Minette van Heerden

Great pet photos minette

Hi Minette,

We have a South African group if you want to join.

You can find it in the groups page. :)

Regards,
B.Rad.

Well, art, interior design, photography... all three are linked by a common aim: to please the eye. To capture visual artforms and derive pleasure from them. With your art you're physically creating what will later be seen and enjoyed. With interior design you're designing what you want to see and in photography we aim to capture the subject matter that is visually pleasing. Keep shooting! :)

Glad to meet you, thank you for the friend request. Get to know you better ~ Lea in Seattle

Thanks for adding me Minette! Yes its good to see South Africans on this site! I'm always keen to meet others also interested in photography! :)

Thank you Minette for your kind words. Really am just learning my craft at present. Feel like a sponge and just want to soak up all knowledge. Very nice to meet you. Hope we can share info and thoughts. Best wishes my friendWarmest regards from England
Scott

Hi Minette. As far as exposure, or in this case underexposure, you could achieve that by speeding up the shutter or by decreasing the aperture size (by using a higher f/stop number). Since your model is stationary I would choose the aperture you want first then set the shutter accordingly. The reason I'd choose aperture first is due to depth of field. The area that is in focus (depth of field) increases with a higher f/stop number. If you choose a low aperture number the background will likely be out of focus; very good for a portrait, very bad for a landscape shot.
For the inside shots, look for a window as a light source. This will be a big light source which gives great light for portraits. Experiment a lot.
One other thing to think about is that the first time you photograph someone tell them that it's an initial shoot; that after looking at the results you can determine what worked and what didn't then go out and reshoot. While it may seem like a lot of work to shoot twice, I think you'll find the second session will yield a high percentage of great shots.

Regarding your bodybuilder assignment, I would utilize side light as much as possible to bring out contrast. Early morning/late evening when the sun is low. Simple yet bold backgrounds. Variety of angles; looking up, down, sideways. If it's sunny I'd underexpose a bit to hold details in shadow areas. Without knowing what your location is going to be that's about all I can offer. Good luck.