Tonight's class - the penultimate one

Hmm

Now what do you make of an instructor who doesn't know that you should not use any form of stabilisation while using a tripod - oh and says so to the whole class ?

Though we do have a class next week we had to do the evaluation forms tonight - mine is exceedingly non committal and I will be putting in a letter later.

Class was very strange tonight - yes he had brought a studio light and a sort of 'thingie' like the type of umbrella you can put over food with a white translucent side towards the subject [ it was all in a huge Bowens bag. Them, and such as them, were allowed to take pics using it , and his trigger [ fitted into their hotshoe ]

the rest of us did nothing except watch - except me who took some piccies just to show they could be done . I was supposed to be the model so the light was more or less pointing on me so I took advantage of it !!

for the last half hour we had an off the cuff discussion about portrait photography - and it was good - I have to admit it.

He's actually set specific homework for next week - a portrait !! Now where on earth am I going to find a subject for that

I would like to be able to produce something really really stunning

then get the reflectors out and start thinking about what you can do.

"A" studio light? I was under the impression (and my experience bears this out) that even with four sources you sometimes need reflectors....

Bret

Reflectors - what reflectors - I don't have any

There's going to be a heck of a lot of headscratching over this one

White card. Silver card. White card with foil glued to it. Gold card does interesting things.
Flash bounced off coloured surfaces is also very usable.

Maybe use a teddybear or something as your portrait subject and work on getting the light right. There's nothing stopping you using long exposures and being creative on the flash if it's an inanimate object, is there?

Bret

Surely you can improvise some sort of reflectors (if you want to use them)? Tinfoil on card, white sheets hung up to reflect back window light etc?

Don't understand what you say about your instructor's comments re stabilisation. You mean image stabilisation? Your instructor is there to teach photography, not provide a substitute for reading your camera manual

As I said after last week's débacle - I certainly learned a hard lesson BUT remember he didn't come near me - he watched over his 2 favoured students [ who produced some good results it has to be admitted ] Other students also looked shocked when he said he didn't realise that stabilisation had to be taken off before using a tripod [ yes I now know how to do it - but I didn't last week ]

As I said when I did this course in January - I do NOT learn well from reading - I'm a 'doer' but there are now another 8 folk who have learned from my error .

My instructor has in fact done very little teaching of the class this time - he has taught 2 favoured students and the rest of us have been left to our own devices.

A teddy bear - tempting though it is , is not what he wants - he wants a human and if you have no tame relatives living in your city , and the few friends you have do not wish to be photographed [ and have made it clear in the past ] then you are , so to speak , up a gum tree.

Could you not get together with another student on the same course?

self portrait?
Quite a bit more difficult though.

If you don't have enough flashguns, you can use a window light off course.

Use natural light through a narrow window!....all you need is a beautiful model!....or a wrinkled old man!....good luck

Maybe a neighbour will sit for you? You could try a portrait if them in their home working on a hobby maybe? Or sat near a window, on a cloudy day, so you have that lovely soft light to work with.
Or someone from church? Self portraits aren't easy but you may enjoy the challenge of that too.

You can make a reflector from a piece of card and some crumpled up aluminium foil. Stick the (slightly) crumpled foil to the card, or even just fold it over it. Or use a car sunscreen thingy - you know those ones designed to sit inside the windscreen and keep the car cool. Even a cool bag like you can get at supermarkets to carry your frozen stuff home in will work. Anything as long as it is a little bit reflective.
White card will work too if you are really desperate.
But you may not need it. You could always use a little fill flash to help out if you need to.

Some websites which may help;

http://photo.net/learn/portraits/

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-take-portraits-19-portrait-phot...

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/04/how-to-take-excellent-portrait-photos/

And there are lots lots more out there.

Relax, have fun - that is the best way to get a great portrait .

At the moment I'm just cogitating

The last couple of days have been , weatherwise , horrible

I object to being in the house at 10.30 in the morning and debating about putting on the lights

If I'm really stuck I've found a pic I took about 3 years ago of my granddaughter - it breaks all the rules - she was seated on the floor looking up at me , but with the window light [ ] it actually worked. Point & shoots can have their uses - the Kodak was beside me so I grabbed the chance

Cogitating is good. You have the time to think about it and plan it.

Don't feel embarrassed about asking a neighbour or friend to sit for you, nor about taking lots of photos when they do sit.

Zoom in on the preview photo and check the eyes are in focus. They are the most important part of the portrait.

Check the histogram to see how you are doing light wise and decide then whether fill flash or a reflector is needed, - your sitter can hold the reflector themselves if you are doing just a head and shoulders or head shot.

Promise your sitter a print of the finished photo too .

Having a reserve photo is also good.