Best Portrait settings???

kira

kira

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Kira
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Hey

I am trying to practice portrait photography and I would really like to get better but I can't seen to get the desired outcome on anything I take!

I have a Cannon 400D with the standard lens and also have the Canon 50mm 1.8, which I was told was pretty ok for portraits.

Thing is I don't know a great deal about photography and I have tried playing around with settings and things like that but I don't think the image comes out crisp enough.

It always looked slightly blured or just not as focused/crisp as I would like

Was just wondering if anyone has any tips on particular settings I could try out and where I might be going wrong?

Also, I usually take my photos outside as I don't have any lighting equipment

Thank you,
Kira :)
 
Hi kira,

There are better lenses for portraits but the 50mm will do nicely.

Open it up to f1.8, use 'aperture priority' (av).

This in good light will give you a high shutter speed to prevent camera shake and will isolate the subject against the background.

Try experimenting with the built-in pop-up flash for 'fill-in' to prevent harsh shadows.

You could of course select the camera's 'Portrait' mode, assuming it has one. :D but this would be cheating.

Oh........and focus on the eyes.

D in W
 
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What Dave has said is all good advice.

The one thing to be aware of is that at f1.8 the depth of field at 2 metres will be just 10cm so if you focus on someone's eye looking straight at you then their ears will start to be out of focus.... It's a very pleasing effect.

A bit like the shot below - notice how her hair and neck is out of focus (OOF) this was taken at f2.8 from about 60cm away.

best-1.jpg


The best thing about digital is that you can take loads of photos - get someone to sit for you and take 5 photos from about 2m away at f1.8, f2.8, f5.6, f8 and f16 all with your 50mm lens focus on the same eye each time and just watch the depth of focus change.

Most of all - post pictures on these forums and ask for critique - it really is the best way to improve.
 
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Hodders

if in a studio with flash conditions - you shot at f11 would that be the equiv of a f1.8 or would that open up giving less blur around the focussed area?
 
Kira - some sound advice so far but seeing as you're only just getting to grips with things, I'd worry more about getting used to taking photos of people before you start worrying about technical issues such as how muhc DoF you need. Opening up a lens to f/1.8 is nice and all that, but in many instances, the actual 'in focus' area is so minimal that all it takes to produce and out-of-focus shot is a delay in pressing the shutter or the subject moving an inch or two. Also, a 50mm f/1.8 at its widest aperture isn't getting most from the glass; close it down to f/2.8 or f/4 and you'll see an increase in sharpness.

If I were you, I'd whack the camera on an ISO higher than required (ISO 400 say on a sunny day) to maintain high, fast shutter speeds to make sure you aren't suffering in any way from subject movement or camera shake. What dave says about shooting in Av mode is spot-on... set the aperture and let the camera do the rest with regard to choosing a shutter speed. :thumbs:
 
mani said:
Hodders

if in a studio with flash conditions - you shot at f11 would that be the equiv of a f1.8 or would that open up giving less blur around the focussed area?
Click to expand...

I'll try and give you a simple answer....

f11 is f11 (in terms of depth of focus) whether taken under flash of daylight.

You can also play with the site here to give you an idea http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html

Seriously try taking the same shot lots of times and play with the settings and just keep an eye on the differences.
 
Thanks :) i'll try it when i get home
 
Hodders said:
I'll try and give you a simple answer....

f11 is f11 (in terms of depth of focus) whether taken under flash of daylight.

You can also play with the site here to give you an idea http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html

Seriously try taking the same shot lots of times and play with the settings and just keep an eye on the differences.
Click to expand...


Sound advice. I went into manual mode for a laugh messed about with alot of settings and see what difference they made.
 
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