Senior Portrait Tutorial - Girl.
As promised I will post a series of senior portraits. The first set will be of a young lady. I will post a series of a young man in a few days. I will self critique as I go. These are raw (not to be confused with camera RAW) files. They are mostly color corrected but no retouching has been done. The number posted is limited since I don't want to upload 500 pictures at one time. I typically do 24-30 different photographs per senior session. I encourage the senior to bring props such as pets, cars etc. Please pay attention to posing and angle of light. Let me give you some brief information about my lighting. All of it is studio electronic flash. The fill light is a 400 watt second (hereinafter referred to as w/s) Bowens monolight through a parabolic reflector fitted with barndoors. I took a piece of diffusion material that I bought at Calumet and cut about a 10" circle out of the middle of it and have it attached to the barndoors so the light is diffused on the edges and specular in the center. The main light is a 40" sofbox attached to, again, a Bowens monolight. accent lights are from a Novatron 200 w/s power pac with two flash heads with barndoors. One goes on the end of a boom and the other one illuminates the background. The only studio flash I've ever used that I liked as well as the Bowens is a Photogenic Studiomaster. The Studiomaster was under powered and didn't work well for product applications. One of the advantages of the Bowens monolite that contemporary flashes lack is that there was an enormous range of accessories that were compatible. If you are wanting to do studio work I would not even consider getting a set of lights if the manufacturer doesn't offer a number of different sizes of parabolic reflectors (large either polished or frosted metal reflectors that look like a big metal salad bowl) and barndoors for them. No companies barndoors are big enough so I would take large pieces of lightweight cardboard cut in a rectangular shape, spray paint them black and then attach them to the barndoors. It gives a tremendous level of control. You cannot approach this level of control with umbrellas.
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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on -
Portrait #1 is a typical head and shoulders Senior portrait. Rotate the girls body approximately 45 degrees to the left or right. Rotate the head back towards the camera. For a girl usually you will want to rotate the head slightly past center so that the nose is slightly past center. Then have the subject bring the eyes back to the camera. This will give a slightly coy, teasing pose. It is also a softer pose, very appropriate for young ladies. The main light should be moved enough to camera right so that a shadow is cast inside the bridge of the nose and onto the subjects right cheek. It should be high enough so that there is a shadow under the eyebrow but not so high that the shadow extends onto the eyeball. Usually you will want it to give one stop more light than the fill light.
Portrait #2 2/3 length standing pose. The same posing and lighting principles as above. Usually these young ladies have a nice waistline. Show it! When the hand is placed on the hip, as here, the hand should break upward at the wrist. I tilted the head slightly toward the shoulder nearest the camera, which is also slightly higher, to give a feminine pose. The pose is built by placing the feet together, 45 degrees to the camera. The foot nearest the camera will then be extended about half a stride length toward the camera and then the toe pointed at the camera. Have the subject place their weight on the back leg. This is classic standing pose called the "dance pose" and is a good basis for any standing pose, masculine or feminine. I purchased the screen for $50.00 at Hobby Lobby and put a light on the background with a purple gel on it to throw some light into the background that would be in a similar color range to the dress.
Portrait #3 is not a standard pose but is one I use from time to time. It's meant to convey a glamorous feel. I bought a little settee at Wal-Mart for $30.00 that is covered in a white brocade fabric. The subject will place her sitter on one end of the settee and then recline on the other end. The head is rotated slightly past center with the light almost directly over the camera. Have the subject tilt the head slightly toward the right shoulder then to the left to see which is best.
I usually set my fill light to expose the subject at f-11, set the camera at f-11, and then set the key, or main light, at f-16 to give a soft enough light ratio that it will be pleasing for most subjects. If you want a heavier ratio just pull the fill light back enough to give a reading of f-8 1/2
I know that some will be irritated because the explanation isn't directly with the photograph but this seemed to be the simplest method to get this going. Feel free to print them off so you can look at them with the explanation.
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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on
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In critiquing # 2 I wish that I had rotated the body a bit more to camera so that we weren't beginning to look into the armpit of the shoulder closest to camera and that I had brought the elbow on the far side around a bit more. I think it would have been a slightly more graceful pose.
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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on
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A slight correction on the lighting pattern on #3. The main light is camera left, not over the camera.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Tubbs, Jr. on -
Thanks Nathan for the beautiful examples and the detailed information regarding posing and lighting. I have not done very much studio work. Most of my lighting equipment is a bit old (photoflood lamps and umbrella lights) and I tend to use natural light from north facing windows with some fill lighting. When I do increase my studio I will certainly keep your enlightening information in mind. (No pun intended) Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Best regards,
Dan
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Permalink Reply by Ed Harp on -
Nathan, Your light set up seems similar to mine. What do you do for hair lighting? I usually use a Vivitar 285 on a tall stand at a slight angle, and this I Usually do with hair that gets confused with tonal values of the background.
I like the posing of #1, may be a little too straight-on for me. Nice tonal and light balance.
#2 I like to try something different for back grounds, I do have a tendency to get stuck using muslin, or canvas rather than a true 3D background. I like the background, may be a little busy, but nice.
#3 I see here you've changed the lights around, nice change. Love the backdrop; jewelry adds sparkle.
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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on
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I have used a Novatron 400 w/s light set for over 30 years. The B.G. light hairlight and all accent lights run from it. I would set it at 100 w.s. and use a barn door on it to have the light just "kiss" the hair if it was light hair and I could really zap it if the hair was dark and not shiny, as in photographing a black poodle. I have the flash head on about and 8 or 9 foot boom stand so it cold be moved down to right above the hair or pulled beck to a good distance if needed. I also could use it to illuminate a babies face if the child were lying on its back looking up at mom, for instance. I highly suggest regular studio flash and a boom if you're doing studio. It has great flexibility. I almost always used a hair light as it gave just enough sparkle to make it sing.
As to 3 dimensional backgrounds. I have used studio sets for years. They work very well and I have some very elaborate ones. All were made by me using regular materials that can be had at any builders supply. I like to use the screens because they are easy to move, flexible and inexpensive.
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Permalink Reply by Dawn on -
Thanks for posting these - I am really trying to learn portraiture and lighting so this is wonderful and great teaching.
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Permalink Reply by Andrea S on -
Hi Nathan,
Thanks for posting these and for the great teaching that goes with them. I really like number 1, it has a lovely soft feel to it. Number 3 is great, too, although I personally don't think the pose is very flattering for the girl as it makes her look chubbier than she is.
I like the girl's pose in number 2, but I have a real problem with the background. It is far too busy for my liking and doesn't look like something from a studio. All those different lines accumulating at the girl's waistline are quite distracting and take away the focus from her beautiful face. I also feel there are too many different textures involved to make the impact an harmonious one.
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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on
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Ont thing to remember about all of these. When I was operating a senior portrait photography business, we did a lot of portrait work besides just seniors but seniors are the topic here, I would do between three and eight sessions every day with a one hour time limit. We tried to schedule a session at the top of each hour, so time was at a premium. When you do senior portrait work one of the keys to good sales is variety. I typically would use seven different backgrounds for each student and do 24-36 different photographs. No repeats of poses unless we thought there would be a reason that image wasn't going to work; eyes closed etc. As you can surmise I had to work very quickly and do so without getting grumpy, which I can do if I'm not careful. I agree with you (all of you) on specific things in this series such as busy backgrounds etc. however the concept is to show how to build a good pose, and light it very quickly, and get a salable photograph. And a variety so that moms would want to purchase from more than one. For those of you who think you want to do senior portraits; keep in mind, for most studios profitability is based on high volume, fast turnaround, and as low maintenance as possible while still taking care of the client.
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