Well tomorrow I'm attempting my first maternity shoot, thanks to a willing friend willing to be my guinea pig/model. I did some posted a question on www.thephotoforum.com asking tips. I received one reply and he said :
- plan my shoot
- good lighting
I planned it by getting composition and pose ideas from other photographers maternity pictures.
The lighting I am a little concerned about because right now I just have a camera with the built in flash. It doesn't always provide me with the right light I need.
A flash in definitely the next thing I would like to get; after that would be a zoom lens.
Nevertheless, I plan doing part of the shoot outside to take advantage of the natural light.
With my friends permission, there will be a sneak peek.
stay tuned,
Kim
That's awesome, Kim! To diffuse the flash a little on the inside pictures and decrease the hard shadows you can make a diffuser for your built-in flash with white paper and tape. I Googled how to make one and it was easy. Just be careful when you turn your camera on the side to shoot . . . it will create unwanted shadows. But when you're take horizontal pictures it will help.
ReplyDeleteKim, you should take this opportunity to attempt to accomplish this shoot without the help of a flash at all. Choose your location and time of day carefully and you won't need a flash to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe flash on the front of the camera wasn't designed to take professional grade portraits. The extra work necessary to finagle it to do so may nullify the learning benefit of this shoot in the first place since if you go pro, you'll move into pro-gear. I suggest you use this shoot to master the craft with only what is available to you today: A camera, and lots of natural light.
If you really need to shoot inside, try bouncing your light off the ceiling by creating a kind of 'funnel' with tin foil. Fashion it around the flash and aim it at the ceiling. But again, I don't think this is going to be the best way for you to maximize the benefit of this practice time.
I can't wait to see the results! I'm sure they're going to be great! :)