aphototopic - shooting with available light - lifestyle portraiture

8/11/2019 APhotoTopic - Shooting With Available Light - Lifestyle Portraiture

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Shooting with Available Light - LifestylePortraiture

by Guest Contributor

In this post Vronique da Silva from www.dasilvafoto.com shares more tips on how to take portraits with available light.

One recurring question I often get asked is, Do you use flash?. My ans er is I !refer not to. Ias trained co""ercially, using so"e of the best flash equi!"ent on the !lanet, and I kno ho

to use the". #ut I choose not to, for the "ost !art. $ife offers us so"e of the "ost beautifullighting and it is literally u! to us to ste! u! to the challenge of un!redictability, to seek it and touse it !ro!erly. %s a natural light !hotogra!her, I do "ake use of reflectors and diffusers to !lay

ith the a&ailable light and t eak it to "y liking.

I a" a !ortrait !hotogra!her, and I ha&e noticed that the a&erage !erson does not feelco"fortable in a studio setting ith lights flashing at the". It beco"es o&er hel"ing and doestake o&er and interfere ith the i"age ca!ture. My general rule is if I can !hotogra!h the"outside or in their ele"ent ith "ini"al additional lighting, I ill do so. 'he result illine&itably be better.

Here are some tips for shooting with natural light!
http://digital-photography-school.com/shooting-with-available-light-lifestyle-portraiture#authorhttp://www.dasilvafoto.com/http://www.dasilvafoto.com/http://digital-photography-school.com/shooting-with-available-light-lifestyle-portraiture#author


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(hen shooting outside in full daylight, "any !eo!le feel te"!ted to either use flash or !lacetheir sub)ects in o!en shade. *es, it is true, o!en shade "akes for easy light, but the "oreinteresting light, the shado s, the s!arkle, lies in the sun+ ush your co"fort le&el by ste!!ingout of the shade, and shoot tons+ hotogra!h in full daylight, at all hours of the day. -hooting"id day ill be the "ost challenging, but be creati&e+ $ook for interesting shado s and sha!es,

and !lay ith the". -to! and analy/e a scene before shooting and look for interesting &antage !oints that enable the light to !lay its a"a/ing tricks.

(hen !hotogra!hing !eo!le in daylight, "y reco""endation is to begin by shootingith the sunlight in back of your sub)ects. Most !eo!le ill squint in full sun and0or blink

frequently. #y back lighting your sub)ects, you ill allo the" to be "ore co"fortable and inreturn they "ost certainly ill be "ore coo!erati&e+

(hat ha!!ens ith blo n out skies? 'he ans er to that is nothing+ 'here really is nothingrong ith e1!osing for the sub)ect and letting the rest go here it goes. erfectly lit i"ages

2 ith detail in the hites and shado s3 ha&e their !lace, but I find it can be restricti&e and reallyunnecessary hen !hotogra!hing !eo!le 2and trust "e, I $O45 the !erfect %nsel %da"s !rint+3.


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(ith the use of reflectors, you can "ini"i/e the contrast and reclai" so"e detail in the background. % sil&er reflector ill add a nice clean shar!ness to the i"age 2I really lo&e a sil&erreflector hen shooting !rofessional head shots3, but re"e"ber that it is a strong reflector andyou do not ant to blind your sub)ect+ I use a si"!le hite reflector "ost of the ti"e to slightlyo!en u! the shado s but kee! the char" of back lighting. I also lo&e !laying ith sun flares+'hey are co"!letely un!redictable but can be so lo&ely+ It goes ithout saying that to "ake the"ost out of the use of reflectors you ill need e1tra hands 6 this is hen a hel!er co"es in &eryhandy+

(hen using flash, I !refer using it as a secondary light, letting the a"bient or surrounding light !lay the "ain role. (hen shooting interiors, I ill bounce the flash off the ceiling or off "yhandy reflector, and create a softer light than shooting for ard straight off the ca"era. It is also a"uch "ore flattering light. I ty!ically under e1!ose the flash 7.8 9 sto!s and slo do n theshutter to let the beautiful a"bient light filter in.

%s ith e&erything, !ractice is a "ust+ lay around, and don:t let inti"idation or the unkno nguide your decision 6 you:ll sur!rise yourself and definitely e1!and your skills+ Most


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i"!ortantly, ha&e fun+


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aphototopic - shooting with available light - lifestyle portraiture

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