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12-18-2014, 01:19 AM   #1
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Track Athlete Model Photoshoot

I have been covering most of the track and field athletics meetings for our provincial athletics federation (KZN Athletics Federation) for more than a year now - you can check out my photo blog at KZNA Photos by Neville Bailey | This blog is dedicated to all the KZN athletes – enjoy, share and please give feedback!.

One of the participating clubs has asked me to do a photoshoot of their club kit, modelled by three of their female athletes and three of their male athletes. It will be an outdoor shoot on Saturday morning at 8.30am, either at the local athletics stadium or on the beach. The weather forecast for Saturday is 90% chance of rain with overcast conditions.

My camera kit consists of:
  • Pentax K-5II
  • 50mm F/1.7 prime lens
  • 300mm F/4.5 prime lens
  • 18-135mm WR kit lens
  • 55-300mm lens

I do not have any studio/portrait equipment, such as external flash units, umbrellas, etc, so I am very "unprofessional" in that sense!

The club insists on using me (I am not charging for the photoshoot) as they love my action shots, but this is something quite new to me, so I am a bit nervous...

Any tips and tricks that I can use, taking into account my limited equipment and the possible weather conditions?

12-18-2014, 02:55 AM   #2
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The only thing , the only advice .. Do you have a laptop ?
The only issue would be light !
Light is so important ..


So I would do some test shots , and see how the light is !
In fact go to youtube , there are quite a few good videos on shooting models in natural light ...
12-18-2014, 03:33 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Neville Quote
I have been covering most of the track and field athletics meetings for our provincial athletics federation (KZN Athletics Federation) for more than a year now - you can check out my photo blog at KZNA Photos by Neville Bailey | This blog is dedicated to all the KZN athletes – enjoy, share and please give feedback!.

One of the participating clubs has asked me to do a photoshoot of their club kit, modelled by three of their female athletes and three of their male athletes. It will be an outdoor shoot on Saturday morning at 8.30am, either at the local athletics stadium or on the beach. The weather forecast for Saturday is 90% chance of rain with overcast conditions.

My camera kit consists of:
  • Pentax K-5II
  • 50mm F/1.7 prime lens
  • 300mm F/4.5 prime lens
  • 18-135mm WR kit lens
  • 55-300mm lens

I do not have any studio/portrait equipment, such as external flash units, umbrellas, etc, so I am very "unprofessional" in that sense!

The club insists on using me (I am not charging for the photoshoot) as they love my action shots, but this is something quite new to me, so I am a bit nervous...

Any tips and tricks that I can use, taking into account my limited equipment and the possible weather conditions?
I would suggest taking nearly all your shots with the 50mm lens.

If you can buy one of those 5 in 1 reflector kits before the shoot that would be very helpful. Some fill in flash with your pop up flash might also help if conditions are very overcast. You might also have some big windows available to use as reflectors for some of the shots. Other shots could include the track to emphasize the subject matter.

Never, ever, photograph people's legs from eye level (ie: with you and the subject standing up) if they are wearing shorts. "Lovely legs" shots, regardless of the gender of the subject, require you to be shooting from their waist height and not up too close. 50mm is a very good focal length for that.

Fashion photographers often focus on their models clothes to the detriment of decent focus on their faces. I'm not keen on that. I think any photo where you can clearly see the subject's face should have her/his eyes in sharp focus and the rest of her/ his face in good focus. You will need to use single point auto focus for that. The auto- auto focus setting is a no no for portrait photography.

For getting your subjects exposed well, manual settings usually beat all the others. Point metering beats centre-weighted or full frame metering. Set your ISO, then adjust your shutter speed and aperture until the meter is telling you that you are two to three squares over "correct" exposure for Caucasian subjects and around "correct" exposure for African/ South Asian subjects. Metering off your subjects' foreheads is usually best. Changing orientation relative to your light source/ sources obviously means you need to re-meter.

If you are taking head and shoulder shots with your 50mm lens, avoid trying to fill the frame at shooting time. Leave some space with your shots, then crop in closer in post processing.

Above all, enjoy yourself and take plenty of shots and you are sure to get plenty that everyone likes. : )
12-18-2014, 06:00 AM   #4
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Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Billk Quote
If you can buy one of those 5 in 1 reflector kits before the shoot that would be very helpful.
Thank you for your suggestion - I have just gone out and bought a 5 in 1 reflector kit! Now to figure out how to use it...

Thanks you for all the other helpful tips - it is much appreciated!

12-18-2014, 08:45 AM - 1 Like   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Neville Quote
I have been covering most of the track and field athletics meetings for our provincial athletics federation (KZN Athletics Federation) for more than a year now - you can check out my photo blog at KZNA Photos by Neville Bailey | This blog is dedicated to all the KZN athletes – enjoy, share and please give feedback!.

One of the participating clubs has asked me to do a photoshoot of their club kit, modelled by three of their female athletes and three of their male athletes. It will be an outdoor shoot on Saturday morning at 8.30am, either at the local athletics stadium or on the beach. The weather forecast for Saturday is 90% chance of rain with overcast conditions.

My camera kit consists of:
  • Pentax K-5II
  • 50mm F/1.7 prime lens
  • 300mm F/4.5 prime lens
  • 18-135mm WR kit lens
  • 55-300mm lens

I do not have any studio/portrait equipment, such as external flash units, umbrellas, etc, so I am very "unprofessional" in that sense!

The club insists on using me (I am not charging for the photoshoot) as they love my action shots, but this is something quite new to me, so I am a bit nervous...

Any tips and tricks that I can use, taking into account my limited equipment and the possible weather conditions?
As far as technique for outdoor shoots, you are in luck because you have some light to work with. Reflector will be helpful but eventually you need to invest in some lights. Make sure the subject is facing the light source. Try to avoid backlit situations, shadows are hard to compensate for and easy thing to avoid.

I used to own lots of studio gear with remote triggers, soft boxes and the works. I got tired of logging around all that gear so I decided to get rid of all AC powered lights in favor of portable on-camera type flashes. I have a few of them with remote triggers. If you want the ultimate pro look, you need to get yourself some lights. Going with portable flash light will not be too costly. Besides, they serve the dual purpose of being on camera and off camera lights. Get yourself a few white umbrellas too. they are super cheap and give you that "high end studio" look.

You already have pro quality camera and lenses, why not go the extra mile and add a few relatively cheap lights and take you photography into the next level.

Another friendly advice. I know you are thrilled that they ask you to photograph them but at some point you have to charge. Did you get your gear for free? or your computer or the software.... you get my drift. I am afraid it might be a little late but you can try. My past experience has taught me that the more you charge, the more the "client" respects you and your work. Your work is good enough to command some dollars however small.
12-18-2014, 10:55 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by btnapa Quote
Another friendly advice. I know you are thrilled that they ask you to photograph them but at some point you have to charge. Did you get your gear for free? or your computer or the software.... you get my drift. I am afraid it might be a little late but you can try. My past experience has taught me that the more you charge, the more the "client" respects you and your work. Your work is good enough to command some dollars however small.
This. 100 times. Even it's just a token like a $50 gift card or something it makes both parties respect the time and effort involved.

A flash will help for but you should be able to get some nice shots with just a reflector. Put the sun at the subject's 1-2 o'clock and the reflector at the subject's 10 o'clock (give or take a half hour). Have an assistant position the reflector so that it softens some of the strong shadows that the sun is casting and vary the reflector's distance to the subject to control strength. If you are taking full body shots or group shots it will be harder because the reflector will start to feel too small for the task, and that's where strobes come in handy.

Best of luck!
12-18-2014, 11:57 AM - 1 Like   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by johnmflores Quote
This. 100 times. Even it's just a token like a $50 gift card or something it makes both parties respect the time and effort involved.

A flash will help for but you should be able to get some nice shots with just a reflector. Put the sun at the subject's 1-2 o'clock and the reflector at the subject's 10 o'clock (give or take a half hour). Have an assistant position the reflector so that it softens some of the strong shadows that the sun is casting and vary the reflector's distance to the subject to control strength. If you are taking full body shots or group shots it will be harder because the reflector will start to feel too small for the task, and that's where strobes come in handy.

Best of luck!
+1

One more voice that portraiture requires knowing how to use light. There might be some excellent natural light (or only natural light/reflector) portraits out there, but many of the best control their light a lot.

Here are two quick examples, both are sports portraits. The first is by a good sports photographer (i.e. not a portrait photographer) who has good gear but no lights. The second is by me with 3 controlled flashes. Mine could have used another flash. Portrait photography is a difficult genre IMO, and the top portraitists are worth their cost.
His:


Mine:


12-18-2014, 04:40 PM   #8
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Great examples, Carpents!

It's going to be hard on an overcast day to avoid the effect of photo one without flash - that lack of contrast.

Inside, you can always go to a window, but at the beach or running track ...
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