BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

I'm doing a shoot as a surprise for a special lady - of her 2 grandchildren. 17 & 18 years, boy & girl. Would love some suggestions for poses for this pair of siblings...going to be on beach, on boardwalk, and inside old whitewashed brick building...IF THIS TROPICAL STORM ISN'T STILL KICKING OUR BUTT TOMORROW!! I don't want too mushy or too silly. Found some ideas on google, but nothing that I LOVE. Ideas? Examples? (and they're black, so again, suggestions about the type of lighting or reflectors to add? I've not photographed black people - and in natural light I know that there are some tricks I need to apply to get BEAUTIFUL results!) She does so many nice things for everyone at work, I want payback to be exceptional!! I asked them to dress SIMILARLY for one (maybe jeans, and white or peach tops), and will also do some in cap & gown for girl. I don't have a flash, other than my "on camera" (Nikon 7100, and a 5100) So...suggestions about settings, please!! And I do plan to take a couple of white boards and my shiny car window reflectors to help bounce a little light.

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

Stay away from white or black clothing. As a rule they do not work well for portraits. There are exceptions. Try many poses, give yourself many options. Have them interact with each other this will create a more natural pose. Good luck I'm sure that you will be successful.
Jack

Jencast2008 Loc: Michigan

Do u have Pinterest? Check there, I found tons of poses....u can type in photography poses or check my board. Jencast2008....inspiration board....good luck

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Since you're in Surfside Beach, I guess a storm would be a concern. :D

Some links -

http://digital-photography-school.com/beginner-tips-for-posing-people-with-confidence/
http://digital-photography-school.com/?s=posing+two+people+for+portraits
http://www.google.com/search?q=posing+people+for+a+portrait&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS625US625&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=925&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=MS1OVYvuFYS2sAX0rYCwCw&ved=0CB0QsAQ&dpr=1

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

Because of their skin color be sure to use a more open Fstop - 5.6 or wider. If the light is not enough then use a higher ISO. The D7200 will give you great shots with as high as an ISO as you'll need for a wide aperture and a fast enough shutter speed. Don't be afraid to raise it. Use a fast enough shutter speed that you can freeze whatever fun they have with each other - at LEAST 1/125. Try to catch them interacting with each other, looking at the camera, looking away. Candids and posed. Have fun! And catch them having fun. Their mom will be thrilled. What a wonderful gift!

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

I do have Pinterest - will gladly check your suggestions! Thanks!

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

THANKS! - I'll be checking all these out this afternoon & printing some ideas so I don't forget!

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

Thanks! I'm excited to be able to do this for her.

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Beachlady,

Your subjects don’t have to be mushy, silly, or over the top serious, they just need to be themselves; Brother and Sister. Because you have not qualified the shade of their complexion, it is near impossible to address the costuming they should wear to complement their skin tones. Remember. Their skin tone may be opposite of any background object and cause the camera to over-expose, or under-expose to the point of capturing an un-usable image.

Your costuming should be somewhere between their skin tones and white, it should allow for both the shin and material to expose properly, and complement the background naturally.

On The Beach
Pick a small sand dune, place them on the dune, and position the camera to capture them and the background so we see the coastal curve of the surf and breaking waves. You may have to move the couple on the dune to get the best picture, and the camera for optimal composition. Ideally, the girl should be closer to the camera, the boy farther, the boy 18 inches forward of the girl, both nearly side-by-side, and the camera at a 45 degree angle to the front of the couple. Let the couple gaze out to sea, arm-in-arm, but not mushy.

On The Boardwalk
Same clothing costume as on the beach.
If the boardwalk has a wooden railing, use it as a leading line in your composition. If possible, they can sit on the rail, between the rails, or on the boards of the deck. Be sure to allow the framing of the rail to frame the couple and the rails/boardwalk diminishes into a vanishing point in one third of the camera frame. Perspective here can be your best friend.

Boardwalk without rails. Let them sit on the edge of the deck gazing out to sea, as close together as brother and sister can be, and use the deck and background to form a diminishing point into infinity.

Old Whitewashed Brick Building
Will the interior have any supporting props? Table? Chairs? Throw Rug? Etc.?
You may have to bring your own props.

Use the ambient light coming in from the windows to illuminate the subjects. Do not have the window seen in the background, use white, or crumpled aluminum foil reflectors to fill in the shadows.

Composing idea. Place square table (rustic) against the brick wall; place each subject opposite each other in old wooden chairs, and camera in a position to capture each other’s expression of sibling love. The girl should be prominent in the composition. Try an old-fashioned Soda Glass; with colored water, and two bent straws. Let her gaze into his eyes as they sip the water.

No white costumes. For Cap & Gown, select an outdoor scene on the boardwalk with an awning overhanging the deck to provide soft daylight shade for the gown.


The simple camera set-up for you.
Use Auto focus on Center Spot focus.
Use Center Spot metering for exposure.
Manually set ISO=200
Manually set lens focal length to around 35mm.
Use your feet to zoom in and out for framing and composition.
Set camera to Program.
Where necessary to add fill light pop up the onboard flash and allow the camera to expose the image through the lens with flash.

Your best option in this shoot is to have an assistant, and a 24 x 24 inch aluminum reflector to bounce natural daylight into the shaded side of the subjects.

The aluminum reflector is made from a sheet of cardboard, household aluminum foil, foil with a shiny side and a dull side. A bottle of contact cement, and space to assemble the reflector.

Side 0ne of the reflector.
Roll out enough foil to cover one strip of the cardboard and overlap three edges about 2 inches.
Crumple the stripe of foil to make small reflective surfaces.
Un-crumple the foil and smooth out on the cardboard make sure the foil overlaps on three sides.
Apply Contact Cement to one side of the cardboard, and the shiny side of the foil.
Apply foil to the cardboard, and fold the overlapping foil onto the other side of the cardboard.

Perform the same ask as above, but with another stripe of foil to cover the entire one side of cardboard with foil. The object is to cover one side of cardboard with the dull side of aluminum foil; this will provide a natural soft reflective surface to shine light into the shadows.

When one side is complete perform the same tasks as above, but this time have the shiny side out. This will provide you tow options for reflective light source, one dull, and one bright.

Michael G

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

Michael, your advice is wonderful. I will use many of these suggestions...Will post my best tomorrow night! Thanks.

wisner Loc: The planet Twylo

Armadillo gives good advice. If you use your pop up flash, try setting the flash exposure composition to -1 to -2 (try experimenting to see what kind of results are best; I personally use -1.7 to -2). This will add just a bit of fill to the natural light and looks quite pleasing. It completely avoids the dreaded 'on camera flash' look.
Good luck!

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I have used a piece of opaque plastic (cut from a milk bottle) for close ups with pop-up flash (held on with not-too sticky tape) Makes a good diffuser. Also a piece of white card to angle light upwards (or sideways on to a white wall). With suitable exposure this can be surprisingly effective. But if you have a separate flash unit - best to angle it up or sideways if it can turn.

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

If they are light complexioned, light or white clothing in a bright room or location can make an interesting high key photograph. Otherwise, not too brightly colored in most settings will work. Do not use your on camera flash - the results will be 100% amateurish. If you have no flash, even an open garage door with the subjects positioned just inside the door, in front of a backdrop made from a couple of sheets of insulation will make for very soft and flattering light.

But nothing you will get here by way of suggestions will make any sense. Posing and location are very individual in nature - personality will dictate how and where you shoot them, and how you light them.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

You're not ready.

If you can't figure out how to pose folks and what clothes to put them in and how to set your camera, then you aren't ready.

IF you want "payback to be exceptional" then go buy the video set "Lights Posing Execution!" by Roberto Valenzuela. (CreativeLive)

Watch the videos a few times, get family members or neighbors to be guinea pigs for at least a month or two, watch the videos again and again and let the principles sink in so that they are second nature....and THEN do this for her.

PS: Gene is right. Lighting, posing, it's all a package and you aren't getting solid advice if folks are telling you to use your on camera flash.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Gene and rpavich
Yes, on camera flash pics are usually awful. But such flash is not powerful, and bending and / or diffusing the light has sometimes helped me by providing a second or third light source, to add to what for me has to be natural light. I don't do enough portraits to warrant investing in studio lights.