Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

My 24 year old grandson is visiting us for Christmas, and our daughter (his mom) wants me to take some portraits of Nick because she doesn't have a current photo of him. I haven't done any portraits before and would like some advice on how to set up for an informal portrait sitting. I don't have lights or a backdrop, other than a beige blank section of our living room wall. All I have is my A6300 and a 16-50 lens and a 55-210 lens. Choice #2 is a Nikon D90 and an 18-105 lens. What I really need is suggestions on how to position him, some effective camera settings, etc. This will be a learning experience for me. I'd appreciate any good advice. Thanks in advance.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Kodak is the last word on many things... they were the masters in their Hayday. I had a Kodak portrait camera, the lens was a fixed 70mm. In the discussion by a pro, 100-135mm is recommended. A comparison of images with differing lenses is given. Shoot a 20mm and the model will hate you. sorry, the reference is blocked. so here is one from shutterbug
https://www.shutterbug.com/content/whats-best-focal-length-portrait-photos-one-pros-answer-may-surprise-you-video

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You should decide if a long or short lens will work for you by looking at the results. I have used wider angle lenses at greater distances and some cropping to get a decent "look". Keep in mind that it is the subject to camera distance that controls how elongated or flat a face will appear. If you try to fill a head shot using a very wide angle lens like an 18mm, the face will be narrow and have a big nose, aka "horse face" or extension distortion, common to wide angle lenses. But it is an illusion, because to fill the frame you have to be very close. If you were to move back to the same distance you would need to fill the frame with a 105mm lens, the face will be smaller, but it will look exactly like the 105mm shot, but there will be a lot of space around the subject.

"Look at the size of his head – it appears disproportionately large relative to his body. His eyes, nose and lips are very much enlarged, while his ears are dwarfed. And this was only at 27mm! You can imagine what it would look like if I got closer to his face or used a wider lens at a shorter distance.

This phenomenon is explained with drawings and real images here:

https://photographylife.com/what-is-distortion

Here a quote from the text:

"This is the part that seems to confuse a lot of photographers – the relationship (or lack thereof) of focal length to perspective distortion. You might hear some photographers say that one should use longer focal lengths to photograph people, or they will get distorted due to the lens’ short focal length. This is a mostly false statement, because lenses have no perspective. Other than fisheye lenses, all lenses have the same perspective – it is the camera to subject distance that determines perspective, not the focal length. There is an illusion of different perspective of lenses, because with long focal lengths you have to stand further away from the subject to frame them the same way. If you were to stand at the same distance, the subject would appear exactly the same!"

As far as lighting is concerned, if you have a garage, you can open the garage door, set up a simple background, like maybe a 4x8 sheet of bead board insulation or drywall, and seat the subject in front of the background, with the light from the open door falling on the subject without getting any direct sunlight. Watch your color balance because open skylight is quite cool.

Another approach might be to find an outdoor location that has enough room to put some distance between the subject and the background. Using the most flattering combination of camera to subject distance and focal length, use a fairly large aperture, so that the background can be softly blurred. The best times for these kinds of pictures will be up to an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunse - the golden hour.

You can find a lot of examples some good and some awful - here:

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=golden%20hour%20portrait

If you have to add some fill light to open up the shadows on the side of the face not illuminated by your light source - then use a very large reflector. I use one of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJO9IZPQnKM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAcY5ob2UnE

The larger the light source, or in this case the fill source, the softer the effect and the more open the shadows will be. Placing the beadboard or light closer to the subject will provide softer light than if you put a light or reflector 20 ft away.

Lighting and posing for portraits is best explained using examples:

https://digital-photography-school.com/6-portrait-lighting-patterns-every-photographer-should-know/

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

This is an example of a Christmas backdrop without a real backdrop. Many options this time of year. This was taken with an SLR and one speedlight on camera. Just use fill flash and a simple , but not plain backdrop. Even outside, use the fill flash. Take quite a few in different areas, and you will get several that they love.

CO

Great advice given already. If you want to have a good portrait book on hand, get: "Portrait Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots" by Erik Valind. He demonstrates how to do both indoor and outdoor portraits. What's great also, is his diagram of how to crop - the right and wrong ways to crop a portrait photo. Barnes and Noble stores usually have this book.

maggiemae Loc: North Carolina

Head outside if you can't find a great backdrop in your house. If she doesn't mind Christmas themed put him in front of the tree. Get creative.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Posing and facial expression is the most challenging part of portrait photography. There are many guides on the internet to posing men. Here is one:
https://digital-photography-school.com/21-sample-poses-to-get-you-started-with-photographing-men/

You haven't said anything about windows in your living room which might serve as lighting sources. A window plus a reflector will do the trick, especially if it is a north facing window. If you shoot outdoors either do it in the shade and use your built-in flash on the Sony at a very low setting to put a catch light in the eyes or have an early morning or late afternoon sun behind the subject and fill in with the on-camera flash. I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you don't want to buy a flash which could be held off to the side and triggered by the on-camera flash.

I suggest using the Nikon camera with the zoom around 60mm.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Lots of great information here. I appreciate this response. Looks like I have some reading to do. I plan to do some "head shots," upper body and full body (but seated) shots. I'd love to do this outside, but at 12 degrees, it's a bit cold!! I may go over to Lowe's and pick up a sheet of reflective wall board as well as a sheet of styrofoam insulated board and maybe spray paint it grey. I haven't had a separate flash unit, but I think I'm beginning to see the value in having one, even if I don't use it often. I really appreciate all the infor. Lots to read, lots to learn. I never realized there was so much involved. I've mostly been shooting landscapes. Again, thanks. I never mind learning something new.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Gene51--You're right, in that link to Flickr there are some pretty good poses and a lot of one that are good examples of how not to frame and light a subject. Thanks for all that. Seems one can learn what to do by learning what not to do.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I wouldn't worry too much over a backdrop, just find a nice natural setting and shoot with available light, you can always reflect some extra light on him!

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Nothing wrong shooting portraits in available light. Nothing wrong using flash to photograph portraits either. Flash makes for excellent, sharp portraits but you will have to learn how to use it. Fill-in flash is very useful as an outdoor portrait help.
Posing the model is another thing that needs learning and experience. The best way to learn is watching or helping an experienced photographer while photographing and posing models. There are excellent books and workshops teaching the student how to pose and photograph portraits.
Obviously, you do not have enough time to learn all that needs to be known to make excellent portraits and perhaps some of the members here could offer you useful hints that you could use successfully to shoot portraits of your grandson.
Merry Christmas to you and make some nice portraits of your grandson.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Good advice. Obviously, at 15 degrees it's going to be too cold to do an outdoor shoot. (Nick lives in Houston, Tx, and not used to the cold) But I think I can set something up. He's pretty patient, so I'll have time to set up different poses and all. And yes, if I decide I want to do more of this sort of thing, I'll also be doing some self-educating on the subject.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

A wonderful Christmas present! Many here will quide you with good ideas although, you should do some basic homework.

Remember that styles have changed. So you should check out what's accepted in today's world. Also figure out what type portrait is expected.

For the third, and I feel is most important, find out what your grandson feels the most happy with. You might do one for your daughter and a special one for him.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Absolutely. Thank you.