Photo shoot help

google portrait photography, read about it. If you don't have strobes and light modifiers, trying to use lights is going to look crappy. Invest in a reflector or make one out of tin foil and foamcore (another thing to google) if you REALLY can't afford it.

Look at photo websites (try www.dripbook.com) and look for good photos using natural light. Analyze them and try and work out how to replicate them.

After that, you're just going to need some time and practice. Just tell her you're going to need multiple sessions

Unless she specifically asked for studio shots, don't think that you have to automatically shoot like that.

If she is really looking to get into modeling and doesn't need those static headshots, then make it fun and go explore outdoor locations! You can get a HUGE variety of shots by just walking 1 block somewhere downtown, where ever you are. If this is the route that you want to take, go out and LOCATION SCOUT. It's so important, that's why I put it in caps. Hahaha. But seriously, figure out what time of day you are going to go shoot and then go explore where you are going to shoot at that time, you will be able to get a feel for not only cool locations, but lighting. And then you look much more composed on the day of because you know exactly where to go.

When it comes to time of day, my personal favorite is noon. People will tell you to only shoot late afternoon/right before sunset but that light is generally not as nice as everyone makes it out to be. If you shoot at noon, and especially if you are shooting in an 'urban' environment, you have the best lighting ever! It's called open shade and it will be your best friend for life. When it is noon and the sun is at it's highest, you are going to get these awesome areas of shade, where it's basically a big soft box and it lights everyone perfectly. And even more awesome then that, is that you now get a piece of pavement/sand/etc where the sun is reflecting off really hard into your subjects eyes, and now you have perfect catchlights without having to use anything but the sun! And catchlights are very important, if your subject does not have them they will look dead. Seriously.

If you don't shoot at that time, or get the right combo of shade/reflection with just the sun, I recommend bringing a reflector. It's going to be necessary, especially for the catchlights. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of using anything BUT a reflector so I can't really weigh in on using strobes/flashes/etc.

Anyways, what I'm trying to really say is be prepared. Be as prepared as you can be before the shoot and you will be much more relaxed, which will allow you make everything run much more smoothly, and you will look more professional. Scout your locations (if you are going outside the studio), decide on your lighting beforehand (but bring backups just incase it doesn't end up working out), and most of all, research posing and know how to pose your subject. They are going to be looking at YOU for what THEY should be doing, and it's your job to direct them.

Lastly, here's some links to some helpful articles related to what you are doing.

http://www.michellemooreblog.com/2010/02/25/seattle-professional-headshots-jane-my-best-friend/

http://www.seniorologie.com/location-scouting/
(Even though it's for seniors, it applies to modeling as well, especially with the girl being younger)

What's already been said is right. Michelle just about covered location. As for lighting, if you don't have access to strobes, go with natural light and a reflector.

Sunrise and sunset are beautiful, but direct sunlight tends not to be. Consider a light cloudy day; the cloud cover will act as a big giant soft box.

Floodlights generally look awful for modeling unless they're your ONLY source of light—if you mix floodlights with other light sources, you won't be able to get your white balance right. There are good constant light setups available, though— a white-light incandescent blub and a reflector (NOT DIRECT LIGHT) can actually be incredibly useful, but for it to make any difference, it has to be in a dark enough environment to be noticed.

Last but definitely not least, you need to know a bit about lighting theory. I'm sure you know that on-camera flash looks bad, but that's where it light theory ends for a lot of people.

A couple of guidelines:
Light the thin side of her face. That is, if she isn't facing straight at the camera (she probably won't be for most of your shots, anyway), put the key light on the side of her face that you see less of. this way, you don't have a huge awkward (disproportionate-looking) flat section of her face— it'll be a little bit shadowed, which will make it look more natural.

For backlighting, 2/3rds of the light behind a model, 1/3 in front. A reflector generally accomplishes this.

Soft light is your friend, direct light can be good, spotty light is HARD to work with. Treecover can be a beautiful background and can make for beautiful lighting, but it can be hard to work with the spotty light for your first shoot. Generally, soft light will be the most forgiving and easiest light to play with.


Of course, these are guidelines and not rules. They're not even well established guidelines, like the rule of thirds.

Good luck with your shoot, and post back with the results!

i justw anted to come back real quick and tell you it was a sucess. lol im gunna come back and read all your info and take notes i really appriecate the help guys and girls. i have another girl that wants to do some shots for her bf so imm gunna be using this thread again and again...

 /my threads bitch

Post some of the shots up! That's awesome it went well.