I have never had much opportunity to play around with portrait photography. I managed to talk my daughter and wife into sitting for me. My daughter said "Dad you get 2 picture then I am out of here". She was true to her word - ha ha. My wife was a bit easier. I bribed her with a nice glass of wine and the opportunity for a chat. I decided to use natural light for the shots.


I placed my daughter next to a window in our eating area. The afternoon light (3:30) illuminated her right side. I used a home made reflector to fill in the non illuminate left side of her face. (reflector made from crumpled aluminum foil, re-flattened, secured to a piece of cardboard, approx 12x14)






I seated my wife in the same location. It was late afternoon (4:30) and the light had acquired a much warmer tone. I decided to try something a bit different. I grabbed some wax paper and taped it to the window to serve as a diffuser, leaving only the center area unaffected. Once again I used my home made reflector to fill in the non illuminated side.

[Gooshin]

holy cracker jack thats detail!!

lens/tripod? what were your settings?

[rormeister]

WOW! The second image proves beyond any doubt that light plays a huge role in the overall composition. Perfect framing, the pose looks truly professional. Even your 'make do' reflectors worked very well. Can you divulge your lens selection? Overall I must say, give up your day job!

[Neisey]

Wonderful photos!

I read somewhere recently about a really cheap reflector that you might be able to find at a local dollar store - they are those fold out sun reflectors that you put in your windshield.

[codiac2600]

Simply wonderful!

You nailed these shots better than most could have and I would not be able to pull these out from a stack of professional ones except for the fact they may be better!

Lighting is spot on in the first shot just IMO it needs a levels adjustment to brighten it up, but I am on a laptop right now so someone with a calibratd monitor may want to check that for me.

The second one has a superb mood and feel to it and again the lighting is spot on.

Thank you for sharing and maybe you should sit down with the wife and talk about your ext few purchases cause you may need a basement studio.

[spyglass]

Thanks for the encouragement (Gooshin, Rormeister, Neisey). I used my favorite lens. It is a Pentax 50mm F 1:1.2 (I believe it was / is the fastest lens Pentax made. I love the shallow depth of field it brings to the table. It is much sharper opened up than one would think. I find that a 50mm lens today used on a DSLR is like a 75mm used on a 35 film camera (75mm – 135mm being the range for portrait lens, or so I was always told). I am definitely a tripod fan. I did use one (to help free my hands up to work the reflector. I find that you need to really explore with the reflector to find where it works, the closer to the subject the higher the illumination, the angle can play up big too, etc. I have made several reflectors ranging from various white paper (gloss, matt, etc), old projector screen, to aluminum foil. I seem to get good results from the crinkled foil. It is quick & inexpensive to make, works well so far. I carry a small one about the size of a deck of cards for flower shots. I like to use my jacket, or a diffuser to block the strong light out and then “pop” the center of attention (flower) to life with the reflected light. This can be subtle of dramatic.
Thank you codiac2600 for the kind words, I am a big admirer of your portrait work, you definitely set the bar for portrait work on this site.

Pentax *ist DL
Pentax 50mm F 1:1.2
Manfroto 455 Tripod
Manfroto 229 Head
Reflector by Renolds / Alcan – ha ha

Spyglass

[MikeW]

Let me add to the praise. These are both wonderful, although I really like #2.

[codiac2600]

Thanks for the encouragement (Gooshin, Rormeister, Neisey). I used my favorite lens. It is a Pentax 50mm F 1:1.2 (I believe it was / is the fastest lens Pentax made. I love the shallow depth of field it brings to the table. It is much sharper opened up than one would think. I find that a 50mm lens today used on a DSLR is like a 75mm used on a 35 film camera (75mm – 135mm being the range for portrait lens, or so I was always told). I am definitely a tripod fan. I did use one (to help free my hands up to work the reflector. I find that you need to really explore with the reflector to find where it works, the closer to the subject the higher the illumination, the angle can play up big too, etc. I have made several reflectors ranging from various white paper (gloss, matt, etc), old projector screen, to aluminum foil. I seem to get good results from the crinkled foil. It is quick & inexpensive to make, works well so far. I carry a small one about the size of a deck of cards for flower shots. I like to use my jacket, or a diffuser to block the strong light out and then “pop” the center of attention (flower) to life with the reflected light. This can be subtle of dramatic.
Thank you codiac2600 for the kind words, I am a big admirer of your portrait work, you definitely set the bar for portrait work on this site.

Pentax *ist DL
Pentax 50mm F 1:1.2
Manfroto 455 Tripod
Manfroto 229 Head
Reflector by Renolds / Alcan – ha ha

Spyglass

Ha... I set the bar with the highest quantity of portraits

I thank you though for enjoying what I do.

[Flaco]

The 2nd one is a wonderful shot.

[Heinrich Lohmann]

Everyone else has said it allready so I'll just say Thank You for posting them.

Take care, Heinrich

[Fritz]

Really excellent work. Very well done.

[xs400]

Excellent portraits. And thanks for posting your lighting technique, it will come in useful for me someday.

[hamidlmt]

These are wonderful examples of natural light portraits! The second one is my favorite of the 2.... composition is excellent. Splendid work!!

[cardinal43]

Please allow me to join the "praise" parade. Teriffic pics. I love your daughter's freckles across the bridge of her nose.

[spyglass]

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. I was just thinking about cardinal43's reference to the freckles across the bridge of my daughter’s nose. She is just starting to explore the makeup world. Soon those freckles will just be a distant memory...... or with a few more bribes, and a few more sittings, maybe I can have my 13 year old for a bit longer. I urge everyone to snap a picture or two of their kids, or grandchildren this weekend. Youth is the one thing we all lose.