first paid shoot

[Corvphotography]

hey guys. so i am taking photos for a friend's girlfriend. She called me and said she wanted some pictures she could give to her family and also give to some modeling agencies to get her name out there. So im just wondering if anyone has any advice/suggestions before i go out and do this. I told her if we shoot during the day, to not wear anything white. I told her also to bring some black pants, jean pants/shorts, t shirt, cute spaghetti strap shirt and some high heels. I live in Virginia Beach, so i may do some board walk pics, laying on the sand pics, and then go downtown to shoot some city pics. On top of that, get some GREAT(hopefully) head shots.

I have a Canon rebel EOS w the 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lens. I just bought a canon speedlight 430 ex II and a reflector. Hook a brother up w any suggestions or anything i need to remember.

Thanks!

 

[bigtwinky]

have a look at images on flickr to get inspiration on poses. hard to give tips when we dont know the area.

be mindful of your background distractions
shoot at the end of the day, 2-3 hours from sunset until sunset or as long as your shutter stays good
have fun, keep things natural and simple
focus on her eyes
no white is ok i guess, but no patterns on the clothes, solid colours only

 

[Big Mike]

Give a thought to hair & makeup. It's certainly not necessary, but it can make a world of difference, which might help for her modeling aspirations.

You might even be able to find a hair dresser and/or make-up artist who will work for free, just to get some shots for their own portfolio.

 

[sam_justice]

Buy a sync lead for your flash, find a nice whitr wall and bounce the flash off of that to get a nice spread of light. Almost like a softbox.

 

[Taylor510ce]

You said "SHE CALLED", my first piece of advice would be to make sure that the boyfriend knows the situation and the style of shooting she wants to do.

I would recommend an umbrella, but you are going to need to weigh it down good if you are near the shore with the wind. If its outdoors, and in the daytime, you might find that the reflector is easier and more useful than using flash, especially when right on the beach. You may also want to get a reflector that can be translucent white ( if yours isn't one of those 5 in 1 deals ) because you can use it to diffuse any harsh sunlight by using it as a softbox for the sun.

 

[Corvphotography]

keep it coming guys....thanks a lot. She showed me someone else's photos that she said she liked and to me they were not that impressive. The photoshop was impressive. lol

 

[kundalini]

I told her also to bring some black pants, jean pants/shorts, t shirt, cute spaghetti strap shirt and some high heels.

For portraits, I would suggest against short sleeves, tank tops and especially cute spaghetti strap shirts. You want the focus to be on her face, not excessive skin elsewhere.

I have a Canon rebel EOS w the 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lens. I just bought a canon speedlight 430 ex II and a reflector. Hook a brother up w any suggestions or anything i need to remember.

Use the longer range of your zooms. Bring an assistant to hold the flash off camera and / or reflector. Bring along additional diffusion material. Shoot later in the day for less contrasty lighting. If not, find even shade (this does not include dappled lighting from underneath a tree) and use the reflector to highlight your model. Don't blow out your background, meter for the sky and let your flash light the model............ more will follow by others.

 

[KmH]

Buy a sync lead for your flash, find a nice whitr wall and bounce the flash off of that to get a nice spread of light. Almost like a softbox.

Yep, almost, but no cigar.

 

[bigtwinky]

I'm curious...what are you charging her?