Family Portraits
Aug 8, 2011 23:51:16 #
I am learning through trial and error and more errors about taking family portraits. Any reccomendations for best lenses or tips. I am not taking shots in a studio but most are outside with only natural lighting.
Last time out my pictures just did not seem as crisp as I expect they should be. Thanks for the help!
Last time out my pictures just did not seem as crisp as I expect they should be. Thanks for the help!
Aug 9, 2011 06:53:38 #
Full shade - watch the background, no trees growing out of Uncle Bob's head allowed, and watch where the sun is - don't want them squinting nor the camera pointing at the sun. I like a 55 to 85mm lens, maybe a zoom with this range. Any picture for tack sharp focus should be taken with a tripod. Yes they can be a pain - if no tripod then watch your shuttter speed - I would go with 1/60 or faster, adjust your Fstop and or ISO speed as needed. A speed of 400 is a good place to start. Try different f/stops to see what it does for your depth of field -----watch the shutter speed.
Aug 9, 2011 20:44:40 #
jdtx
Loc: SA, Tx.
another thing to think about is how far from the lens is each subject, if you have a large aperture opening..2.8 say, and you have 3 people lined up front to back, most likely only one will be in sharp focus, try to get them all the same , or close, to the camera as you can..it gets a bit more complicated with distance, etc..but you get the idea..
Aug 10, 2011 01:00:08 #
Thank for the tips. I was shooting my ISO starting at 200 and went up to 360. I'll try 400 and a few others next time. One pic was five of them walking towards me and the outside two were slightly out of focus and the three in the middle were fine.
Aug 10, 2011 06:15:25 #
jdtx
Loc: SA, Tx.
the ISO has nothing to do with the depth of field, that controls the light the sensor can record somehow, the F stop, 2.8, 3.5, 8. 11 and so on are what control the depth of field and how close you subject is in relation to the camera and background etc
Aug 10, 2011 09:25:38 #
Yep, My depth of field was not as good as it shoud have been and using a little faster shutter speed would have given me better depth of field. What I meant by using a lower ISO speed was that since they were walking towards me as I was taking the picture, my lower shutter speed may have been what caused some of the blur, along with being a rookie. I was shooting on a tripor also. Thanks again.
Aug 10, 2011 14:58:03 #
From what I've read, a 1/125 shutter will stop motion in that case. Since they were coming towards you and not across the frame, it doesn't take much to freeze it. The Depth of field is most likely what caused your problem. I've had this problem plenty. I have to force myself to stop down the aperture to around f8 or so to get good DOF. I've had pictures where the tip of the nose was perfect, but by the time it got to the eyes it was a hair out because I was taking the picture with my aperture wide open. Also don't be afraid to use a flash. Even on nice sunny days, it will give you some much needed fill light and eliminate shadows or silhouetting.
Aug 10, 2011 15:48:06 #
dicspics
Loc: southwest fla. 10 mins from the gulf
For what you are talking about, I always shoot at f8 and 1/200.. I can adjust my flash after I take a couple of preview shots. Don't go over 400 iso or you will get noise..
Dec 10, 2011 11:17:19 #
I just did my first family this week, here is a couple of fun photos. I like candids rather than posing people.
Another family and friends
Dec 10, 2011 11:32:32 #
I'm also learning to do family portraits. I seem to get 2 or 3 nice ones out of 100 or so shots!! My last effort I had to shoot indoors because of the weather. Here is my favorite shot; Handheld camera, Aperture f/4.0 Shutterspeed 1/60 ISO speed 400, red eye reduction on, Flash on. This was with my 50mm f/1.8 lens. The house was brightly lit at about 1:00pm in the afternoon. And the kids were fresh and happy - we just got there and I started shooting. The photos I took 3 hours later were definitely more wilted!!
This one didn't need any crops or edits in Photoshop.
This one didn't need any crops or edits in Photoshop.
3 kids and a Santa hat
Dec 10, 2011 11:36:02 #
jdtx wrote:
the ISO has nothing to do with the depth of field, that controls the light the sensor can record somehow, the F stop, 2.8, 3.5, 8. 11 and so on are what control the depth of field and how close you subject is in relation to the camera and background etc
True enough, sort of - but with a higher ISO speed one has more options as to shutter speeds and F stop selection; although in may be done at risk of increased noise or grain.
Dec 10, 2011 22:20:38 #
Dec 10, 2011 22:25:01 #
photogrl2 wrote:
Cute kids but the curtains, table cloth and window all compete ;(
Very true! But the focus, lighting, expressions and pose of the kids was fine (I probably have to photoshop after all just to fix the background!!) This really was a candid shot - I just followed the kids around. I probably need to do a lot more to compose my settings.
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