Camera settings & lenses
How do you plan on shooting your subject? Will you be close in? Further away? Perhaps, you’ll want to try shooting from a different angle and not straight on…
You should be asking yourself all of these questions prior to your shoot…
If you’re shooting an environmental portrait, you’ll need a different set of lenses than you would if you are shooting a headshot or beauty portrait. Using a long lens such as a 70-200mm f/2.8 can produce an image that will look flatter and more compressed whereas a shooting up close with a wide-angle lens will make features appear much larger than they do in real life as seen in this image.
White balance is another important factor in taking a great portrait. The tonality and appearance of your subject’s skin can make or break the end result so you want to make sure it’s as close to perfect as it can be. Relying solely on your eye, or using the auto white balance feature of your camera can be tempting, but remember, your eyes aren’t perfect, and the auto white balance feature can be fooled by various environmental factors such a light reflecting from other surfaces, the colour of the clothes the subject is wearing or the colour casts from your surroundings.
To combat this, there is a wide assortment of tools you can purchase that will help you create custom white balances for any lighting situation under the sun (pardon the pun).
Another option for bad lighting situations is a collapsible reflector. You’ve probably seen photographers using these to reflect light back towards their subjects to create a more even light. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours the most common being white, silver and gold. Essentially a lightweight hoop covered with fabric, they create a soft fill light and help to neutralize colour casts and unwanted shadows when directed at your subject.
Whichever method you choose to use, a white balancing tool should be an essential piece of gear for your kit bag.
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