Girl

[specradio]

I didn't know where to put this, but I decided here.

I found a very good looking girl that wants me to take pictures of her for school, family, and for her myspace . I also asked if I could take a few glamour shots for my portfolio.

I dont know what I should do here. Should I take her to a park on a sunny day and shoot? I dont have any lighting or any backdrops at home. I'm just trying to figure out where I should shoot, and in daytime with sun, should I use fill flash with my sb 600?

[walterick]

Hi Spec

I'm not a portrait professional, but what I do know is taking her outside on a sunny day and shooting her in the full sun is exactly what you don't want to do. Full sun tends to create harsh shadows under the nose and in the eye sockets and tends to make for unflattering portraits. Exceptions to this are early morning/late evening when the sun is lower on the horizon and has a warmer quality to its light. Also, because the rising/setting sun is not overhead it doesn't create harsh shadows on her face.

Take her out on a sunny day. But put her in the shade! This may sound counterintuitive, but shooting on cloudy days and in shadey spots is ideal for portraiture. The diffuse light makes for more flattering skin tones and creates less pronounced shadows. Use your sb600 for some fill or just have an assistant hold a reflector - I like gold-colored posterboard myself.

Another thing to play with in the shade is dappled light coming through tree branches, or backlighting coming from behind her - probably with fill or a reflector to help out in front.

Good luck with your job. Remember half the work comes before the shoot. And don't get too distracted by the pretty girl

Rick

[JSPhoto]

I don't know about your setup gear wise but I did some in bright sun and they were fine, no blown out spots or shadows, but I used the ETTL II of the 580EX and used fill flash. They came out really nice according to the girl and her mom. The only issue I had was fixing some spots from a dirty sensor...ARGH!

JS

[livin4lax09]

wait for an overcast day. or just go to joann fabrics, buy some fabric, hang it on your wall, and shoot with incandescent lights...not that i've done it.