DPS: 13 Tips for Improving Outdoor Portraits

[Chris Dodkin]

I found this nice set of tips for shooting outdoor portraits at the excellent Digital Photography School website.

James Pickett from America the Lost suggests 13 tips to help you with your outdoor portrait work.

13 Tips for Improving Outdoor Portraits

A pretty decent run-down - and keeping these in mind will certainly help your portraits, and outdoor shots in general.

You have to give the guy props for originality!

Use an existing reflector.

For example, my guess is that about 75% of the delivery trucks on the planet are white. These big white delivery trucks can make amazing fill light reflectors as long as they weren’t painted with an off white. (A yellow tint can change the white balance in your shadows.) Picture framing outlets and craft stores always have medium to large sized pieces of foam core lying around that have been left for scrap. They are usually more than happy to part with these scraps, and if not, chances are there are pieces by the dumpster.

1) Never select all of the focus points for portraits, pick one.

2) Always focus on the eyes.

3) Shoot wide open for shallow depth of field.

4) Never, ever, shoot a portrait at less than 50mm; try to stay at 70mm or higher.

5) Always shoot in RAW.

6) Always bring a gray card or a piece of a gray card for white balance.

7) Shoot in the shade (Avoid direct sunlight)

8) Shooting carefully on an overcast day.

9) If you must use hot, hard, bright light…

10) Use an existing reflector.

11) Learn the sunny ƒ16 rule.

12) Bring a sheet and a few spring clamps from home.

13) Keep the power-lines and signs out!


Ooooops, already busted on #4!

 

[Hamish Gill]

An interesting tutorial, but i would say its a good starting point as opposed to rules to always live by!