Beginners Guide to Outdoor Portraits by James Neale Photography

With summer only just around the corner (hopefully) I though that I would put together my top 10 tips on outdoor portrait photography.

 Light

Harsh sunlight will ruin a image. It will cause harsh shadows to the face, make the nose and chin look bigger and make the eyes look like big black holes. We need softer light, so if you are struggling with shadows move your subject into the shade.

 Depth of Field

Most portraits we want to use a shallow depth of field to blur out backgrounds and make the subject stand out more in the image. A nice close crop combined with a wide open aperture (low f number) will give you a lovely blurred background and a professional feel to the image.

 Focus

When we are dealing with a shallow depth of field we need to make sure that we are focusing on the eye. If any of you use a 50mm f1.8 lens you will have to be very careful that you don't blur out the wrong part of the image. Focus on the tip of the nose and the eyes might not be as sharp as you would have hoped.

 Pose

Remember an awkward pose will ruin the shot. Keep things simple. Make sure that their shoulders are relaxed, their elbows, wrists and fingers are all bent.

 Background

When we are trying to create a simple yet effective portrait, we need to make sure our backgrounds are nice and neutral. you don't want anything to colourful or cluttered as they will become a distraction and draw attention away from the subject.

 Flash

If you are struggling for light, or the light is very harsh and causing many shadows you may want to add some fill flash to the image. Fill flash will add light on to the subject and fill in all those nasty shadows

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Guide to Snow Photography

With winter setting in I though it would be a good idea to make this months guide all about getting the most from your camera when photographing in the snow.

Snow can make for some great images, although it can also cause a number of problems too. 

Follow this guide and you should be able to head out and capture some amazing winter images.

First things first - Wrap up warm

Seems a simple thing really but make sure you really wrap up warm. Thick socks and walking boots will help keep your feet warm. If you start feeling cold chances are you wont stay out very long and could miss some amazing shots. 

Keeping the camera dry

You can do this by investing in some waterproof covers for your gear, or by simply wrapping it up in a bin liner DIY style.

Make sure you have a lens hood fitted to the lens to keep any water droplets from getting on the glass.

If you take the camera out of a warm house or car, you will need to give it a few minutes to acclimatise to the cold, otherwise you will see the lens mist up.

Head out early

The best time to head out is first thing, or straight after a a fresh load of snow has fell. If you leave it to late you will find that many people may have walked on it.

Exposure

Snow can play havoc with the cameras metering systems and so your lovely white snow pictures can turn out very dull and grey. We need to use the exposure compensation feature of our camera and key in a +1 or +1.5 to make the camera correctly expose the scene in front of us.

If your camera hasn't got this feature, check to see if it has a Snow Scene Mode as this will do it for you.

Composition 

Because there isn't going to be much colour in our snow pictures, we need to rely on leading lines, contrast and texture to make our images stand out. Why not try some black and white images too.

Charge your batteries

Camera batteries will die very quickly in the cold, so make sure they are fully charged before you head out.

If you have a spare, make sure this is also fully charged.

If you would like to learn more about your camera. Why not check out the range of photography workshops that I provide. www.jamesnealephotography.com