I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there’s any worse question than the one you don’t ask yourself, luckily, because I have a camera in my hands (several years ago?), I couldn’t stop wondering things. . If you feel portraitist, you will understand what I am talking about, although you will not only find doubts in the portraits but in everything in general.
Many of them have found an answer, others haven’t yet, but it doesn’t matter, that’s the best thing about photography. It’s impossible to get tired of it. Always, always, there are things you don’t know, so curiosity and continuous learning are assured for anyone who wants it.
- Today I’m here to talk specifically about portraits.
- I will tell you about these issues that have often passed through our heads.
- One of those doubts that arises to any retractor when he has the camera in his hand for the first time.
- With these questions and answers you will give light to your photos Literally and metaphorically speaking.
Now, come on
Red eyes appear when the pupils of the people we represent are very open, that is, when there is little ambient light and we add an unannounced flash.
In this case, you have several options. The most logical way would be to try to turn off the flash and look for other light sources in the scene, open the diaphragm, increase ISO or slow down, but we can’t always do without the flash, can we?
In this case it is ideal to try to keep the pupils as closed as possible or, the same thing, light the look so that when the flash is turned off, do not meet the pupils in night mode;).
We can do this by activating the camera’s red-eye reduction mode if we have one, or doing the same in a more artisanal way, which would light up the eye in a certain way, so that when the flash is triggered, it encounters the pupil closed.
When in doubt, take a look at this article where we delve into the subject.
Is this the first thing I wanted to learn once I had my first SLR in my hands?Is it or was it your case too?
Blur (which we also call depth of field in photography) in an SLR camera or without mirror is directly related to the aperture of the diaphragm.
The aperture of the diaphragm is the hole through which light enters through the lens into the sensor, this we can do more or less, so we can let in more or less light as our lens allows.
The diaphragm not only controls the light input, but (this is what is important for this particular problem) also regulates blur or depth of field.
To get blurry backgrounds, you should look for the lowest f/low number allowed by your lens, maybe yours is f/2, f/4, f/5. 6, etc. Anyway, opt for the lowest value and you’ll get the maximum blur your lens allows.
Don’t miss this video because it will make it very clear
The eyes are the mirror of the soul and, in a portrait, they are protagonists in their own right, the gaze guides us, speaks to us, moves us. A good portrait photographer knows how to capture a captivating look. If your model is looking at the camera, make sure the eyes have the prominence they deserve.
You’ve probably already noticed that in some scenes the light seems to be dyed a warm or cold artificial tone, this is due to certain lights that, while they may seem natural or white to the naked eye, the truth is that they result in very marked tones in the photo.
This usually occurs indoors, with the usual house lights resulting in orange or greenish (fluorescent) tones, but also outdoors on cloudy days, for example.
The way to solve these unnatural tones on the face of your portrait is by adjusting the white balance, white balance is a function of your camera that allows you to neutralize the shades of color that do not interest you leaving them neutral or white. . It is very easy to use, here is the full explanation.
There is no better light as it will depend on what you want to transmit in your portraits, a hard light transmits strength, contrast or drama, and a soft light transmits tenderness and beauty.
But the truth is that, for simplicity, we can say that the best light for portraits is a soft or diffuse light with lateral inclination, it is sunrise or sunset and it is very flattering.
Inside you can get this type of side lighting by approaching a window, you can adjust the strength or intensity of it with a white curtain that acts as a diffuser if the light coming in is very strong.
My personal advice? If you’re just getting started, I think you’ll get the best results with soft, lateral natural light. Try the magic of sunset or portraits near windows.
Focus is something every portrait photographer has on his mind, you probably already know how important it is and how it can mark the success or disaster of our photos.
In portraiture, focus is fundamental. Here are some tips for getting a good result:
There are many types of portraits, some very closed, as very closely or up close, others more open. It is at ease and depends on every moment or what we want to transmit. Is that all right now?
There are many rules of composition and you don’t always have to follow them strictly, but as strict as we want to be or not, it is true that there are rules that work very well in portrait photography:
If you have multiple lenses or a zoom with different focal lengths, you will have already noticed that a portrait with a 24 mm is not the same as one with a 100 mm, the same is not the case with the angle (more open or less ) but also with other aspects such as the blur of the background or the way the faces are captured.
That said, the best focal lengths for portraiture are those ranging from 50 mm to 100 mm (expandable to 200 mm). Here are some of our recommendations for portrait goals.
I tell you how I do it in the hope that to begin with it will be a test for you, because this photograph you already know has no formula or fixed ingredients;), you are a portrait photographer, sports photographer or whatever.
If you have any questions about aperture, speed or ISO, look at this chart, is sometimes an image worth a thousand words?
If you think what you’re missing goes beyond technique, if you think your photographs are correct but something is missing, it’s likely that the time has come to let go and propose to go further.
Let me explain, I think that once we master the basic technique we must let ourselves be carried away by creativity, seek light in perfection, look for color or its absence, seek expression, moment, even imperfection, photographs of dark, burnt or unbalanced compositions.
In short, learn how to shoot with your belly and not with your head
You can always look for inspiration by looking at the work of any other retratist you really like. I clear you up, feed you, inspire you, etc. , don’t I copy you?.
And so far this article that I really hope I helped you with. If any questions have been left unanswered, feel free to share it with us in the comments and will we try to answer it?
Oh, and if you liked it and think it might be useful for someone else or you know another retractor with doubts share it on your favorite social network Thank you and the next one?