How to shoot people with a Christmas tree. A portrait with lights or about the benefits of a garland. Working with the model

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We continue a small series of publications of the studio photography course about winter photo shoots in the studio, started yesterday, because the New Year is the very holiday when you want to give gifts not only to loved ones, but also to yourself. And what could be the best gift for a woman (except diamonds, of course)? Photo session, yes! A photo session allows a woman to escape from the everyday and everyday rhythm of life, put on her best dress (and not only a dress, the same diamonds), be charming, as attractive and bright as possible. And then, on long winter evenings, she will be able to look at these photos and see herself as a beauty queen. But the responsibility for the expected result lies not with the model, but with the photographer, who must see her beauty and be able to capture it. And if he doesn’t try hard enough, a completely different story can turn out: on long winter evenings, a woman no-no and even looks at holiday pictures, sighing from her imperfection and eating her grief with diet cookies. This cannot be allowed!

In most cases, the scenario of the New Year's photo shoot is standard. This is either an elegant evening look near the Christmas tree, or at home, in a sweater with deer and knitted socks. Of course, it is possible, sometimes even necessary, to come up with more creative, original images, especially if the girl already has filming experience. But most often this is unnecessary, because the girl has never been photographed in the studio and just wants to feel like a fashion model. And her main desire is to see herself beautiful. And your task is to make this first experience positive and memorable.

STUDIO SELECTION

The choice of studio depends on the idea of ​​a photo shoot and the style of shooting. Be sure to ask what plan the photos should turn out to be: bright and aggressive, gentle and modest, feminine or businesslike.

Next, find out what clothes your model has for shooting. Remember that in an hour you can have time to change clothes 2-3 times. If she wants something special, but she has no desire and time to buy, advise her to rent exclusive evening dresses (you have all the passwords and appearances?!).

A professional makeup artist is the photographer's main assistant. Perhaps this is not obvious to everyone, and then you should definitely explain how important the makeup artist is on the set. Properly applied makeup not only completes the image, emphasizes the merits of the face, but also hides skin imperfections, which are especially visible when shooting with a lot of light in the studio.

When the choice of clothes is made, select several studio options for the model. Let her choose which one she likes the most.

Book your chosen room according to whether you want to shoot with natural light or pulsed light. If the first option, then this is a hall with large windows, and daylight hours will be the best time for booking. In winter, this is approximately from 11:00 to 15:00. If the studio is busy at this time, and you do not like or are afraid to work with pulsed light, order constant light sources.

SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT

I have a Nikon D800, this camera allows you to shoot at high ISOs, so you can work with natural light even in cloudy weather. For shooting in the studio, you can safely take lenses with a fixed focal length. Zoom lenses are more important for reportage photography, but they are also suitable for shooting in the studio. One of my lenses is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor. This is a fast lens that makes it possible to blur the background beautifully. Which is especially true for New Year's photo shoots, when there are a lot of lights from the Christmas tree and other decorations in the background. For portraits, the fixed Nikon 85mm f / 1.4G AF-S Nikkor is also suitable. For both 50mm and 85mm lens options, a room with an area of ​​50 sq. m. If you decide to shoot with a zoom lens, then the Nikon 24-70mm f / 2.8E ED VR AF-S Nikkor universal lens is quite suitable. With the ability to zoom from a small wide angle of 24mm to portrait 70mm, you can take both wide shots and portraits without distorting the picture too much. The total area of ​​the shooting area for such a lens is from 30 sq. m.

When shooting girls in a studio, it is better not to use wide-angle lenses, as the face will be distorted and stretched in portraits, and in waist-high or general shots there is a possibility of limb distortion. Most likely, telephoto lenses will not work either, because they can only be used from a long distance. Not all halls have large areas, which means that you make it difficult for yourself to shoot a full-length model. Remember that a lens is a tool that should make things easier for you, not the other way around.

CAMERA SETTINGS

The settings depend on what kind of light you prefer to shoot with and in what mode (I only shoot in manual mode M). If it's pulsed light, it's simple. Set the ISO to the minimum, white balance to your taste (I put direct sunlight). The aperture, along with the values ​​of the light sources, can be changed depending on whether you want to separate the model from the background or not. By changing the aperture value, you will receive a different amount of light in the frame. So change the light intensity of your lamps as well. You can work with auto settings in the studio, but only when using natural light or with constant light sources. If you work with pulsed light, then it is better to change the camera settings manually.

When shooting with natural light, I use an ISO value of 800 to 1250. But you can safely leave the ISO value in auto mode. I open the aperture in the following order: if I shoot at 24-70mm - aperture value is 2.8 or 3.2, and if 50mm - aperture is 2.2 or 3.2. Because my Nikon lenses are incredibly sharp, I'm not afraid to shoot wide open. I use Auto white balance more often, because Nikon's color accuracy matches how I myself see colors in reality.

Don't be afraid to take test shots to set all the settings, this will help you get a great result without resorting to hard work in photo editors on your computer.

NOZZLES FOR LIGHTING

For a female portrait, softer light should be used, which means that softboxes for pulsed light are optimal. If you need hard light for some creative tasks, use reflectors.

You can place two softboxes at a 45 degree angle from the model, or one softbox at a 45 degree angle in front and one behind. There is also a rather simple scheme with one large octobox on the crane: place it a little above the model and in front - the light will be softer. Avoid light exactly on top of the model, otherwise you will get dark shadows under the nose and eyes.

When using natural light, place the model in front of a window so that the light is even. Ask to turn your face towards the light to avoid strong shadows. You can also use reflectors. From the name itself it is clear that they reflect light, so the reflector must be placed on the opposite side, highlighting the shadow on the face.

WORKING WITH THE MODEL

When you have already agreed on shooting, give some recommendations to the model. Let him choose accessories for all the images - the details in the portrait play a big role. Be sure to remind about interchangeable shoes that match the clothes.

And a few more important tips. Firstly, the model should get enough sleep before shooting so that there is no tired look and bruises under the eyes. Secondly, if the model wants to visit a solarium, a procedure with a cosmetologist, increase eyelashes (especially if she has never extended them before), and so on, then all this can be done strictly at least a week before the shooting itself. Believe me, in my practice there was a case when a girl came who had been in a solarium the day before the shooting. Red skin throughout the shoot! Therefore, the photographer should warn the model in advance that all procedures are done long before shooting.

If the model has a double chin, position yourself a little higher, above her, and ask her to raise her head. Be careful not to have your head thrown back, but everything looks beautiful.

If the model has a big nose, avoid profile shots, try to set her head in such a way that the nose does not go beyond the border of the cheek, so it will look more elegant.

The most important, of course, are the eyes and gaze. To match the mood of the shooting, try to create an atmosphere of trust. Be sure to talk, help in every possible way to relax, sometimes joke and, if you like what you get, be sure to give compliments.

Remember, everyone needs some time to feel comfortable in front of the camera. Try to focus on what the model really succeeds, and not on what is bad. If you see a clamp in the jaw, an unnatural smile, do not be silent, pay attention to it, tell them to feel it and let it go. If the clamp is in the hands and fingers, ask them to twist the wrists, shake the fingers so that they relax. From a clamp in the neck, a simple exercise will help - a few circular movements of the head, soft, feminine turns.

The photographer must carefully monitor everything that gets into his frame - clothes, body position, look, background. I advise you to start shooting from a sitting position (it doesn’t matter - in an armchair, on a bed, on the floor).

Thus, a person has a support and a limited space where he can act under your guidance without getting lost or worried. When the first exciting moments are behind, you can already move to any other place in the hall.

But most importantly, don't be silent. There's nothing worse than telling a girl, while pointing your lens at her, "do something," and then shut up and wait. Don't expect her to immediately turn into Claudia Schiffer and start practicing professional model poses. Most likely, it will be stretched, awkward and uncomfortable, and for both of you.

Take control, tell the girl the position of the body, arms, legs, so that it looks elegant and feminine in the frame. And so that a genuine light burns in your eyes, and a sincere smile plays on your lips, do not forget to maintain a good mood and a positive atmosphere in the studio.

Have you ever seen photos of children near a Christmas tree and wondered how to achieve such a beautiful blur of lights in the background? I have good news for you - it's very easy! In this article, we will go through this step by step, and you will be able to take special family photos of your children at the Christmas tree this holidays.

Equipment

A digital SLR or mirrorless camera, a lens capable of shooting anywhere between f/1.8-2.8. It's for images like this that I prefer the 50mm lens, which is an inexpensive lens that Canon, Nikon and Sony have.

Training

When I photograph my children at the Christmas tree, I try to do it during the day, not in the evening. I came to the conclusion that the light in the room allows you to convey the natural skin tone, and still beautifully blur the lights in the background. Also, my kids are much more active before lunch than during sunset. So shooting in the morning or late afternoon a few weeks before Christmas is a win-win for all of us.

Once you're ready to begin, place a high chair or ottoman two to three feet from the Christmas tree, and have your child or children sit on it. If possible, have them look out the window so that a beautiful glare appears in their eyes.

Diaphragm

To achieve beautiful blurring of the lights, you'll need a relatively wide-open aperture, which means you'll need to shoot between f/1.8 and f/2.8. Keep in mind that just because your lens is capable of shooting at f/1.8, it doesn't mean it's the best choice in terms of settings. Take one shot at f/1.8, another at f/2.0, and a third at f/2.5. Now see which one you like best.

I find f/2.5 to be the best result for shooting two kids with a 50mm lens. But lenses are different, so take the time to experiment with apertures and find the one that works best for you and the equipment you're using.

Excerpt

My house is quite dark in the winter, so I usually set a slower shutter speed for comfortable handheld shooting, which is about 1/60 of a second. Your value may vary, but a range of 1/60 or 1/80 is a good start for shooting indoors with average natural light.

ISO

For images like this, I tend to set ISO to 200. Start here, as the lower the ISO, the less noise/grain. However, don't be afraid to increase your ISO or even set it to Auto if you need to. When it comes to the newest DSLRs, you don't have much wiggle room before you see significant noise in the final images.

posing

Perhaps the single most important factor in taking really good photos of children at the Christmas tree is shooting at their level. To realize the beautiful blur of lights, do not shoot from above or below. You will most likely need to sit on the floor and lie down so that the camera is at the child's eye level. But it's worth it!

Although I prefer color photos with a Christmas tree background, don't be afraid to convert them to black and white!

Note regarding colored LED lights,RAWandLightroom

On initial import intoLightroomthe blue lights look crazy.

If you're shooting RAW and have colored LED lights in your image and you're about to import it into Lightroom, let me show you something to save you a lot of frustration and wasted time. Lightroom does a pretty poor job with blue and purple LEDs.

Everything might look great in camera, but when imported into Lightroom, the blue and purple lights look crazy. The best description I can give is that it looks like there are overexposures in the highlights, even though there aren't really any. It looks terrible, but it's easy to fix.

After setting up a Camera Profile inLightroom

Scroll to the Camera Calibration tab in the menu on the right. In the Profile drop-down menu, change the "Adobe Standard" setting to "Camera Standard". Just one small adjustment will make a huge difference in how the lights look in the background.

Not only for the New Year andChristmas

Once you get the hang of these settings, you can apply them to more than just holidays. Need a fun backdrop for a party or event? Hang some colored light bulbs on the wall and use the same settings to get colorful images all year round.

New Year is the most beloved and long-awaited holiday. Time to meet friends, relatives and many other people. But it's also a time to take great holiday shots and check out how much your photography skills have improved over the past year.

Let's take a look at 5 ideas for great Christmas photos and how to take them.

Idea first. New Year's street decoration

Instead of sitting in front of the TV in the evening, why don't you take your camera and go outside? On New Year's Eve, after sunset, most cities bloom with fantastic colors of bright lights. They can be on trees, on the streets, on houses. Why not try to capture all this splendor?

Take a look around, you may not even have to go far from home.

Christmas decoration is a great theme for shooting

In the shot above, the lights from the lights were enough to shoot handheld without using a tripod. If there is less lighting, try increasing the ISO value or shooting from a tripod.

The optimal aperture would be f/4 or f/5.6, this will give you a good one and probably won't require very slow shutter speeds.

Also, to reduce the exposure time, increase the ISO value to the maximum at which your camera still allows you to take good enough pictures.

Remember that at shutter speeds over 1/10th of a second, it will be difficult for you to get a sharp handheld shot.

Take a test shot and adjust . If the image is not clear enough, try increasing the ISO a bit or use a tripod.

Helpful Hints:

• Check the histogram on the camera screen after the first frame. Make sure that the edge of the histogram is close, but does not touch the right border.
• Shoot in RAW. When processing the image, it will be easier to extract details from the shadows and reduce noise.
• If your camera has a highlight warning mode, turn it on. Highlighted areas will flash on the camera screen.
• Try taking a series of shots. Especially if you shoot handheld at a slow shutter speed. There is more chance that one of the shots will be sharp.
• If the lights are flashing, take the time to take a picture. Or take multiple shots and then combine them in Photoshop

The second idea. Christmas toys and Christmas decorations

Surely you met New Year and Christmas. Use this idea when shooting Christmas decorations. Specially for the site

Try to find such a shooting angle that the branches and the garland in the background are as far as possible from the toy itself.

Shoot in close-up macro mode by pushing the zoom to the maximum and opening the aperture. To reduce the depth of field.
You will most likely need to use a tripod and manual focus.

Beautiful New Year's bokeh - creates a festive atmosphere

The shallower the depth of field, the more interesting the picture can be. But it will be difficult to keep the focus. To avoid camera shake when releasing, use mirror pre-up mode and self-timer shutter release.

Helpful Hints:

A portrait made in soft and warm lighting from a burning candle looks very gentle and romantic. But for this, it is important to choose the right settings for shooting in low light.

Use a different number of candles for lighting

In the picture above, the table is located at a distance of about a meter from the wall. This made it possible to avoid her getting into the frame. The dark background draws attention to the model itself and the candles.

It is worth trying a different number and arrangement of candles, as well as the angle, paying attention to how the candles illuminate the face of the model and get a beautiful reflection of the candles from the surface of the table. Specially for the site

For this shot, I set ISO1600 and f/2 aperture so that the shutter speed was fast enough (1\60sec) and the photo turned out to be sharp enough.

It would be possible to use a slower shutter speed by reducing the ISO and aperture, but then there would be a risk that the flame of the candles would be completely blurred due to air vibrations.

Helpful Hints:

• Use several candles to make it easier to find the right exposure and get good lighting on the subject.
• Try to avoid long exposures by operating on ISO and aperture value
• Don't forget to turn off the flash and take a few test shots with manual aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, choosing the best values.
• Try shooting from a tripod, experimenting with shutter speed and the number of candles.

Idea 4. Traditional New Year's dishes and products

What exactly on the festive table do you associate with the holiday? Maybe it's a glass or a bottle of champagne, maybe a vase of tangerines or pineapple, maybe a baked chicken with a golden crust.

Try to find and shoot traditional New Year's goodies. Use New Year's decoration for this - confetti, serpentine, sparklers, etc.

It is better to shoot against a neutral background, as is usually done for product photography. Maybe .

Play with the shape and texture of the object

Perhaps a lightbox is best suited to get high-quality uniform lighting. If you don't have one, or you can't use it, make some reflectors to provide soft lighting without contrasting shadows.

Also, try shooting in macro mode, paying attention not so much to the subject itself as to the texture and form - for example, the texture of a pineapple peel or the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

When shooting like this, it is better to keep the ISO at a minimum to reduce noise and make good quality lighting. And experiment with aperture and shutter speed, achieving different results.

Helpful Hints

• Before you start shooting, take some time and look for examples of similar photos that you like. Use them as inspiration before taking your own shot.
• If you have a macro lens, there is a good reason to use it.

Idea 5. Shoot a holiday

If you still haven’t taken a great photo before the holiday, try to take it on the holiday itself. The New Year is a great occasion to take wonderful pictures. Take a medium zoom lens and a flash (for indoor shots) or a tripod (for outdoor shots). Specially for the site

When shooting fireworks - hold down the aperture and use slow shutter speeds

For portraits at the party itself, use an external flash. Don't point it directly at people, use a reflector, or aim it at the ceiling to provide soft lighting.

Perhaps you decide to shoot the New Year's fireworks. To do this, switch to manual focus and set the focus to infinity. And point your camera where you expect to see the fireworks.

Set to bulb mode when the shutter remains open for as long as you hold down the shutter button. Clamp the aperture harder - from f / 8 to f / 16 or more. Then you will have the opportunity to make a colorful shot when the fireworks in the picture turn into a real fireball.

Helpful Hints

• When shooting outdoors, don't take too many things with you. Only .
• An excellent choice for night photography would be a fast lens with a fixed focal length. For example, 50mm f/1.4. This lens will allow you to use reasonably fast shutter speeds in low light without pushing the ISO too high.

Photographing outdoor Christmas lights is recommended during the daytime, when it is still light but not too sunny. It is much more difficult to get high-quality photographs of objects glowing in complete darkness. At the very least, outdoor Christmas lights are best chosen in the afternoon. This will provide some volume and depth to the background and make the photos more spectacular. Shooting is best done at the end of the day, during the "magic hour", just before dark, at dusk.

• Sunset photography typically creates a beautiful atmosphere with bright, twinkling background lights ranging from grays and blues to pinks and reds.
• Also, at this time of day, the background tends to be slightly visible, adding structural contrast instead of the dull black surroundings of Christmas lights shot in total darkness.
• Photographs taken during daylight hours usually don't bring out the full beauty of the Christmas lights unless the day is overcast. Therefore, you can experiment a little to find the best time of day to shoot.

Try to make the most of the entire field of the frame. Make sure the frame captures the most interesting details of the lights and identify the main subject of the shot. You should not photograph a house standing alone, illuminated by Christmas lights, from afar, leaving most of the frame empty. Fill the entire field of the frame as much as possible and you will immediately notice how your photos will start to look more professional.

Try to use the sky as a background. This will make the photos more saturated with light, and the frame will become deeper and more interesting. Pay special attention to multilayer expressive clouds. The sky can be a really effective backdrop that will magically transform your photo and create a mood of mystery.

Try to avoid getting into the frame of moving objects. Use a tripod or lean on something stable like leaning against a wall or fence to stabilize the camera. This will give you the best result and avoid blurring.

• Choosing the right shutter speed is also important to prevent blur. You can also use the shutter cable to avoid camera movement while shooting. Using a cable paired with a tripod will achieve the best results.