TRAINING CAMP

With the advent of digital cameras, the concept of shooting content for the web has become more accessible than ever. Here are some pointers that might encourage and inspire the budding photographer:

1.TRAINING CAMP

With the advent of digital cameras, the concept of shooting content for the web has become more accessible than ever. Here are some pointers that might encourage and inspire the budding photographer:

1. Keep it simple!

2. Keep your lighting light and bright. Your main light source should be a large umbrella or a soft box (remember – the larger the light source, the softer the light). Use a reflector card on the floor, this will give you a little kick light up underneath the eyes.

3. Always use a rim light, a nice rim light will better separate the subject from the background.

4. Avoid distracting or busy backgrounds. If possible keep the background at least 1 stop darker than your subject; this will make your subject pop better.

5. When shooting outdoors, reflectors can be very tough on your model’s eyes. Try to use flash fill instead. Put a little diffusion over your flash for a softer, more natural light.

6. A good makeup artist is worth their weight in gold! If you can find a reasonably priced makeup artist, it should improve your photography immensely. If not and the model does her own makeup, show her some examples from magazines or a good artists’ book to help her along. Keep the makeup simple and clean. An old rule of thumb in makeup artistry is blend, blend, blend and then blend some more!

7. You will be surprised how often I hear from models that the photographer doesn’t give them any direction or feedback. Keep some examples on hand of photos that feature the poses you would like to capture as examples, if you have trouble communicating what you are looking for to the model you can just show her what you want. Keep your direction complimentary and positive. Go with the model’s own strengths. If she has a great face concentrate on that, if it is her body that is strong, shoot the shots that emphasize her best assets.

8. Don’t shoot from the same angels. You can get a bigger variety with one pose by shooting close-ups, low angles, etc. Shoot high and low – have a stepladder on hand!

9. My best source for models is other models. If you keep it professional, positive and fun she will be recommending you to her friends.

10. If you are shooting film, ask your lab to run a snip test. That way you can make adjustments to your film development before you run the whole roll. If your lab can’t do a snip test, just run one roll of film and make adjustments from there.

11. Regarding film stock – the pros/cons to shooting chrome versus print film are:

Chrome Film – Pros
a. archives better
b. better saturation
c. richer color and contrast

Chrome Film – Cons
a. regarding exposure – pretty unforgiving
b. very little latitude
c. exposure must be right on

Print Film – Pros
a. very wide latitude
b. regarding exposure – very forgiving

Print Film – Cons
a. very limited latitude
b. lacks the color saturation and contrast of chrome film

Digital equipment has made huge leaps in quality over the last few years and has the forgiveness of print film. The color and saturation characteristics have also improved greatly. A huge cost savings can be gained because there are no film and development expenses and you can see what you have shot immediately and make adjustments to lighting and set design “on the fly.” However the initial equipment costs can be painful for a truly good digital camera system. One other thing to keep in mind – it is still a standard in the print industry that art directors will always require chrome film – an important consideration indeed if you anticipate submitting any of your work for magazine layouts or selling the rights to use your work for print advertisements.

Good luck and keep those shots simple and bright.