Does anyone have any advice for this, I’m doing a shoot for a musician and she wants to take shots in the woods?
I’ve never done portrait style photography outside before and wondering if anyone has any advice? My main concern is lighting, should I bring any? Does anyone have any recommendations for stuff that I can use with a remote power supply, and if so what power supplies do people recommend?
Any help is very welcome haha
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Hey! What is the genre of music? Folksy singer/songwriter? Black Metal? 1980s Hair Metal? I think a lot of what your artist’s genre is and what type of look you’re going for as an end image will largely dictate what sort of techniques as well as which gear to bring to get your intended shot.
Bring some bug spray, lots of water and some snack
Take a plant pruner. Nothing worse finding that perfect location and ur subject has a branch growing out of her head. A quick snip is kinder on tree then break branch.
Have you done ANY portrait shoots?
Yes but usually in a studio setting
Oh ok, that’ll make it a lot easier! Depending on the time of day, you could try all natural light if you’re comfortable with that but I would suggest at least one lighting setup, maybe like a Speedlite and one modifier. (Doesn’t mean you’ll use it, but it’s good to have.) Also depends how deep into the woods you’re going. Hiking more than a few feet with a bunch of gear is not fun. If you have a cart, those are really helpful for carrying everything. Check the weather and see if it’ll be windy and if you’ll need sandbags for any stands. Take water! Maybe some snacks if you’ll be walking a bit. And sunscreen and mosquito repellent. Use heavier duty shoes, like hiking ones in case there are any muddy areas. I would recommend that to the musician as well. They can change into nicer shoes when you get there. And lastly, use the woods to your advantage. There’ll be a lot of things to grab on to and hold and pose with. Get creative!
Are there bears? Make sure you choose a site where animals do not raise their babies.
It will probably rain. Have a backup plan & towel.
Unless you are doing it for a deliberate effect, be careful to avoid dabbled light falling on the face. It’s SUPER easy to not notice it until you’re culling and editing, so be conscious of it while shooting. Taking a collapsible diffuser/shade will help, especially if you bring a helper along.
Bring food, water, and bug spray. Bring a speed light because fill flash might be useful. Watch for and be careful of contrasting lighting. Light shining through some branches can be strong and right next to a deep shadow… also beware of color cast.
When and where? For example, if it’s right now in NH, it’s hunting season and all of what that entails
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Golden hour for sure! The biggest game changer in nature photography
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If you can, make the subjects wear red clothes as it will contrasts really good with the green tones of the forest
-try to place the subjects in the middle of the trees so that the sunlight rays can get to their faces
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Try to include the sunlight rays in your composition
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take a vertical shoot from the floor with big angular lens so the trees look enormous
NB golden hour only works if you’re on the Western(ish) edge of the woods, and it’s a reasonably clear sky.
Otherwise by golden hour you just mean “a bit dark”
Presumably unless its morning golden hour and you’re in the Eastern edge of the woods.
In the middle of the day the light is very hard tho
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You should be able to just use the natural lighting; the woods will offer plenty of soft/diffused lighting for portraiture. Just make sure to position your subject out of direct sunlight.
The only tricky part is that what can happen is the canopy can cast a green tint over everything, which can make white balance difficult to get right. Shouldn’t be an issue if you shoot RAW though.
Def bug spray!!! Have their face in all shadow or all light.
Stills or video?
If stills, use off camera flash.
https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/wiki/buying#wiki_which_hotshoe_flash_should_i_get.3F
I like to travel light and if I need an off camera flash for daytime portraits I just bring a speed light and trigger and the mount to put it on a light stand. You can bounce it off a reflector too if you don’t have that. You can get a decent speed light for like $150 $200.