digital slr portraiture course 2
DESCRIPTION
Presentation slides by Alex Harvey-Brown for the Digital SLR: Portrait photography workshop at South Hill Park on 19 Oct 2013TRANSCRIPT
DSLRPORTRAITURE
Alex Harvey-Brown
Plan of the weekend
INTRO WHY A DSLR & WHAT MAKES A GOOD PHOTO? THE HOLY TRINITY OF DSLR PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION ISO
MOBILE Phone 8mpxl Camera NIKON DSLR with 50mm f/1.8 lens
What makes a good portrait?
LIGHT
DEPTH OF FIELD
CONTRAST(FIGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY)
EYES
COMPOSITION
YUSUF KARSH
CECIL BEATON
CHARLENE SHREUDER
The Exposure Triangle
APERTURE
SHUTTER SPEED
ISO
APERTURE
Remember: The lower the ‘f-number’ or
‘f-stop’ the WIDER the aperture
APERTUREEFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY
SQUINTING gives you a larger depth of field.So does having a small aperture/high f-stop.
The smaller the F-Number (therefore the wider the aperture) the shallower the depth of field.
APERTUREEFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITYLIGHT
Wider apertures let more light into the camera, smaller apertures do the opposite.
Great in dark situations and keeps the shutter speed FAST and ISO DOWN.
Wide aperture prime lenses:Perfect for portraits!
<-85mm f/1.8
Zooms with wide apertures, known as ‘fast zooms’ are VERY expensive.
Fast prime lenses have a fixed focal length but are cheaper…and more creative!
EXERCISE
• SWITCH TO ‘A’ or ‘Ap’ – Mode / Keep ISO to 300/400
• The camera will manage your shutter speed, so you can manually adjust your aperture’s size.
• Try shooting different objects close to you at your lowest f-number (widest aperture setting) and again at the highest f-number (smallest aperture).
SHUTTER SPEED
The length of time that the camera’s film or sensor are exposed to light.
Time, measured in fractions of a second that the shutter is OPEN.
1/8000 - 30 seconds / *Bulb
*Bulb - an option that allows you to keep the shutter open indefinitely.Only usable with
shutter release cable.
EFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY
SHUTTER SPEED
-Faster speeds give sharper images when hand holding.
-No lower than 1/80 when hand holding.
1/400 1/60 1/30
EFFECTS ON IMAGE QUALITY
SHUTTER SPEED
Exercise 2
• Set your camera to Shutter Priority Mode ‘S’ or ‘Sp’ – the camera will manage the aperture setting, allowing you control of the shutter speed and exposure time.
• Experiment with different shutter speeds and capture the party popper’s motion, either freezing it – or capturing the movement.
• Start by trying the following speeds 1/30, 1/100, 1/500
ISO (international standards organisation)
• Dictates the camera sensor’s sensitivity to light.
• The higher ISO number, the higher the sensitivity.
• High sensitivity keeps the shutter speed higher, but increases grain/noise.
The Photographer’s Juggling Act
ISO
Aperture
Shutter
Speed
COMPOSITION
The rule of thirds A solid guideline to discourage placement of the subject at the center, or prevent a horizon from appearing to divide the picture in half.
COMPOSITION
The rule of thirds In portraits – try to align the eyes up with the line of the top third.
COMPOSITION
• The classic rule of thumb: ‘Fill the frame’ • Zooming into a face will always give a feature to a photograph
COMPOSITION
• The classic rule of thumb: ‘Fill the frame’
Portraiture Tips
Even lighting on the face is essential. Always try and shoot in the shade but avoid mottled light from leaves! Clouds are a natural diffuser – cloudy conditions usually provide perfect light.
Portraiture Tips
Get a vintage look – get creative and use sun flare to your advantage.
The best Lenses for portraits
Ideal mix of wide aperture and long focal length.
Fast zooms and prime lenses are perfect.Prime lenses much cheaper.
Portraiture Tips
In bright sun? Turn the subject’s back to the it and light their face with flash or a reflector to balance.
Tip: Focal length compression
120mmZoom lenses compress features, great for portraits!
200mm
Useful Accessories
Reflectors/diffusers
Off camera flash / speedlight