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Channel: Portraits – SPEEDLIGHTER.CA
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The best camera…

…it is often said, is the camera you have on you. But you need to use it well. I shall share with you an example of an iPhone picture I took, to illustrate this. To do an iPhone picture is easy. But to...

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Glasses are not a problem

In a shot with glasses, avoid reflections – and it is easy. Move the lights (umbrellas, softboxes, whatever you use) 45 degrees to the subject’s side, and 45 degrees up. If you see a reflection, like...

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Forbidden word

A forbidden word when doing portraits, especially of men: “SMILE!”. I say that for two reasons. First, you do not necessarily need a smile in every portrait. Art portraits, glamour: fashion,...

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Angle

A word about a very important aspect of people photography: angle. When I make a portrait, one of my main tasks is to find the right angle. People have flattering angles, and less flattering angles....

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QTOTD: Music

Or “Quick Tip Of The Day”: I am setting up for a portrait shoot, and his reminds me to mention to you the following quick tip: Always have some music on the in the background when shooting a portrait....

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Look in my eyes

..or, do not! What I mean is this: for a character portrait, you do not necessarily need eye contact. In fact, often, there is more of a story – more intrigue, more for viewers to work out for...

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Not too shallow

I hear people say sometimes that “you cannot shoot portraits at wide open apertures”. So then how this available light portrait, shot on a full frame camera with a 50mm lens at f/1.2 (yes, f/1.2!)?...

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A simple chiaroscuro portrait or two

In the last few days I took two people’s portraits using just one off camera flash. Here’s Michelle and Adnan, respectively: How did I take those? First, I set the camera so that the ambient light...

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Faceless faces

Here’s an exercise for you. Capture expressions without visible faces. Huh? How? Is that even possible? Yes. Look at this silhouette from Monday’s class at Sheridan College: Now let’s make it slightly...

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Kids

When shooting kids, it is important to shoot a lot of different ways, to see what will work. Take a lot, and see what works, then refine that. Best to use simple studio lighting. I try to engage the...

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More than looking pretty

When I photograph people, there is often a conflict involved. There usually is, I might even say. Why? Because I want to show the person’s character. Their inside; their conflicts;perhaps, their deep...

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The Thinning Lens

As a photographer, I photograph a lot of people who are reluctant. Usually, they are reluctant because they do not like their looks. They want to be Jennifer Aniston, and in their mind they are...

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Reflect on this

When you make a portrait using standard “studio settings” (i.e. you have the ambient light do nothing; and to achieve this you use f/8 at 1/125th sec at 100 ISO), and you use one flash, modified with...

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A simple, but effective, trick

A simple trick, used by photographers the world over, is this. Can you see what we did in this shot from two days ago, a portrait of Liz Medori? Yup, we used a fan. A simple cheap fan; I usually use an...

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Fit for purpose

Portraits need to be fit for purpose. Take this picture. A résumé picture: I have shot this model clothed, nude, in studios, outdoors, traveling: every picture is different. A resume picture needs to...

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Gelling!

In yesterday’s shoot with Vanessa Scott in Timmins, Ontario, I used gels to recreate the sunlight that was fast fading below the hills. All shot with Canon’s amazing 85mm f/1.2 len. (1/200th, f/4,...

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A small, important detail

The catch light in someone’s eyes are essential: no catch lights, no portrait. And that catch light needs to be not in the centre, as when you use a pop-up flash (can you spell “deer in the...

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Big News!

OAKVILLE, 24 November 2014—After many months of preparation, Michael Willems has tonight released his sixth and latest e-book, “Powerful Portrait Photography: Making Portraits That Tell 1001 Words”....

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A simple chiaroscuro portrait or two

In the last few days I took two people’s portraits using just one off camera flash. Here’s Michelle and Adnan, respectively: How did I take those? First, I set the camera so that the ambient light...

View Article

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“My first… etc”

I very often hear people who are a little ahead of themselves. They do paid portrait shoots before learning how to focus, that sort of thing. They do not want to learn formally, for instance from a...

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