Beginner Portrait Photography: Lighting in the evening

[Noisysprite]

Good evening all,

This is my first post back after breaking the promise to myself that I would do what it takes to become proficient with my new toy.

I'm ashamed to say that I allowed my "focus" to wander and life took over. I love this site and am hoping that you will forgive my lapse and offer support for my return.

What brings me back is the frustration of never quite knowing what to do when the big moment arrives and I scramble to respond with my camera. And just lately, it has been portrait photography that has been exposed as my biggest weakness (which is not to say that every facet of my photo taking is not weak - lol)

My family have asked me to take portraits for a couple of different reasons, and each time I plan to take them outside, later in the day so that I can take advantage of natural light. And then for one reason or another we end up inside at night time under flourescent lighting.

I have the basic Canon 1000D and no lighting other than the flash. I have a floor lamp that can provide directional light, but not much else. Oh - and my technique is not that great either. now that I am back, I will bury myself in the fantastic resources available.

However, any thoughts on getting OK lighting on a budget would be appreciated.

Thanks for having me back.

Regards

Julie

[Cullen]

Hi Julie,

Unfortunately I have no wise words for you as I'm in entirely the same boat! Just had friends over today and picked up my camera or the first time a month! I'm looking forward to you getting some answers that I can use too!

Great thread to start, thanks!

[JM Tran]

I think before moving onto purchasing lighting sources like an external flash, you should try to master and further understand the camera's functions and exposure settings.

For example, I would set the camera on Av mode (aperture priority) but on auto ISO, so the camera will adjust the shutter speed and ISO according to the scene, with you controlling the aperture. Then review your photos later on the computer and check the ISO values and shutter speed etc, that way you can see what the 'optimum' settings were for those scenes and then try to emulate it after.

As for white balance indoors, you could try shooting in RAW to be able to change the white balance later in post processing, if you had to use JPEG then your 1000D will have a variety of white balance presets - such as incandescent lighting or tungsten lighting which will make the photos look more 'correct' and less warm. But it really depends on what lights the room has.

So master the camera and natural light first, otherwise buying a flash now will only serve to bamboozle you further with its functions and settings.

[Noisysprite]

Thanks JM, That is exactly the kind of response I was after. Am not wanting lighting hardware, just looking to optimise what I have when I don't have natural light available.

So what you are suggesting (that I know deep down that I should already have done) - is take a heap of photos in the conditions available and work out exactly what settings get me the look I'm after? I will take note of your suggestion andwork from there.

The kind of photo I end up with - shiny faces - because of the flash under low lighting?. Turning the photos to B&W seemed to help a little in reducing the effect of the shine.

Cullen, Looks like we need to recruit models and get to work!

Thanks

julie

[screamer]

Agree with JM Tran, if you shoot in RAW you can adjust white balance later (but you need software to manipulate this - eg Lightroom or Photoshop).

In respect to ISO, I'd try experimenting at say ISO 800 and maybe even higher. That gives you more light sensitivity, with hopefully not too much decrease in quality. If you have a nifty fifty - if you shoot at say F2.0 at ISO 800, with as low a shutter speed as you can go and still remain sharp - you will have pretty good light sensitivity.

Having said all that - if you aren't happy with the outcomes - you are looking at a flash to boost light. Some chepaies around eg Yongnuo - which are not too bad.

[Mark L]

..., if you shoot in RAW you can adjust white balance later (but you need software to manipulate this - eg Lightroom or Photoshop).

Digital Photo Professional, the software that came with your camera will do this if you have no other software. RAW gives you more options.
Quoting you Julie "...., and each time I plan to take them outside, later in the day so that I can take advantage of natural light."
That sounds like a good plan.
Good luck.

[mandab99]

Have you ever used a greycard? This will be a big help with your white balance as you can set a custom balance against it. I only use natural light also and have found you can take some beautiful shots inside beside windows with the natural light coming in. Meter for the subjects face and open up a stop or two as in camera metering will expose for mid grey and skin is not a mid grey tone so will be underexposed. Even better us a greycard to acheive correct exposure. Portraits in my humble opinion are best taken in AV mode with a shallow DOF which brings out the subject. Enjoy experimenting!

[William]

Forget the Grey Card, Just shoot RAW , Simple, I've been out with hundreds of Photographers, And only once did I see a guy set his white Balance, And that was on grass

[kiwi]

In a studio setting I always use a grey card, outdoors I also always shoot cloudy

Both raw

William, it's all good to use raw, but if the wb is wrong how do you set the wb to the correct value without a reference point ? That takes experience and a good eye without it

[William]

Canon auto WB does a pretty good job most times , In lightroom you can put the eyedropper on a Neutral colour , Or just go from memory and use the WB slider , On water shots The neutrals in the White water work well also , But maybe it's just experience unless your trying for the Artistic effect , Which I do sometimes

[kiwi]

the "problem" though with autowb is getting a consistent WB across multiple shots. Say a portarit session where one shot has a lot of grass, move forward to just get a headshot etc

I think most NTP find judging WB very difficult and it only takes a moment to shoot a reference shot and you're away laughing, especially where skin tones are important

[William]

Good point Darren, Thats one area of Photography I don't deal with much, I have done Weddings , But just fixed in PP after shooting RAW , I agree, Skin tones are another story!! , Funny enough , I do have a grey card