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Ten Tips for Great Senior Portraits
Written: May 14th, 2010
This article is filed in the Helpful Hints category
While these ten tips are geared for the upcoming Senior Portrait season, they really apply to all types of portrait photography: families, couples, kids, professional business portraits, etc. etc. etc.
We’re really excited for the Senior Portrait season to finally be here. Not only because of the great weather, but because it’s a blast meeting new upcoming Seniors and working with them in the studio and outdoors. Whether or not you are working with us for your portraits, these tips will help you get beautiful images. Remember, your portrait is more than a moment captured in time. Your portrait tells a story of who you are now, and who you were when you look back at it in 25 years.
1. The most important tip is to get plenty of sleep! Make sure you get at least 2 nights of good sleep before your photo session so that you will look fresh and won’t have bags under your eyes. Beauty sleep is real. And, if you have both a studio session and outdoor session, you’ll need a little extra energy to keep your glow about you during the sessions.
2. Hair. Guys, let a new hair cut grow out for at least a week before your session, allowing time for any white tan lines to disappear (like where your sunglasses sit on your temples). Also, take the time to get a close shave prior to your session. Girls, if you plan on coloring your hair or getting a new style, also allow at least a week to get used to the style.
3. Clothes. We’ll have had a pre-session consultation and a good idea of what you’ll be wearing. But it’s a good idea to have your clothes and accessories ready the night before your shoot. Choose clothes that reflect your style and the changing seasons (summer – fall). Make sure they are clean and free of wrinkles. Ask your photographer how many outfit changes he/she allows or suggests. We normally limit our client’s number of outfit changes only to the time we have together. Some Seniors want 25 different outfits, and others want only 2 or 3. there’s no “right” or “wrong” amount. For each outfit, put your accessories in a zip lock bag and attach it to the hanger. For the outdoor session, you’ll need to be changing clothes in the car. For guys, it’s not usually and issue. But for the ladies, sometimes layering over a common tank top can make the changes go easier for you.
4. Make-up. Girls bring your make-up, hair spray and curling iron to do touch ups. Make sure that your face make-up is blended into your neck so that when you look in the mirror your neck is not too pale compared to the make-up on your face. Also check to see if you have tan lines that will show with the different outfits you are going to wear. Bring chap stick or lip gloss to keep your lips moist. Dry lips will show up pretty clearly in your portrait, and are hard to correct after your image is captured.
6. Glasses. If you wear glasses, bring an extra pair of frames without lenses if possible. The reflection in your glasses can limit the angles of your poses. Many Optometrists will allow you to borrow a pair of frames for your Senior pictures.
5. Blemishes. Make sure that the Photographer you hire offers retouching. Don’t worry. Your final prints will look great! Ladies, don’t use too much make-up trying to hide blemishes. It will be easier for the Photographer to retouch your prints if you keep a more natural look.
9. Bring a friend. It can be really fun to have your pictures taken at the same time as your friend. Many Photographers will give a discount or extra wallets for you and your friend.
10. Finishing touches. Guys, make sure your fingernails are nicely trimmed. Girls, pamper yourself with a manicure and pedicure the day before.
7. Smile. Most photographers will take your portrait with and without you smiling. If you wear braces and don’t like them, ask your photographer how much they charge to have them digitally removed. If you don’t like your smile, get in front of a mirror and practice it. Once you like a smile, close your eyes and smile, then open your eyes to see if it looks the way you want. Get used to how it feels to smile the way you think you look best. Don’t be afraid to whiten your teeth if you think you need to.
But most important of all relax… and HAVE FUN!!!
Photographing Children: Put The Camera Down, and Step Away From The Baby
Written: April 22nd, 2010
This article is filed in the Taking Better Photographs category
Funny concept for a photographer to write about. But the truth is that sometimes, you have to stop taking pictures. My girls have been in front of the camera since the moment they were born. After 8 and 10 years of seeing dad with the camera pointing at them, they can “strike a pose” on command at a moments’ notice. I think both my daughters might actually think my camera is a part of my face. But for those who are just starting to explore a lifestyle of photographing your children, and even for those in my position, sometimes you just need to give them a break. Taking a break will give you much better photos because your kids won’t just run away from that big black box which mom or dad is pointing at them again.
You may have heard it said before that taking too many pictures prevents us from savoring the precious moments in life. I absolutely could not disagree more. If there is a beautiful moment and I miss documenting it, it actually ruins the experience for me. Good photography stitches the seams in time and enhances a memory. I have a couple large black and white prints of our two girls hanging on our living room wall that were taken 5 years ago. I can still remember the day we shot those images, the girls laughs, their 3 and 5 year-old ideas for how to pose, and the stop for ice cream on the way home from the studio. But you have to get to the point where you can take photos and still be engrossed in the moment. This comes with time and practice. After 20+ years of actively doing photography, my camera is now just an extension of my eye and I can even shoot in manual mode without much thinking. And I even sometimes break the sacred unwritten law of professional photographers and just shoot in automatic mode when I don’t want to spend time thinking about lighting and camera settings and would rather experience the precious and rare moment where my kids are actually being nice to each other.
For those whose children are accustomed to our photographing antics and the lengths we go to capture “the moment”, the camera can actually be fun for them. Both my girls love thinking of things to do for me to photograph. And I find that for every few shots they make up, they’ll let me tell them what to do for another shot, so it’s a total win-win.
When do I know that it’s OK to put my camera down? When we’re going somewhere I’ve already photographed a zillion times, when I know I’m not in a particularly patient mood, or when I know that the girls need the whole me engrossed in their activity and not the me with a camera. In our obsession to photograph their every breath, we can often become selfish and ignore their needs or desires.
When photographing client’s kids who don’t know me, I’ve come across many a child who is terrified of my camera. Once, I had a mom even tell me that the child’s father was a hobby photographer. Figures. Poor kid probably had it “up-to-here” with picture taking and he really, truly was frightened. Even though I am being paid for my time, I sometimes have to explain that we need to take a break. I’ve even put my camera away, and just sat on the studio floor with the child to let him know I’m “OK” and won’t hurt him with the big black box in front of my face.
Sometimes, you just have to know when to give them a break and leave your camera alone. Above all else, make sure the memories you are capturing are good ones.
Tips For Photographing Kids and Babies
Written: March 18th, 2010
This article is filed in the Taking Better Photographs category
I thoroughly enjoy photographing children and babies, because they haven’t yet developed that sense of self-consciousness. Kids are so naturally photogenic.
The most important tip I’ve learned in photographing them is to get on their level. I’ve seen so many photos of kids which are taken from 4 or so feet above the child which does nothing but dwarf them and make them look almost toy-like. When I’m in the studio with kids, I often find myself on the floor, crawling around with my camera to get better angles.
Getting on your hands and knees or crouching down before you take a shot of a child takes you into their world and helps you to engage with them through the images you take.
Photographing Babies
I find that one of the best ways to get good shots of babies and infants is to put them on a baby rug and too literally lie down next to them with your camera right on the floor. In this way you’re looking directly into their big beautiful eyes and it puts the viewer of the photo in the unique perspective of an eye to eye place. If the child has the ability to lift it’s head the effects can be amazing as you almost find yourself looking UP into their eyes. To get the beautiful little bundles of baby joy, don’t be afraid to take photos of your newborn within the first 2 weeks. Newborns are the easiest to work with in the first 2 weeks because they don’t yet move their arms and legs uncontrollably. You’ll get those amazing Anne Gedes style poses in the first 2 weeks after birth.
Photographing Older Children
The same principle of getting down low applies with older children although you do have a little less lying on the floor with them when they are at an age of walking.
I find that with children in the 2-6 year old age range, the best time to photograph them is when they are doing something that they enjoy. Take them to the park, photograph them when they are painting pictures, get them to take you on a tour of their room or take them out to play in their favorite sport. If they are a little distracted, they’ll be less likely to run around out of your shot. While they are doing their activity hover around at their level and take lots of shots.
A Series of quickly captured images can tell a great story
If your camera has a continuous shooting mode it might also be worth keeping that on with bigger kids who tend to be more active. As I look back at the times I’ve done this it’s quite interesting to see that it’s often the second or third shot in a sequence that is best. Shooting just one frame at a time can mean you miss these great opportunities.
Another benefit of continuous shooting mode is that you can end up with a great series of shots that might go nicely together to tell a story.
Change your Focal Length
Getting further away from a child, and zooming in can have a dramatic impact.
Another great way to change the angles of your shots when photographing kids is to use different focal lengths. If you’re using a Digtial SLR camera it might be worth investing in a couple of different lenses, like a wide angle and a longer zoom, to give you different options. If you’re using a point and shoot (most of which have at least a 3x Optical Zoom) make sure you use it. Taking pictures with a wide angle focal length can be particularly effective when getting in close to children. It opens up the angles and gives all kinds of interesting perspectives. I use an 18-55mm zoom lens on my DSLR which is perfect for this. It still allows me to zoom in a little but at 18mm the impact is amazing.
A zoom lens allows you to take photos from further away and will particularly be useful if the child is distracted by you taking photos. I use a 70-210mm zoom which I find very useful.
Have Fun
Lastly, the key to good kid shots is to rediscover your own inner child. Kids love to have fun, they do the unexpected, they love to experiment and test things out and they love to play. Approach photographing them in this spirit and you’ll find your pictures take on a wonderful childlike quality.
See more examples in my Kids’ photography gallery section: http://www.donmcleer.com/gallery-of-photography/kids-baby-portrait-photography/
How to Get Great Outdoor Photos Using the Sun
Written: January 29th, 2010
This article is filed in the Taking Better Photographs category
The conventional wisdom in outdoor photography dictates that a subject should be well lit by the sun so that all the details of the subject can easily be seen in the photo. The easiest way to do this is by placing the sun at your (the photographer’s) back, so that the sun lights up your subject from a high front angle. There’s nothing necessarily wrong about this method. But we want to push the limits of of photographic skills, right? Right! So, here’s a tip to help you get more interesting outdoor photos, especially outdoor portraits.
The Hair Light provides nice highlights on the hair and shoulders of the subject
In the studio I, like most photographers, use a “hair light” for portraits. A hair light is a light that’s placed above and slightly behind a subject’s head. Done correctly, it creates a nice soft glow on the head and shoulders of a person. For female portraits, the effect is especially flattering, as it highlights the hair. But not only does a hair light create a flattering hair effect, it also helps separate the subject from the background. In this example, the hair light also highlights the shoulders too for a nice effect.
But of course, we can’t move the sun like we can a strobe when we’re in the studio. But, we can move our subject. If we break conventional wisdom, and turn our subject so their back is to the sun, and we are shooting into the sun we’ll get the “hair light” effect we are looking for. However, our cameras do not like to shoot into the sun. Unless you manually dial the exposure to the level of the back-lit subject (i.e. their face) the camera will likely auto-adjust to compensate for the bright background. Your subject’s face and front side will be too dark, possibly even silhouetted. And if you do manually adjust the metering for the subject’s face, the background will be overexposed. So how do we achieve a nice balance?
Using the sun as a hair light in a shadowed area under a tree provides a similar effect as a studio hair light.
The answer is by using “fill” light. By using a flash (or a reflector) we can put some light into the dark areas of our subject. The sun acts as the back/hair light, and our flash or reflector acts as the primary fill light. In the example above, we were under the shade of a tree, yet we had a stream of sunlight coming in down through the trees. Without some front-side fill light the face and features of my subject would’ve been too dark.
There are times when the subject is meant to be too dark. For example, this scene of the beach has a dramatic effect as the camera was pointed toward the sun.
When the sun is in the scene, be carefull of lens flare.
If the sun is in your scene, beware of lens flare. You can end up with streaks across the image which decrease contrast. Or you can end up with lens flare artifacts – bubbles of light on your photos that are caused by reflections within the camera. One way of avoiding this is to shield the sun behind something (like a tree or someone’s head).
As with all my photography tips, the best way to achieve good results is by trial and error. Just playing around with your camera and learning all the settings will help you get used to shooting photos in a variety of lighting conditions. So get out there, and have fun!
What Should I Look For In A New Camera?
Written: December 10th, 2009
This article is filed in the Photography Cameras and Equipment category
Looking for a new camera? Do you want good pictures without having to have a college degree in photography and light theory? You are not alone. I often have people ask me to make recommendations for what type of camera to purchase. I’ll attempt to keep my answer brief and not too technical.
Your first decision should be how much do you want to be able to control the picture? Do you simply want to point at a scene and shoot a basic picture? Or do you want some control, so you can experiment and play with exposure settings, or zoom in and get close-ups? The more control you have with your camera’s exposure settings (shutter speed, ISO, and aperture) and lens settings the better your photos will look. The price of DSLRs (Digital, Single Lens Reflex – The ones where you can interchange the lenses…) have dropped and become much more in the reach of the average digital photographer’s budget. Many great DSLRs can be purchased for $400 to $700.
If you simply want a camera that’s portable and always at your disposal, you probably want a simple point-and-shoot. Because they are so automated, they are easy to use and get relatively good results. However, even if you are aren’t a pro you should consider a DSLR. DSLRs are typically more expensive than Point-and-Shoot style cameras, but for good reason. DSLRs have many more optional settings and flexibility with exchangeable lenses and exposure settings. Generally speaking, DSLRs are worth the money… If you want the extra horsepower or control over your photos, and would like to take your picture quality to a higher level. And, if you are interested in shooting sports, you’ll definitely want a DSLR. You’ll be very disappointed trying to shoot your kids’ sporting events with a pocket point-and-shoot.
Are Megapixels Everything?
Most people think that the higher the megapixel rating, the better the camera. This is one of the most commonly mis-perceived notions with digital photography. The fact is that megapixels are NOT everything. Despite point and shoot cameras now coming with up to 10 megapixels their quality level is not necessarily as good as a DSLR with only 6 or 8 megapixels. But, it’s difficult to advertise the nuances of megapixel ratings, so marketers point stick to the easy numbers. Just remember that megapixels are not everything.
There are many reason for this fact. The main reason is the size of the image sensor. The image sensor used in point and shoot digital cameras is generally much smaller than the image sensor used in a DSLR (the difference is often as much as 25 times). This means that the smaller pixels on a point and shoot camera collect fewer photons (they are less sensitive to light). Because of this, point and shoot cameras need to work at higher ISO levels which means that they produce ‘noisier’ (or more grainy) shots. A lot more could be said on sensor size – but trust me, smaller sensors significantly reduce the quality of an image. I’d much rather have a camera with less megapixels and a larger image sensor than the other way around.
So, since a DSLR will take better pictures, does that mean I hate point-and-shoot cameras? On the contrary. I think point-and-shoot cameras have a definite place. I actually own both a point-and-shoot, and DSLR cameras. It’s nice to have the point-and-shoot camera in the glove box so that when I don’t feel like dragging along the big camera bag, I still have an option. But, for higher quality photos, I always bring along my DSLR camera.
So what DSLR do I recommend?
I am a Nikon fan myself but Canon currently has a little better high-end DSLR in their line-up. This is not to say that Canon is better than Nikon. Down in the regular, “Average Joe” user range, it’s about a wash. And, there are many other great DSLR cameras made by manufacturers such as Sony, Minolta, and Kodak. Here are a few specific models that are rated very well. These cameras are all in the $400-$600 range:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Nikon D3000
Pentax K2000 Digital SLR
Sony Alpha A230 Digital SLR
Olympus E-System E-520 SLR Digital Camera
When shopping for a camera, look beyond the megapixel rating, and try the camera out at the store before you purchase it. Don’t be afraid to ask the salesperson questions, and have fun!