I have had many friends, friends of friends and of course relatives asking me to take formal portraits for everything except weddings. I refuse to do weddings. I will be working in a 12x12 room with a window to the East. I would like to know some of the priorities, the how to do, and lighting. I have a D7100 with a 18-300mm lens at the present. I have done a little portrait work only outside though. The people I did it for said they were more than satisfied with what I had done. I thought I was a total failure. I think they were just being nice. Anything you can suggest will be more greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance
You might take a look at some prime lenses - 50mm, 85mm, 105mm. Check YouTube for videos on portrait studio photography. YouTube also has an estimated (Lol) bizzillion videos on lighting techniques.
rjaywallace wrote:
You might take a look at some prime lenses - 50mm, 85mm, 105mm. Check YouTube for videos on portrait studio photography. YouTube also has an estimated (Lol) bizzillion videos on lighting techniques.
I was considering the 105. I would really like a Nikon lens but they are over a grand. B&H has a Sigma 105 2.5. They also rated it as macro. I think I would like that because I could keep a little distance between myself and my subject. What would you think of a fast zoom something like a 20-105?
tramsey wrote:
I have had many friends, friends of friends and of course relatives asking me to take formal portraits for everything except weddings. I refuse to do weddings. I will be working in a 12x12 room with a window to the East. I would like to know some of the priorities, the how to do, and lighting. I have a D7100 with a 18-300mm lens at the present. I have done a little portrait work only outside though. The people I did it for said they were more than satisfied with what I had done. I thought I was a total failure. I think they were just being nice. Anything you can suggest will be more greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance
I have had many friends, friends of friends and of... (
show quote)
Tramesy, I don't think you have enough room unless you're only going to do head shots. The good thing is you have the room for 9' paper. I rarely put a subject closer than 4' to my background whim h won't leave you much room to shoot except with a wider zoom. I that space your modifiers will need to stay pretty small especially if you only have a an 8' ceiling. Ideally you would have a center located doorway you can shoot trough. Ideally you can hang both black and white(or grey) seamless paper that you can just pull down as needed. Will save a ton of work and time. You'll need a hard floor.
I'm sure you'll get plenty of help with lenses and lights! Good luck
SS
rjaywallace wrote:
You might take a look at some prime lenses - 50mm, 85mm, 105mm. Check YouTube for videos on portrait studio photography. YouTube also has an estimated (Lol) bizzillion videos on lighting techniques.
Agreed, or look into a mid range tele-zoom.
The 300mm portion of your lens is a bit strong for portraits in a 12 foot room.
Figure a "model" will often need to be a few feet from the background and you still need room for you to move around in. That only gives you a roughfly four feet to play with.
SharpShooter wrote:
Tramesy, I don't think you have enough room unless you're only going to do head shots. The good thing is you have the room for 9' paper. I rarely put a subject closer than 4' to my background whim h won't leave you much room to shoot except with a wider zoom. .........SS
Good point.
Ideally, you would want the background in the BACKGROUND.
Commonly overlooked is the need to have room to light the background separately.
GoofyNewfie wrote:
Good point.
Ideally, you would want the background in the BACKGROUND.
Commonly overlooked is the need to have room to light the background separately.
Sorry, I didn't notice the other similar responce by Goofy.
tramsey wrote:
I have had many friends, friends of friends and of course relatives asking me to take formal portraits for everything except weddings. I refuse to do weddings. I will be working in a 12x12 room with a window to the East. I would like to know some of the priorities, the how to do, and lighting. I have a D7100 with a 18-300mm lens at the present. I have done a little portrait work only outside though. The people I did it for said they were more than satisfied with what I had done. I thought I was a total failure. I think they were just being nice. Anything you can suggest will be more greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance
I have had many friends, friends of friends and of... (
show quote)
I have no advise, but I do offer that this is an awesome adventure that you are setting out on. I know you will do a great job, there is a reason that your friends are relying on you. They like what you do!
tramsey wrote:
I was considering the 105. I would really like a Nikon lens but they are over a grand. B&H has a Sigma 105 2.5. They also rated it as macro. I think I would like that because I could keep a little distance between myself and my subject. What would you think of a fast zoom something like a 20-105?
Re: Nikon lenses being over $1,000 - don't forget to check for "refurbs" on the Nikon site (as well as on B&H and Adorama) and for Used on the KEH, B&H and Adorama sites. There is HIGH QUALITY gear available at quite reasonable prices if you have the patience to look for it. Regards, Ralph
12x12 is small, but doable. you want a 6' backdrop and 2 lights for 3/4 profile or full facial pictures. i recommend smith victor photofloods. while strobe seems to be the latest fad, photofloods deliver constant light, enabling you to position them to avoid shadow. you also want a good hand held light meter and a good solid tripod. this will allow you to take your time, and make quality exposures. i would avoid 3 light systems, as they needlessly complicate the lighting setup.
good luck with your endeavour!
I would suggest looking at Paul C Buff Alien Bees, plenty of power and reasonably priced. They also have a good selection of light modifiers and accessories.
12' x 12' is TINY. It will be hard to keep light from spilling where you don't want it to.
Really, other than the hassle of being in such a small area, it's no different than outside, there is nothing special to know if you've been doing this already.
I'm curious about this POV:
You'll need a hard floor. .
I put stiff, interlocking black, rubber-like squares on my small studio floor.
In case of dropping things.
SharpShooter wrote:
Tramesy, I don't think you have enough room unless you're only going to do head shots. The good thing is you have the room for 9' paper. I rarely put a subject closer than 4' to my background whim h won't leave you much room to shoot except with a wider zoom. I that space your modifiers will need to stay pretty small especially if you only have a an 8' ceiling. Ideally you would have a center located doorway you can shoot trough. Ideally you can hang both black and white(or grey) seamless paper that you can just pull down as needed. Will save a ton of work and time. You'll need a hard floor.
I'm sure you'll get plenty of help with lenses and lights! Good luck
SS
Tramesy, I don't think you have enough room unless... (
show quote)
I think this is a great suggestion.
One caution: I bought my first strobe, an AB400 from this company.
Got this model least-power (W/s) model to not overwhelm the scene with lighting.
I even discussed this issue with Melissa.
Nevertheless, I found the lowest power setting to be too much, in many cases.
Right now, I'm looking to upgrade to their Einstein strobes with smaller power increments, a better profile of flash duration, and lower power choices.
We'll see.
wolfman wrote:
I would suggest looking at Paul C Buff Alien Bees, plenty of power and reasonably priced. They also have a good selection of light modifiers and accessories.
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