thread like a hawk because in a few months I'll be trying to dial in my studio as well. *I feel for your frustration with the exposure and lighting, but with the expertise given here you'll be all calibrated in no time

Keep up the good work!!

Jay

[realbrandon]

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.

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)

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by realbrandon

This is literally my first post on PhotoCamel, and I have to say "thank you"! Great info and those lighting setup diagram really helps.

Benji is away at the moment, for, believe it or not, even more photographic study and a short holiday, so I took the liberty to say

Welcome aboard the Camel!

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?

My 'studio equipment' lights are a 580ex, a 430ex, an ST-E2 to control them off-camera and a reflector

Dual flash setup gives great opportunities, see a.o. this thread , but due to their more limited power, are IMHO not suited as 'main lights' outside, but will work perfectly for fill, and then again a dual flash setup gives more possibilities to play with than a single flash

'Essential accessories' mhhhhhhhh, again, IMHO, you can never have enough 'light-modifiers' to play with your lights, I use StoFen Omnibounces, a GaryFong LightSphere II, indexcards (like the white lid on your 580ex, but 'made bigger' ), and I have two lightstands and 3 different umbrellas with the necessary couplings to use the flashes off-camera (I then control them with a Canon ST-E2 unit on-camera).

I hope this helps some, *my* €0.02 worth,

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

[KellyL]

See how nervous I was.

http://www.kellylylephotography.com

That might work better.

[KellyL]

It has kindly been brought to my attention that we need to be careful not to let the subject of this thread change. I don't know exactly, then, how to interact with folks...but I do appreciate the advice of not changing the subject being discussed on this thread.

Don't know Kelly Lyle's. I wouldn't look very good in her clothing, considering I am a guy.

[SidinUSA]

Wow!!! Thank you so much for such a wonderfull tutorial. It is a godsend.

[KellyL]

Okay, I have had a chance to take some photos. I used the ideas that you presented here, and, here is the result.

[KellyL]

Thank you Benji and Mark for all of your help over the past couple of months. I also thank everybody who has asked questions and contributed to this thread. It is a wonderful place to learn. Thank you, thank you, thank you.