29 Sep 09 Guide to posing the female model
I have now worked with, and reviewed, several posing guides and they all do there job but now I want to direct your attention to the “Guide to posing the female model”
This guide has, like all the other guides, a lot of poses (1104 to be precise) BUT unlike all those other guides it is so easy to use on location.
Most of the guides you find are on DVD, CD, PDF and as a web page, and although they do the job it is not easy to take them with you on location and yes you can print most of them but you are hampered with a A4 ring binder which is not the handiest format.
This guide however fits in your photo bag or back pocket as it has a very handy format and is ring bound which makes it easy to use. You don’t have to remember the poses you want to use in the shoot and in communication with your model you can show what you want. For me this is the main attraction of this guide.
Being Dutch, and with that have a language barrier if it come to precise description of what I want I can discuss and show the model exactly the pose I want. As an extra benefit when the model sees the poses she comes up with others by herself.
The poses in the book are very useful and of great diversity,nicely grouped, and easy to convert to posing sequences the model can perform.
I use this now on every model or portrait shoot I do and it works!
The price of the guide is around $60 and is money well spent. The guide can be bought online at: http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/5858
With this guid on the market it would be good if the author creates simular guides for male, child and group modeling as I think that there is a market for that.
Happy shooting
Tags: female model, Freelance photography, modeling, photo model, pocket book, portfolio, portrait, posing, posing guide, wedding
02 Sep 09 NYIP
We have asked the New York Institute of Photography is we could review their course and waiting for their answer. We had more then 500 emails in the last year asking us about this Institute and if it is any good. From a first impression on their website it looks promising and that is why we took the step in free-up some resources for the next year or so to have an good review of it. That is if they allow us to run a review course.
Happy shooting
Tags: course, institute, NYIP, photography
29 Aug 09 Windows 7
Hi All,
I just upgraded my laptop to Windows 7 and wow. Its faster, and have more disk space left, start faster and what is better for me Photoshop is running faster. If you have the opportunity upgrade
Happy shooting
28 Aug 09 9 ways to improve your portraits
1 Shoot in natural light when possible.
Natural light is beautiful to shoot in for more then 1 reason. We have from nature only one light source, the sun, and feel that portraits taken with one light source, natural or studio, more pleasing then when we use multiple light sources light flashes and so on. The beauty, and difficulty, with natural light is that is changes, it is never the same and as a photography you must take advantage of this. Look at how the light models the face, how it creates shadows, and start thinking how you can use it.
2 Natural light over reflector, reflector over flash
This is the best advice I ever got and stand by it. Your first light source is natural light, use it! If the shadows are to deep or the light is harsh and the contrast high then use a reflector to lighten the darker shadows and only if you can solve it with a reflector use and , of camera, flash for the best results.
3 Use diffusion
Harsh midday sunlight is the worse light to photograph in. It shows every line and general makes you subject look older. Clouds on the other hand acts as a giant soft box and fold the light nicely around the face and hide those lines with soft shadows. If you are forced to shoot in full sunlight try to find some shadow to put your subject in. The first tree in a forest is perfect. The crown of the tree with its leave will filter the sunlight but you have enough light to shot with some speed. If you go deeper in the forest the reflecting light falls away. If this isn’t possible and you have no shadow available shot against the sun and use a reflector or flash to lighten the face which is now in the shadow.
4 Shoot with a low aperture
To let your subject stand-out against the background use a low aperture (F2.8 – F4). This created a shallow dept-of-field and you subject become a natural focal point of the image.
5 Use longer lenses
To enhance the shallow dept-of-field effect start using longer lenses in your photo shoots. I am using two lenses for my portrait work: My 90mm Macro F2.8 which is beautiful sharp even at F2.8 and creates a very nice dept-of-field and my Nikon zoom 80-200mm F2.8. The last one I use mostly at the 200mm setting in combination with F2.8 which creates beautiful portraits. You need some space to step back from your model and the directing of the poses is a bit more difficult but worth the effort.
6 Angles
Instead of shooting from eye-level start taking images from different angles, use a stepladder, lie on the ground, do whatever it takes to get something different. Not only will it set your portrait aside from the “point-and-shoot” approach it will make you discover that you can do more.
7 Direct your subject
Most beginning photographers find this the hardest bit of portrait photography, I know I thought it was a hard thing to do but if you leave it to the sitter you will get mostly the same boring picture. So you need to direct them for several reasons. You want the light to fall on their face so it brings the best out of it BUT not only their face, their body. Is the subject very slim, more filled and so. The way you pose them is the way it goes on the photo and the flattering you can do this the more sales you will get in the end.
8 Posing sheets
Create your own posing sheet with your favourite poses. If you struggle with ideas then there are many posing guides on the market as you can find in my blog. They are reasonable priced and very handy to create your own preferable sheet. I have 5 of them: female, male, child, couple and group and this works for me every time. The biggest advantage is that if you have a problem in telling your subject how to sit, stand or lie you can show them (I will write another article on how to use them next month).
9 Practise, Practise, Practise
Nothing is this world will improve your portrait photography as must as take pictures. If portrait photography is what you want to do then start taking a picture a day and if possible take it every day a bit different.
Happy shooting
Tags: model, natural light, photography, portrait, posing, posing guides, Theo van Stratum
13 Aug 09 The Posing Guide (2)
In my search for posing guides I came across the posing guide of the Film Photo Academy. Although their guide is based on nude photography it is the most useful guide for all sort of model photography I have came across (and I have seen many). Simon Walden is taken you through many series of posing which are organised as follows:
- Lying – Working on the floor
- Sofa – using a settee
- Top Down 1 – Using drapes
- Top Down 2 – Looking down
- Standing 1 – Long shot standing poses
- Standing 2 – Mid shot standing poses
- Headshots 1 – Waist upwards
- Headshots 2 – Close up headshots
- Sitting 1 – Sitting poses on the floor
- Sitting 2 – Close to sitting poses on the floor
- Sitting 3 – On a posing block
- Sitting 4 – Other posing block positions
- Chair – Poses using a chair as a prop
As you can see a lot of variation BUT what is so unique about this posing guide is, is that it allows the photographer and model to go in sequence from one pose to another and make the session painless, something I haven’t seen in all the other posing books in the market.
For a price of £9.50 you get all the poses in PDF format (so you can print them) in automatic sequence slideshows and manual slideshows. Those last slideshows are specially handy for models who want to learn those sequences and become models who can pose.
This is what Simon himself says about the guide:
For photographers
This guide has a collection of shows you can run through in several ways. The automaticguides page through the poses in sequence – from this you can see how your posing session can move from step to step – building on each pose as you go – giving you lots of styles of posing,
quickly but effectively. Watch these sequences and note how the model moves from one to another – often small moves make big differences.The manual guides let you page through each style of posing, one image at a time, you can take your time to examine how the pose works, what works well, what areas you need to be careful with and how you can translate it to your own working method.
By the end of this book you will have learnt new, time saving techniques for creating professional poses. You will know how to sequence a photographic set to make your model look their best – and give you control and professionalism in your posing.
For Models
Watch the automatic sequences – in particular note how the model is quickly moving from one pose to another, in this way you show your photographer client your many different looks. You will be more professional and more rewarding for the photographer.
As well as looking at the overall pose shape, look at how the details work, what shape are the hands, how are the feet posed, how is the tummy held and where are the hips supported. Use the manual guides to look more closely at the poses.
By the end of this guide you will have learnt new poses, and be able to offer a better and more professional service to your clients.
Tags: artistic nude, glamour, guide, model, model guide, nude, photography, portfolio, portrait, posing, Simon Walden, Studio
11 Aug 09 The Ultimate Posing Guide
The Problem
Portrait photographers of all skill levels know that subjects rely on their skills to pose them in comfortable and flattering positions that capture and reflect their personalities. While some photographers might find this easy, most photographers (from beginners to pros) struggle to find new pose ideas. This is a frustrating position for a photographer to be in. With a limited knowledge of poses, it is difficult to feel the confidence that the subjects are depending on. If you have ever felt this way, don’t worry – you’re not alone. And there’s finally hope!
The Solution
While it’s taken many photographers years and years to acquire a “cache” of pose ideas, you don’t have to wait. With The Ultimate Posing Guide you can have that same confidence now. This easy-to-use e-book is the most comprehensive posing guide available. There are over a thousand pictures of poses for all ages, and for a wide variety of groupings. All of the pictures are against a white background for easy viewing, and are black and white, so as to allow the pose to dominate the picture. In every category there are a wide variety of poses, from formal to casual, and everything in between. You can view all the pages on your computer for instant access, print out the entire book and carry it along with you, or just print out a few pages at a time. The Ultimate Posing Guide is simply the best solution for any portrait photographer looking to expand their pose idea options.
Tags: model, Photography Institute, portrait photography, posing, posing guide
11 Aug 09 HEAD TO SWITZERLAND AND REPORT ON THE RED BULL CLIFF DIVING SERIES!
05.09.09 / Sisikon, Switzerland
Red Bull Reporter is a nationwide search to find the best young music, culture, and sports journalists/filmmakers/photographers and presenters and give them a chance of a lifetime to use their skills and indulge their passions as a Red Bull Reporter.
The Red Bull Cliff Diving Series makes its seventh stop in Sisikon, Switzerland in September!
This international cliff diving contest invites only a select group of the world’s best divers to compete at the highest physical level pushing the limits of the sport in extraordinary locations!
Red Bull is looking for a reporter to head to Switzerland to capture the twists and pikes of the amazing divers, the breathtaking location and the all round excitement.
Red Bull’s own divers Orlando Duque (the world’s most famous high diver) and Joey Zuber will be competing for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series Crown and you can meet them!
To be considered for this exciting assignment, head to http://www.redbullreporter.com and keep uploading examples of your best photos. Tag your uploads ‘Cliff Diving’.
Check out www.redbullcliffdiving.com
Tags: Cliff Diving, Freelance photography, Red Bull, Reporter, Sisikon, Switzerland
11 Aug 09 Portrait Volume 3
As a follow-up on the previous article about “Learning from the professionals” I wanted to express the quality of the photographers on the DVD “Portrait Photography Volume 3″. As this is my own working field I felt that this would be nice fresh look about the possibilities of what you can do, get new ideas and business views. After watching the serie again it stroke me this was all true but there is more. I found that I got more and more motivated to try those new things and look at my business in an other way. Not only from watching the DVD but by visiting the featured photographers websites and see what they are doing in their work.
The following links will allow you to have a look at their work and see for yourself:
http://www.andrewcampbellphoto.com/
Andrew Campbell is a Chicago based photographer specializing in People, Editorial, Still Life, Medical and Marketing related photography.
http://www.expressionsphotos.com/home.shtml
An award winning photographer and proud mother of four, Sandy pours her passion into creating beautiful, timeless images. The accolades she has earned in the professional arena are just as important to her as the gratitude expressed by countless clients throughout the years.
http://www.junion.com/
One of my personal favourit portrait photographer. He not just take a picture but create composits
http://www.suzette.com.au/index2.htm
Suzette specializes in photographing children and is working for over 10 years in this field.
http://www.jeffhawkins.com/index.php
Jeff and Kathleen are proud to operate an International Award-Winning wedding and portrait photography studio in Orlando, Florida for the past 20 years. Together as a team, they are excited to be authors of 9 published photography books!
http://www.petersphotography.com
A London and Australian based portrait photographer. You must have a look at his work!
http://www.studioimpressions.com.au
http://www.vgallery.net/
See how Vicky created a total concept and brand.
http://www.photovisionvideo.com
And last but not least: Ed Pierce. Ed Pierce’s career in photography has spanned nearly three decades. As a photographer, Ed has earned or received a majority of the awards, accolades and degrees the industry has to offer including Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman. As an educator, Ed has appeared in over 800 venues nationally and internationally sharing his enthusiasm and passion for photography with over 100,000 professional photographers. For the past ten years his role as creator and producer of PhotoVision has allowed him a unique opportunity to travel to, visit with, and observe in action the “Best of the Best.”
Tags: Andrew Campbell, Ed Pierce, educational dvd, Jeff Hawkins, Marcus Bell, peters photography, photo vision, portrait artists, portrait photography, professional photography, Suzette, Theo van Stratum, vgallery, vikcy Taufer
03 Aug 09 exceptional learning experience
Learning from the professionals
There is a time in live for every photographer that he or she can do with for extra training, getting inspiration or just in need of some tips.
Ed Pierce’s has taken that need and transformed this into a unique approach. Not like a lot of photographers on the net by doing it all himself but by working with the best in the field and filming them in their work.
Photovision has created instruction DVDs on several subjects and I was lucky that they have sent me a portrait and wedding DVD (vol 3). I am by nature very sceptical of this kind of instructions as I think that instructions need to be given in “real-live” where you can ask questions and things can evolve during the session, but this is in a different league altogether.
When I got the DVDs a few days ago I started on the portrait volume, as this is a field I want to be in, started with disk 1. 10 hours later I stopped and had watched 6 of them in one session, I was blown away by the quality, work approach and business ideas I got from them.
The price for these DVD set are very low compared with others on the market, especially when you compare them with the quality of information given and shown. A set of 6 DVDs are at this moment $149. If we compared this with some of the others out there we see that 1 DVD on modelling cost around £35 ($50) and take that 6 time then we have £210 ($300) so it is a bargain really.
Visit https://www.photovisionvideo.com/store/CTGY/DVD/ for more information on this exceptional service.
Happy shooting
Tags: dvd, photo, photo DVD, PhotoVision, training
02 Aug 09 Photo shoot
Hi,
Yesterday I had my first shoot with a wanabe model, Emma Evans. The goal for both was to build on our portfolios. Emma had done some shoot but mostly indoors. We both wanted to do some outdoor shots.
Sarah, a friend who is a make-up artist, provided the make-up. Working in the UK means that we are alway depending on the weather and guess what: it was raining. Due to that we started with some inhouse shots in natural light.
Sitting on the stair and opening the frontdoor to let the light in resulted in the portrait. I used a Nikon D200, 50mm F1.8, handheld light meter and a reflector to bounce some light back on the face.
Face the light through the frontdoor.
After an half hour the rain stopped and we walked to the park around the corner to do some outdoor shots.
Due to the clouds a very soft light resulted in the very natural portrait.
For the outdoor shot I used me Nikon 70-200 f.28 lens at F4.
Below some other photos of the shoot.
Happy shooting
Tags: model, narural light, outdoor, portrait
