# TIPS NEEDED! outdoor winter portraits-KIDS



## sinjans (Dec 11, 2009)

I have a shoot tomorrow afternoon. (keep in mind that it gets dark here at 4:00 this time of year) It's going to be a cloudy day with sunny breaks. There is snow on the ground. The kids will be wearing black coats with red scarves i think. I will mount my 580ex for use when necessary, but i think most of these shots will be from a distance, with some close portraits. Unfortunately i dont have quality glass yet and will be using my 18-200IS. Any exposure/white balancing tips, aperature or pose suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Any other tips or experiences are also value added. Thanks in advance


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## Inst!nct (Dec 11, 2009)

> When you make photos of something very bright like snow, it's usually best to use a bit of exposure compensation to the + side, for example +1/2 or +1.
> 
> This works because of the following: Your camera's light metering system is calibrated to the brightness of average gray ("18% gray"). That means that in evaluative metering mode, the camera will determine the exposure so that the average brightness of the whole image is 18% gray. Snow is brighter than 18% gray, so if you let the camera decide without exposure compensation, it will tend to make the snow too dark (gray) instead of white. By setting exposure compensation to +1/2 or +1, you deliberately overexpose a little bit, so that the snow becomes white.
> 
> ...



anddd



> One of the reasons it's difficult to shoot snow scenes is the large range of exposure values. The snow is quite bright and there may be parts of the scene in deep shadow (like people's faces).
> 
> Your eyes can accomodate this dynamic range, but the camera can only handle 5 or 6 stops. Without resorting techniques like blending in Photoshop or using graduated ND filters, it'll be a compromise at best.
> 
> The advice given above is very sound. Use the histogram to check your exposure and keep it as right as possible without blowing highlights.


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## indeedies (Dec 11, 2009)

That about sums it up Instinct


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## sinjans (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks Instinct. This is a free shoot but i want to do a good job. What do you think on using flash to brighten up those slightly underexposed areas?


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## BoxPhotographer (Dec 11, 2009)

When outside in the cold, bring extra batteries.


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## GeneralBenson (Dec 11, 2009)

BoxPhotographer said:


> When outside in the cold, bring extra batteries.



:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## IgsEMT (Dec 12, 2009)

> What do you think on using flash to brighten up those slightly underexposed areas?


I'm a flash user 99% of the time. In doors or outdoors, still use it. It adds a bit of flavor to my images, they aren't flat by natural light and flash accents the subjects. Many others will disagree, but that's my style


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## indeedies (Dec 12, 2009)

Curious to hear/see how the shoot went...


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## sinjans (Dec 12, 2009)

Well thanks again folks. We had a sudden stormy day so far so we had to postpone 
I am still absorbing all of your comments and will repost as soon as we get a good day. cheers


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## Shockey (Dec 12, 2009)

Almost always use some form of fill flash at least for outdoor pictures.
Set your blinkies to go off and ride your exposure compensation dial to keep your exposures at a point where they are not quite going off, makes it very simple to get the best brightest exposure you can.
Of course sometimes the sky or background will blow out to get a decent exposure on your subject and that is fine.


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## RPetterson (Dec 12, 2009)

thank you for this info! It was alot of help for me and I didn't even post the question lol


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## sinjans (Dec 13, 2009)

Today is the day. Yesterday threw amazing light my way after all, however i was committed  to driving my father to costco while the sun broke through the dark clouds. Very disappointing. 

Thinking about setup. I will be positioning these children just below a bridge next to some trees. aiming for a longer than average exposure to smooth the water falls in the background. I did this with the inlaws a few years back and it worked wonders, however i am now using children and being 30-40 feet away accros a small duck pond with snow on the ground and  i'm wondering if i am aiming too high here. I'm really aching for a St-e2 transmitter and a 70-200 2.8L today. Some day i guess. 

Any other tips and techniques will be appreciated. 
Also if i get blown out exposures today i was thinking on using a ND4 filter. Any advice on using these with portraits? Assuming i can get the kids to stand still


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## sinjans (Dec 13, 2009)

Also i plan on using f3.5-5.6. Would anyone advise on a smaller aperature?


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## GeneralBenson (Dec 13, 2009)

IgsEMT said:


> > What do you think on using flash to brighten up those slightly underexposed areas?
> 
> 
> I'm a flash user 99% of the time. In doors or outdoors, still use it. It adds a bit of flavor to my images, they aren't flat by natural light and flash accents the subjects. Many others will disagree, but that's my style



Very often when trying to use fill flash with subject on snow, the snow in the foreground will be blown out by the flash.  If the flash is powerful enough to rech the subjects, they it will likely blow out the foreground snow, or at leat help it get there.  Also, you're going to have a nightmare with kids in black coats on white snow.  Not a good idea.  It's hard enough to control snow from going pure white, without also trying to control black from going pure dark.  I would suggest that you/they rethink their outfits.  Midtones would work well, since you can let them record a little darker to help keep the snow in, and then pull them back out a little in post.


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## sinjans (Dec 13, 2009)

Crap!

Yeah after thinking about it i agree with you. Ill see if we can change the wardrobe before its too late. thanks Benson


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## Inst!nct (Dec 15, 2009)

so howd it go!


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## sinjans (Dec 16, 2009)

Im still processing them. The family was late showing up and i lost all of the days best light. White balancing was a definite issue. one that i will be working on soon. I had to settle for close portraits using flash and available outdoor christmas lights. I only had about 30 minutes with them as the children got pretty cold and cranky. I managed a hand full of decent shots. Decent to the family at least. Im not very happy with them. I will post as soon as i finish PP. Thanks for asking. Cheers


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## sinjans (Dec 20, 2009)

Here is another one. Feedback please because I have not released these to the mother yet

I tried warming this one up a bit. the skintones dont look right to me. She's up against a pole with christmas lights wrapped around it so white balancing was a pain. If anyone can help me out it would be great. If you want to edit yourself to show me what you did then permission is granted to edit this set. Thanks in advance.


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## sinjans (Dec 20, 2009)

Another


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## sinjans (Dec 20, 2009)

bump


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## Inst!nct (Dec 20, 2009)

i like the third one, but my main problem is the white balance seems off, and they dont look happy :/


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## sinjans (Dec 20, 2009)

LOL I agree with the WB. And they were NOT happy. It was getting dark, -7celcius and windy. i have a few more but i am looking for some help with the white balance. I have made some changes using lightroom but it is not working out. Is there anyone here who could change the WB for me and show me what is right? you have my permission to EDIT this set. Thanks Instinct


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## lissike (Jan 4, 2010)

tomorrow I will have a shoot as well and I was googleing tips how to photograph outdoors. Usually I take pictures inside studio and in summer I have taken pictures outdoors. But I did some pics and here are 2  I did:  

4 « My favourite waste of time
and another here:
http://lissike.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/2.jpg

i have purposely photoshopped them to be little darker
Sry, the blog is in estonian, but anyway you can see the pic.
Liis


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## sinjans (Jan 4, 2010)

Im contemplating on an ND filter for the next try. I find it hard not to blow out the snow.

here are a few more taken of my fiance before i bought my 17-40L. I have to get closer now but they will be sharp from now on. Soon i will have the beast=70-2002.8IS


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## sinjans (Jan 4, 2010)

lissike said:


> tomorrow I will have a shoot as well and I was googleing tips how to photograph outdoors. Usually I take pictures inside studio and in summer I have taken pictures outdoors. But I did some pics and here are 2 I did:
> 
> 4 « My favourite waste of time
> and another here:
> ...


 
I like the eyes on the second one


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## lissike (Jan 4, 2010)

sinjans said:


> Im contemplating on an ND filter for the next try. I find it hard not to blow out the snow.
> 
> here are a few more taken of my fiance before i bought my 17-40L. I have to get closer now but they will be sharp from now on. Soon i will have the beast=70-2002.8IS




these portraits are nice. What aperture did You use? And shutter speed?


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## sinjans (Jan 5, 2010)

# 1
1/60 atf5.6 ISO 160 with bounced flash

#2
1/250 at 5.6 ISO 1600  
Thanks


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## JenLavazza (Jan 5, 2010)

I'm definitely no pro....but here is my best effort and my two cents. It was fun  playing with them!! They're very cute photos!






Was  this photo cropped? I personally would crop it a bit more to the Left. That way  there isnt as much of the pole next to her. Just my opinion  though....






The  third one is cute and I think it would look nice with a black and white  processing.

Hope these help. Let me know if you have any questions.


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## lissike (Jan 7, 2010)

sinjans said:


> Jeeze man. Send me those would ya (markbailey@gov.nl.ca) ? I like the BW rendition. Thanks



I like the wintery look :thumbup:
I did some photoshoot as well 2 days ago, I havent fixed the skin, I should, because the childs face were red and spotty because of cold.
But U live U learn yeah 

http://lissike.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/42.jpg
http://lissike.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/imgp1209.jpg
IMGP1264 « My favourite waste of time
http://lissike.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/1.jpg


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