New thread for people trying to get better at shooting people?

>>3085955
First thing you should do is just to keep shooting, and to look at lots of portraits and analyze them to see what you like about them. Take a number of frames one after the other when you're shooting a portrait, but do it quickly enough that the subject doesn't get bored. Then pick the one that looks best and try to figure out why you like it.

In this photo, I probably would have had her step a couple of steps to camera left so that she was centered in the frame, but the stream was still visible. The photo is unbalanced with her way over to the side.

On overcast days, the light tends to fall straight down on people and shadows tend to hang around their features, which isn't flattering. You can use a reflector to bounce light from below and minimize this, or have them lift their chin so their face is more evenly lit, or find some naturally reflective body in the area to use.

>>3085965
Thanks a lot man. I'll really take your advice into affect next time I shoot. I'll be able to shoot people more confidently now.

>>3085955
It's much easier with good looking subjects.

>>3085972
frontrunner for /p/'s worst meme

>>3085973
I wasn't being facetious, her face and smile aren't pretty or interesting. It would've been easier for OP to make this shot work with a better looking model.

>>3085977
Again, with me making subjects look worse than they really are.

I'm trying to get advice on how to shoot good photos of any regular person, good photos of good looking people is easy and doesn't need much expierence.

>>3085987
Well, direction is important. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, limit it to casually asking them to lift, lower, or tilt their heads for now. I think this photo would've been pretty nice with a bit of that and better composition (moving yourself a bit to the right).

>>3085969
overly cooked and red skin. I prefer the soft feel OP's colors give

File: IMG_4940.jpg (1MB, 1734x2723px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1734x2723px

>>3085969

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>>3086002
You do realize that there are actually people who have skin tones like this right? Maybe you should go out into the world more often instead of thinking every supermodel cover photo is the standard to all human appearance.

>>3086002
I guess if you like a green pallor, the original will please you.

>>3085955
Try taking shots when they're doing their own thing, rather than making them pose.
Keeps the hike moving along and makes it more fun.
Just make sure you run it through them first to see if they're OK with that

>>3085991
A friend of mine coordinates events, including photogs. She said she has 3 she uses. When she uses the best one, he posts the photos and everyone is happy. They feel like they look good in the photos, without much direction. Mostly just candids. My friend said the same -- he asks if she wants a photo, and snap, one second later he takes it and moves on.

Once she hired someone outside her top 3 who weren't available. EVERYONE was complaining, how could you post these, I look terrible in this photo, etc.

So we have two photographers, both with cameras that are good enough, neither giving much direction, just snapping away. The first photog must be positioning himself in better places.

How do you learn to do this? How do you practice? What should you look for when finding the right position to shoot from?

>>3086075
no man, you cooked them a bit too much
all you faggots do

>>3086114
post your own or ideal photo then to contribute you shitter. otherwise sit down and shut the fuck up.

>>3086109
The better guy probably just has a lot more experience shooting people, and probably knows how to position himself and the camera for best results right off the bat. It's just a case of if you shoot the same thing (people in this instance) long enough, you can hit the right shots without much thought at all.

>>3086009
kek

>>3086002
I have to agree. I like what the other poster did with the background colors, but now her skin is too red.

>>3085977
Who says this is a model? Knowing how to take good photos of the people around you is a valuable skill. Unless you're saying OP should swap out their friends for models in order to put their photo life on easymode? That'd be a great way to not learn anything.

File: IMG_4870.jpg (130KB, 855x1068px) Image search: [Google]

130KB, 855x1068px

So position is important for light, what about manipulating light with a simple flash, is that the easier route or will not look as natural?

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>>3086283
You have to be careful with that, or it won't blend well, or it'll look cheap or harsh. A bit of a camera-mounted flash unit with a diffuser might work here.

>>3085955
>tooken
>lack of inexperience
kek
>>3086009
lel
>>3086108
this is good advice, candid shots can be gems

>>3086119
the original looks fine
yours is just an excess personal need to fuck with things that don't need it....and possibly a poor ability to gauge color and/or over-reliance on what your display shows you under the local lighting conditions.
And your edit is worse.

>>3086108
Yes that's a great advice. Only models can pose, your friends can't and will always look stiff and fake in the pictures. Trying to capture them when they do sth will come out more natural and interesting

>>3086236
You're right - I just calibrated my monitor and she looks like an Oompa Loompa now. My edit is really red.

>>3085965
Nah centering a person for a portrait shoot is very often a mistake. The problem here is that the background is too blurry, which makes shooting it, absurd and meaningless.
She is maybe slightly a little too much on the side though but i guess it was too show the river stream. But it could have been cropped or he could have made a shorter frame.

>>3086686
I didn't even post an edit you cunt. You're telling me to do what I was telling the guy to do. If you have shit to tell, tell it to him because we're on the same fucking side.