I started attending photography classes with a successful photographer and there’s couple of things I was apparently doing very, very wrong. I do not want to question the photographer knowledge, but more so just to ask for “2nd opinion”.
1.Studio portraits should only be taken with aperture of 5.6 or higher.
Is this true and does the same apply for outdoor portraits? Most of my outdoor portraits were taken with aperture 1.4 to 2.8, mostly because of less than optimal lighting conditions and I just love this beautiful bokeh.
- I am apparently supposed to use viewfinder only and not camera screen to frame the pictures, with both eyes open to see the model. Also taping the screen to correct the focus is a no-no.
I was usually only using the screen since I lack the mobility (really bad knees injuries), so I preferred moving the camera around instead of my entire body to frame the pictures, having eye contact with the model is also easier this way for me. The focus on camera is also often not perfect and being able to quickly “correct it” by telling camera where to focus is very, very useful.
- Using tons of lights and equipment to get desired results. The photographer that leads the lectures is very fixated on complicating the scene by using multiple of expensive lights and giant reflectors.
Personally I don’t own a ton of equipment, so I always look a ways to achieve things without resorting to that many lights and reflectors and usually I can find people being able to achieve those results with two or even one light, simply by adjusting the angle, distance or power of the light.
I absolutely understand that more equipment offers more possibilities, but I just feel like it’s sometimes unnecessarily complicated by some photographers.
- Having a large team of assistants. Last lesson we were split us into groups and had role assigned to each of us. Two people responsible for lights, director, photographer and so on. According to our teacher and the way he teaches us, having group of assistants is necessary or at least highly advised.
As someone who only ever worked alone (excluding the models of course) and plans to work alone in foreseeable future, I am not sure what to think of that.
- DSLR are better because they are more stable due to their heavier weight, compared to lighter mirrorless cameras. Also apparently information displayed on mirrorless cameras is lagging behind compared to DSLR, but I am not exactly sure what he was talking about.
Yes, in a Studio you stop down to get more sharpnes and use flashes to get enough light. Yes, bokeh looks good, but does nothing for your customer if his products are out of focus. Aperture is a tool and is used according to the situation. You don’t shoot groups of people at f1.8.
Especially with a DSLR you will be more “in the zone” when looking through the viewfinder. Looking at the screen makes you look away from the scene. Your screen lies in regards to brightnes in a bright or dark room and it’s slower than the optical viewfinder. Again, it’s a tool, use it according to situation. If you can’t use the viewfinder because of a “disability”, then that’s fine, try working around it, don’t treat it as an easy excuse, use the screen if you must.
You can cook with a pan and a knife. You can also use a oven, a mixer and a cooking ladle. Lights and reflectors are tools as much as your camera and lens. Learning on- and off-camers flash is important, learning how light works and shapes your subject is crucial. Many use natural light in a artistic way, many more use it as an excuse to not learn flashes.
You can always do a one-man-show. But you can’t shoot a camera while holding the reflector for better light, repositioning the flash or moving your models dress around to a better position. Theres nothing wrong with doing a 1 one 1 session, out in the woods with natural light. Being a assistant to a better photographer gives you insight into workflows and behaviour, you can learn and help shape the photo and later you can profit from that. Having someone who helps and takes distracting work off your shoulders can help you focus on your actual shooting experience. Assistants are tools, use them accordingly.
I know what he means, and he has a point. The digital viewfinder has a slight delay in what it shows you. You might miss those crucial moments where the model smiles just right, just because your camera is behind by that 0.05s. I have this a lot with my DSLM and I can’t wait for these new delay-free systems that the Nikon z8/9 have to become more widespread. There are pros to DSLM cameras thou, like eye-detection autofocus and they show you exactly how your photo will look before shooting. With studio settings and flashes, your shooting experience with a optical DSLR viewfinder might actually be better. Cameras are tools, use them according to their strengths, work around their weaknesses.
(Edited for slightly better readability)