as naturally as you breathe
you light as naturally as you breathe
if you just starting (or thinking) to learn portraiture, in my opinion, its a sin to "talk" about light. you should spend your time trying to learn to how "see" it instead. why? because at some stage in your learning curve, you will be able to light as naturally as you breathe. the question is when?
light is physics. its nothing special nor mystical about it. so please, do not lose sleep over it because trust me, the most effective way to light is to use your common sense.
here you go, lighting 101 for noobs in approximately 110 words.
canon dlsr white papers pdf
canon white papers via canon digital learning center | usa.canon.com
possible this may be old news & maybe not - if you are a canon dlsr owner and would like to know more about your camera beyond reading your manual, these white papers may be quite handy (click on the image to go to the download site). contents in these pdf include descriptions of the technology included in these specific camera bodies, what can they do and its specs. however, its not a "how to" paper. at times the impression i get from reading it - a glorified sales brochure.
what canon meant by "these white papers are traditionaly created for product marketing" is usually when its a global product sold to region specific areas, at times the local marketing department would need to "localised" contents of their product offerings to enable their sales team to train local staffs and distrubutors.
however, its very handy to look for additional information of your camera body. why will it benefitial for hobbyist/enthusiast? (from a portraiture genre point of view) reason being, you often self discover your camera's offerings and limitations which eventually "mold" the way you want to produce your images. information like these gives you the peace of mind you that the images you shoot is the way you want it (give you the sense of you are in control). saves you time from worrying or have doubts while you are on shoot. the amount of time saved from your doubts can be use effectively on your creativity.
when opportunities arise, thats how you take the fullest advantage of your camera. it is just a tool in your creativity process. you are the one, who makes the difference.
choosing tripod and heads
this entry is meant for hobbyist who is into portraiture of all levels, in terms of skill sets. key "takeaways" from this entry is to enable you to make an informed decision to purchase a suitable tripod and heads, based on existing gears you have or might plan to buy. saves you time (because you know where to start to look) and monies (minimised the "uh oh" moments of buying unsuitable gears to match your needs).
manfrotto interactive camera support system configurator | click on image to view site
over at manfrotto's website, they have this system configurator for camera support which, in my opinion, handy and informative, for you to find out what type of camera support that may suit your needs.
weight calculator menu
what i really like about this configurator, its well designed. one of the data you need to provide is the weight of your existing gears. if you do not know the exact weight of it, there is a menu where you can choose from. however, another question that comes in mind is - what if you use more than 1 camera body? what i'll do is to choose the heaviest camera (in terms of weight) and the heaviest lens (in terms of weight), so i'll know that whichever tripod and head i choose will support the other camera and lens combo that i have. for example, if i have a canon 5D MK II, 1D MK II, EF 50mm f1.8 MK II and EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM, i'll use the weight of 1D MK II and EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM as my weight reference. what if the camera body is not in the list? 5D MK II is not in the list and the list of camera bodies did not take into consideration of external battery grips. if this is the case, make an educated guess =)
manfrotto system configrator
once you determine the weight of your camera, the image above is a screenshot is the menu you will encounter. from the left top screen, your camera weight. in "camera use", choose the usage of your system - in this example i chose portrait. in "camera type" - choose the type of camera you use. i chose "professional dlsr". as result of what you choose in the top screen, the system will then suggest to which tripods and heads that may suit your needs. i chose a 3way head with a carbob fibre lightweight tripod. if the combo is suitable, on the bottom left of the screen, it would highlight as "balance system" and there is a link to click on to find out why.
- product description
the screenshot above is the product description of the items selected with their combined technical facts. this will enable you to make an informed decision on your next purchase.
gitzo configurator
with the information you gather from the manfrotto's site, you can use it to choose camera support gears from other manufacturer, like gitzo. although manufacturers would love you to use everything that they have, but in reality, we always mix and match.
in summary, depending of what level you are currently in, do you really need a suitable tripod and heads? in my opinion, for portraiture, there will be a stage in your journey where you will need it. it will become an essential item and its to your advantage to help you achieve what you want, visually.
beauty shots references via M magazine [free pdf download]
click on the image for M magazine pdf download page | makeupstore.se
this note is meant for hobbyist who is into portraiture of all levels, in terms of skill sets.
this is for your reference, a part of what you might want to know or persue, not absolute. please note the word "might" because you, as a (noobie / semi noobie / serious ) hobbyist, you have a choice on what you want to persue - no one can dictate what you do.
with choices, you will make decisions, and decisions are often made with your judgement and/or experience. what you can takeaway from this entry - a reference point to add or for you to start to accumulate in your photographic journey.
when you have the interest of shooting beauty shots, you now have the basic knowledge to help you understand the needs of a makeup artist to build and/or strengthen his/her portfolio. the benefits of these pdfs, you could see a variety of makeups, how they shot and/or crop shots and how they present it to their viewers. that does not mean you have to follow exactly how the images were shot - it gives opportunties to nuture your creativity and might inspire you on how to shoot your own images. by then, you'll know what is acceptable, what not and what can be push to the edge. it could also help you to level expectations, in terms of what you could do now and what you could not do, yet.
when you collaborate or work with a makeup artist (which you eventually will), you will know how to communicate effectively on what type of look you previsualised for your set. makeup artist is the same as your model/s and your assistants (yes, when you are a serious hobbyist, you will eventualy work with a crew too) - they do not know how to read minds. one of the common pitfalls with many hobbyist i observed, failure to communicate what they want and/or know what they want. this is understable, how could one communicate something that one dont even have a grasp of? i can relate to this as i am speaking from experience. i have my fair share of fuckups shooting beauty shots.
if one is exposed to such materials or know where to source for it at an early stage of one's photographic journey, i believe it will strengthen one's know how in later stages. someone told me this before - fear, is often what you do not know.
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