1st Senior Picture shoot

**ismaelg** · 04-30-2015, 06:51 AM

Wait!
You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms.
Use your feet to zoom

Set it at f2.8 and go for it.
There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject.

TinaS · 04-30-2015, 06:57 AM

Originally posted by klh

It's fairly easy. You enter the custom white balance mode using the buttons on the back, take a photo of your target, select the white/gray space on the preview screen, and the camera figures it out for you. Once you know how, you will do it all the time. If you can't do it, then at least take a photo with the white or gray target so that you can adjust in post-processing, and many people here can help.

Most of all, relax and have fun. For most of us this is a hobby, and since this is for a friend, you can always go back and try again. Be sure to let us know how it goes. Best wishes,

Kevin

I should be ashamed of myself for having not already learned this....
And you're right. This is a friend, and I plan to have fun.

Thanks again!

---------- Post added 04-30-15 at 09:07 AM ----------

Originally posted by ismaelg

Wait!
You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms.
Use your feet to zoom

Set it at f2.8 and go for it.
There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject.

Originally posted by ismaelg

Wait!
You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms.
Use your feet to zoom

Set it at f2.8 and go for it.
There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject.

Oops... I know, I know... I was trying to be lazy. I can hear my primes laughing at me now. I still feel a little insecure with manual focus, even though I have done some great portraits of my husband with them. Also was thinking how easy it would be to just use a zoom and not change lenses in the middle of a shoot.

I can always count on the folks here to set me straight. Lol.
Thank you everyone for the tips and advice. I'm still kinda nervous, but it'll be better once I get there. I can do this.

ChristianRock · 04-30-2015, 07:37 AM

Regarding manual focus, make sure your focus confirmation is correct by making some tests - but you're going to stop down (I suggest f4 for both the 50 and the 135) so the focus should be fine. With the 135 you can even go f5.6 or even f8 and still get great separation from your background.

People said don't use your onboard flash - but if you're using a longer lens like the 135 you can still use it for a slight fill that can help the shot. I use the onboard flash for daylight pictures if I'm against a stronger backlight and i want to preserve the background colors somehow.

At the end when you know you already have the shots you need, you can let your hair down so to speak and get the lenses wide open or almost there, and just shoot some more. If you get a keeper great, if not you already have other more "conservative" shots - that will still be better than your 50-200 anyway, because you'll have to shoot that one at least at f5.6 to get ok results, and it still won't be as good as the primes.

Summary: take the primes, stop them down to f4 or f5.6 to get the shots you need. After that, experiment and have fun!

Good luck and hopefully your friend will let you post a couple of pictures here for us to see

TinaS · 04-30-2015, 07:42 AM

Thank you!!

redcat · 04-30-2015, 10:56 AM

and for the PP part, you can always ask for advice like I did here : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/32-digital-processing-software-printing/2...ded-photo.html <= the members here are great (technically & personnally)

TinaS · 04-30-2015, 11:33 AM

I absolutely agree. I don't know what I'd do without this site!

TinaS · 04-30-2015, 06:16 PM

The shoot went great! I can't wait to download these to the computer.

aikilink · 05-01-2015, 08:03 AM

Glad to hear it went great!

I was just reading through, and wondering, were you shooting in RAW or JPG? I noticed a lot of mention of White Balance in the comments above - what would the reasons be for being so particular about the White Balance (for spot metering, etc?)? Is there a thread that talks about this? When I first got my camera I started shooting in RAW within the first few days (thanks to all of the good advice on here!), and tried to find out if WB had much importance in RAW, and from my research, it seemed that it only impacted the preview on the screen (or if you were using a Pentax program to edit, then you could start from the WB settings, even on RAW files)...

I hope this doesn't count as a hi-jack! Can't wait to see some of the pictures!

TinaS · 05-01-2015, 10:09 AM

Hi. It's not a hijack.

I used RAW. I only occasionally use JPEG anymore. I usually leave it on auto WB & adjust in LR3 if I need to. I know I haven't learned everything about my camera yet. Guess I should be a little embarrassed about that... I'll try to get some uploaded tonight or tomorrow if I get home early enough today to finish processing them.

TinaS · 05-01-2015, 06:48 PM - **1 Like**

Now I'm nervous about uploading these. I've been picking them apart. I'm obviously not a professional, and I used two manual focus primes for the whole shoot, and I haven't had near enough practice with them. But I have to give my friend credit: for someone who doesn't like having her picture taken, she was amazing. It was fun and she was sooo tolerant of me fiddling with the focus. lol It was hard deciding which ones to upload, but here goes. (cringing)

TinaS · 05-01-2015, 06:51 PM - **1 Like**

And some more

aikilink · 05-01-2015, 09:18 PM

Thanks for sharing! I think you got some really nice images, and captured some very genuine and pleasant expressions! My wife really likes the pose in the last image.

We think you worked with the light really well for a good result.

About your above comment on not knowing your camera all the way - I think there are certain basics that are important which, judging from your images you have a pretty good grasp of! The cameras these days have so many features in them, and I'm certainly just learning about many of them myself!

**mattb123** · 05-01-2015, 09:20 PM

Nice job. The first 3 look a little dark to me. Maybe look at their histograms compared to a brighter one.
The fourth is my favorite. Nice natural look, maybe could also be a touch brighter but that may be a matter of taste.
You could do a little skin smoothing in places too, but again that is a matter of taste and it's easy to overdo.

Overall it's good work. I bet they will be happy!

TinaS · 05-02-2015, 03:33 AM

Thank you both! #1 & 3 were originally brighter. I made them darker playing with effects in post. Maybe it would be better to stick with the original on those. I was thinking about giving them both versions. I could also brighten 2 & 4 a bit. I appreciate the advice and comments.

ChristianRock · 05-02-2015, 08:49 AM

I like them a lot! It doesn't look like it's your first time doing this. I especially like the second set.

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04-30-2015, 06:51 AM	#16
ismaelg Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Puerto Rico Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,683	Wait! You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms. Use your feet to zoom Set it at f2.8 and go for it. There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject.

04-30-2015, 06:57 AM	#17
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	Originally posted by klh It's fairly easy. You enter the custom white balance mode using the buttons on the back, take a photo of your target, select the white/gray space on the preview screen, and the camera figures it out for you. Once you know how, you will do it all the time. If you can't do it, then at least take a photo with the white or gray target so that you can adjust in post-processing, and many people here can help. Most of all, relax and have fun. For most of us this is a hobby, and since this is for a friend, you can always go back and try again. Be sure to let us know how it goes. Best wishes, Kevin I should be ashamed of myself for having not already learned this.... And you're right. This is a friend, and I plan to have fun. Thanks again! ---------- Post added 04-30-15 at 09:07 AM ---------- Originally posted by ismaelg Wait! You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms. Use your feet to zoom Set it at f2.8 and go for it. There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject. Originally posted by ismaelg Wait! You have a 50f2? Then by all means use it and forget the zooms. Use your feet to zoom Set it at f2.8 and go for it. There is magic in the combination of 50mm focal length and aperture of f2.8. Always focus in the eyes. Assuming it is manual focus, if you find it hard to focus properly in the eyes at 2.8 you can bump it to f4 or so. Nothing wrong with small apertures but larger ones are preferred for portraits to better isolate the subject. Oops... I know, I know... I was trying to be lazy. I can hear my primes laughing at me now. I still feel a little insecure with manual focus, even though I have done some great portraits of my husband with them. Also was thinking how easy it would be to just use a zoom and not change lenses in the middle of a shoot. I can always count on the folks here to set me straight. Lol. Thank you everyone for the tips and advice. I'm still kinda nervous, but it'll be better once I get there. I can do this.

04-30-2015, 07:37 AM	#18
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,910	Regarding manual focus, make sure your focus confirmation is correct by making some tests - but you're going to stop down (I suggest f4 for both the 50 and the 135) so the focus should be fine. With the 135 you can even go f5.6 or even f8 and still get great separation from your background. People said don't use your onboard flash - but if you're using a longer lens like the 135 you can still use it for a slight fill that can help the shot. I use the onboard flash for daylight pictures if I'm against a stronger backlight and i want to preserve the background colors somehow. At the end when you know you already have the shots you need, you can let your hair down so to speak and get the lenses wide open or almost there, and just shoot some more. If you get a keeper great, if not you already have other more "conservative" shots - that will still be better than your 50-200 anyway, because you'll have to shoot that one at least at f5.6 to get ok results, and it still won't be as good as the primes. Summary: take the primes, stop them down to f4 or f5.6 to get the shots you need. After that, experiment and have fun! Good luck and hopefully your friend will let you post a couple of pictures here for us to see

04-30-2015, 07:42 AM	#19
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	Thank you!!

04-30-2015, 10:56 AM	#20
redcat Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Paris Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,939	and for the PP part, you can always ask for advice like I did here : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/32-digital-processing-software-printing/2...ded-photo.html <= the members here are great (technically & personnally)

04-30-2015, 11:33 AM	#21
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	I absolutely agree. I don't know what I'd do without this site!

04-30-2015, 06:16 PM	#22
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	The shoot went great! I can't wait to download these to the computer.

05-01-2015, 08:03 AM	#23
aikilink Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 124	Glad to hear it went great! I was just reading through, and wondering, were you shooting in RAW or JPG? I noticed a lot of mention of White Balance in the comments above - what would the reasons be for being so particular about the White Balance (for spot metering, etc?)? Is there a thread that talks about this? When I first got my camera I started shooting in RAW within the first few days (thanks to all of the good advice on here!), and tried to find out if WB had much importance in RAW, and from my research, it seemed that it only impacted the preview on the screen (or if you were using a Pentax program to edit, then you could start from the WB settings, even on RAW files)... I hope this doesn't count as a hi-jack! Can't wait to see some of the pictures!

05-01-2015, 10:09 AM	#24
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	Hi. It's not a hijack. I used RAW. I only occasionally use JPEG anymore. I usually leave it on auto WB & adjust in LR3 if I need to. I know I haven't learned everything about my camera yet. Guess I should be a little embarrassed about that... I'll try to get some uploaded tonight or tomorrow if I get home early enough today to finish processing them.

05-01-2015, 09:18 PM	#27
aikilink Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 124	Thanks for sharing! I think you got some really nice images, and captured some very genuine and pleasant expressions! My wife really likes the pose in the last image. We think you worked with the light really well for a good result. About your above comment on not knowing your camera all the way - I think there are certain basics that are important which, judging from your images you have a pretty good grasp of! The cameras these days have so many features in them, and I'm certainly just learning about many of them myself!

05-01-2015, 09:20 PM	#28
mattb123 Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Colorado High Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,873	Nice job. The first 3 look a little dark to me. Maybe look at their histograms compared to a brighter one. The fourth is my favorite. Nice natural look, maybe could also be a touch brighter but that may be a matter of taste. You could do a little skin smoothing in places too, but again that is a matter of taste and it's easy to overdo. Overall it's good work. I bet they will be happy!

05-02-2015, 03:33 AM	#29
TinaS Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,164 Original Poster	Thank you both! #1 & 3 were originally brighter. I made them darker playing with effects in post. Maybe it would be better to stick with the original on those. I was thinking about giving them both versions. I could also brighten 2 & 4 a bit. I appreciate the advice and comments.

05-02-2015, 08:49 AM	#30
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,910	I like them a lot! It doesn't look like it's your first time doing this. I especially like the second set.