Take Great Outdoor Portraits | Tips and Tricks for Digital Photography

When most folks think of portrait  photography, they envision studio  lighting,  canvas  backdrops,   and  a  camera  perched upon  a tripod.  But many photographers don’t have access to lavish professional studios, and honestly, it’s not necessary for dynamite portraits.

All you really need is a willing subject, a decent  outdoor set- ting (preferably with trees), and your digital camera. Then you can be on your way to creating outstanding images.

First, start with the two magic rules for great outdoor por- traits are:

Get close.  The tighter you frame the shot,  the more impact it will have. Extend your zoom  lens and  move your feet to create more powerful images. Once you’ve moved in close, and  have shot  a  series of images,  get  closer and  shoot again.

Use fill flash.  Turning  on  the  flash  outdoors   is a  trick that wedding photographers have been using for years. If you really want to impress your subjects, position them in the open shade (such as under a tree) with a nice background in the distance.  Then turn on the fill flash and make sure you’re standing  within 10 feet (so the flash can reach the subject). Your shots will be beautiful.

Tips and Tricks for Digital Photography

Shooting and Sharing

By now you and your digital camera have become fast friends and  are working together  to make great images. But like the art of cooking, and life, there’s always more to learn. This chapter is more conversational than the previous two. The earlier sections of the book were designed for quick reference— to  use while standing  on the battlefield  of photography  and trying to survive. (“Quick, should I turn the flash on or off for my daughter’s outdoor birthday party?” Answer: Flash on.) But now the discussion becomes more free-flowing—like a con- versation between two photographers trying to decide the best approach  for a given situation. The topics in this chapter focus on both  shooting  and  sharing pictures—what good  is a great shot if you can’t get it in front of others? So, grab a fresh memory card, a charged set of batteries,  and prepare for the next stage of your journey.

Shooting Tips and Tricks— How Do I…

How do I…? That’s the question in photography, isn’t it? Most of the time you know what you want to do: capture  that  sun- set, take a pretty portrait,  preserve the memory of that  monu- ment. The trick is to make the camera see it the way you do. That’s what you’re going to learn here: the “how to” of pho- tography. Not every situation  is covered in this chapter,  but if you master  these  techniques,  there  won’t be  too  many pic- tures that get by your camera.

And when your friends mutter  out loud something like, “How do I shoot  that  object  inside the glass case?” You can reply, “Oh, that’s easy. Just put  the edge of the lens barrel against the glass to minimize reflections, then turn off the flash.”