Question by : What are some good photography tips for shooting outside portraits?
what is a good standard setting for shooting portraits outside?Ive tried many different settings on my camera even the preset ones and it seems like i cant get it right. ive tried the f/16 sunny rule and it still doesnt look right. It seems like whatever i try it always seems a bit blown out.
Best answer:
Answer by jeannie
You need to set your light meter to spot and meter on the face. Be very careful not to get ambient light – the camera will try to expose for that, blowing out the shot. You want to shoot portraits between ƒ11 and ƒ 5.6 – depending on the sharpness of the lens and the depth of field rendered. ƒ16 will render too much background in focus – to the detriment of the portrait.
Additionally, this is a good time to learn all about the flash. You set the flash one stop brighter than the ambient light and set the ƒ# to match the flash output and the shutter to match the ambient reading. The subject will pop out from the background.
Reflectors are also helpful. A big white board works just fine. Have a friend (or get a stand) hold the card so the light is reflected onto the shadow area of the face. Having the subject hold a card out of frame under the chin is useful too. Both of these techniques lessen the contrast between the subject and the background.
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