Photographing People of Color: Tomorrow I have a Senior photo shoot with twins boys. They are actually mixed race, so a little lighter than usual. I've only photographed one other...

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

Tomorrow I have a Senior photo shoot with twins boys. They are actually mixed race, so a little lighter than usual. I've only photographed one other person of color, but it was all indoors. The shoot tomorrow will totally be outside. Can someone give me some tips please? I will bring flash with me just in case I need some fill flash. But besides that, I'm just not sure. I've read many, many articles on shooting Seniors, but none of them address people of color. Please help! Thanks!!

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Colour, are they blue or something !!!! I have no idea what people in India, China, Pakistan manage to do the ? Perhaps just press the shutter release like everyone else.

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

Very funny. I like a good sense of humor. Their mom is white (Anglo) and their dad is black (Negro). I thought using the wording 'people of color' sounded nicer. Sorry. I won't make that mistake again.

hlmichel Loc: New Hope, Minnesota

TinkerToi wrote:

Very funny. I like a good sense of humor. Their mom is white (Anglo) and their dad is black (Negro). I thought using the wording 'people of color' sounded nicer. Sorry. I won't make that mistake again.

I would think that it would only be an issue if you are shooting a very light-skinned person in the same frame as a very dark-skinned person.
Or perhaps a dark person wearing white.

As for the "people of color", don't worry about it. The rules on what is acceptable, seem to change rapidly. If truth be told, I fall into that category and I still don't know(or care) what is the politically correct term for myself.

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

hlmichel wrote:

I would think that it would only be an issue if you are shooting a very light-skinned person in the same frame as a very dark-skinned person.
Or perhaps a dark person wearing white.

As for the "people of color", don't worry about it. The rules on what is acceptable, seem to change rapidly. If truth be told, I fall into that category and I still don't know(or care) what is the politically correct term for myself.

Thanks hlmichel!! I really appreciate your help. And yes, trying to stay current on what is politically correct language is tough. Thanks again!!

LPigott Loc: Monterey Peninsula, CA

Focus on the lighter face to get proper exposure, then during post processing lighten exposure, if necessary, to ensure proper facial tints of darker face.

I hope you let us know how it goes for you.

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

I will. Thank you! :)

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

TinkerToi wrote:

Very funny. I like a good sense of humor. Their mom is white (Anglo) and their dad is black (Negro). I thought using the wording 'people of color' sounded nicer. Sorry. I won't make that mistake again.

There ARE some things to think about when photographing dark skinned people...I'm not sure if you are using the camera's meter or an incident meter but I believe that because they are of mixed skin color (mocha) then you'll be fine. It's darker tones that have issues (from what I understand.)

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

rpavich wrote:

There ARE some things to think about when photographing dark skinned people...I'm not sure if you are using the camera's meter or an incident meter but I believe that because they are of mixed skin color (mocha) then you'll be fine. It's darker tones that have issues (from what I understand.)

Thank you also rpavich. I appreciate it very much.

rebride

The exposure will be the same for a dark skinned and a light skinned person.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TinkerToi wrote:

Tomorrow I have a Senior photo shoot with twins boys. They are actually mixed race, so a little lighter than usual. I've only photographed one other person of color, but it was all indoors. The shoot tomorrow will totally be outside. Can someone give me some tips please? I will bring flash with me just in case I need some fill flash. But besides that, I'm just not sure. I've read many, many articles on shooting Seniors, but none of them address people of color. Please help! Thanks!!

What a coincidence. I got an email from this site a few days ago, but hadn't read it yet. Here you go!

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-photograph-various-skin-tones/

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

jerryc41 wrote:

What a coincidence. I got an email from this site a few days ago, but hadn't read it yet. Here you go!

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-photograph-various-skin-tones/

Awesome!! Thank you!! :D

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

I find that dark skin tends to have a much greater dynamic range than other tones, and really needs soft light to avoid highlight patches that burn out. Shoot-through umbrellas with stofens or similar on your flash or large soft boxes held close to the subjeckk are a help. Good shooting

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Here is a photo of my son-in-law and grandson taken with my D7000. It turned out pretty well. The sky is blown out, but I hope to fix that with Photoshop.

TinkerToi Loc: Colleyville, TX

SteveR wrote:

Here is a photo of my son-in-law and grandson taken with my D7000. It turned out pretty well. The sky is blown out, but I hope to fix that with Photoshop.

Oh that's great! Thank you!!