First time photographing people!?

Question

Ah! Well, I have been asked to take some pictures of a couple I know. Of course I said yes. They both know that I am a beginner and that I hardly know what I am doing! Id like some tips on what I should tell them to do? What if we spend an hour taking pictures and all of them turn our horribly? Im kinda nervous about this and I dont know why.

Any tips would be just grand :]

Answer 1

Welcome to the Art of Photography! Most people do start with a P&S camera. If your looking for a cheap camera that is not an SLR I would go with the Canon A630 or higher (Canon came out with the newer versons but I own the A630) It has a few manuel features that you can tweadly with and mess around so this gives a little more advange over P&S.
A few basics:
Shutter Speed: this controls how fast or slow a shutter opens to allow light onto the sensor. Faster the shutter speed, ex. 1/2000, the less light is allowed in and freezes a subject in an imagine. Slow the shutter speed, 1/4, the more light is allowed in but it also will cause either a camera blur or a subject blur. However this may be a good touch to your imagine if you so desire it. Use a tripod for anything slower than 1/8.
ISO: This boosts the sensitivty of the sensor which enables the photographer to take brighter pictures at a higher shutter speed. This is great for sport shots in low light conditions so that you do not have to sacrifice subject and camera blur on your imagine. But this creates noise on the picture and the higher you go the more noise there will be on the picture. Some cameras handle ISO better than others.
Exposure: How bright or how dim the camera makes the picture
Ampature: This is how big or small the hole is in the lens is. The lower the ampature, the faster the lens is and the smaller the hole is (ex. f/1-2.8) this give a narrower field of vision, this blurs the back round. The larger the amapture the larger the hole is and the deeper the field of vision it is. (3-infinity just how large the lens can get)

Photography is the art of capturing a moment and preserving it in a picture. Photography can be as basic as just getting a camera and taking a picture of a rock. There are really no such thing as a good picture, thats based on opinion. As a photographer myself I take pictures of different objects and try to present a mood, feeling, story. I take pictures that only I may think is beautiful and sometimes I take things that other people like as well. As you become more advance with photography you can take pictures of a plant and give it life by changing different settings on your camera and other things. As you become more advance you can use photoshop but I like sticking with "natural" shots (striaght for the camera, maybe just increase the brightness or contrast but nothign else)

Another thing photography does cost you money. How much? As little as $150. You do not need a fancy camera to be in photography. But if you are looking to be a serious photographer you may want to look into an SLR, Single Lens Reflex.

Why? SLRs have larger sensor. The larger the sensor the better. The larger sensors take in more light or data. Which allows better picture quality. But if the sensor sucks, thats a different story. Canon & Nikon are very popular because they have been very reliable cameras.

MP mean NOTHING. Do NOT buy a camera based on megapixels (MP). No matter how many MP it has doesnt mean its better. For example, a P&S camera vs a SLR. The P&S has 10MP while the SLR has 8MP. This doesnt make the P&S better than the SLR because the SLR has a better sensor than the P&S which results in better picture quality.

Lens. Lens are almost as or even equal to the quality of the cameras sensors. If the lens suck then the picture quality is going to suck no matter how superior the sensor is. Invest money in lens.

External Flash Units. Invest money in that for indoor and portrait shots. Flash units reach a lot farther than the bulit in flash of any camera. Also they provide more custom shots by bouncing the light off the ceiling or a wall this will give you not as harsh of a glare on your subjects imagine. This is not required however.

Get a large memory card if you are a serious photographer. I easily take 400+ pictures when I go out to like Disneyland or to a family party. Professionals take over 1000 for one project.

There are many different types of styles, Wildlife, land scape, sports, portrait, studio, marco, etc. Get a camera that will best suit your needs. Wildlife will require at least a telescope lens which is extremely expensive. landscape you will need a wide-angle len which are relatively cheap but still over $200+. Sports you will need a lens that are extremely fast, you need a lens that goes lower than f/3. Usually a prime len only goes below f/3 but those are usually at the height of a companies lens. 50mm prime len will be good for basketball style games. Also a camera that takes pictures at a high FPS (Frames Per Second) and an AI Servo (Canon's Name for it) this changes exposure, ampeture as you move the camera. Portrait you do not need a camera that has a high FPS rate or extremely expensive lens. Usually portrait shots have a "glow" like in some wedding pictures. But you can have sharp portiat shots too but its depending on how you feel on it. Macro is taking a close up on a subject like a bug or a flower. You will need a marco len 100mm or smaller or you can be cheap like me an just use any lens for it =).

Most importantly... The picture is usually YOUR fault on an SLR. Do not blame the camera for bad pictures. Read reviews on a camera before you buy. Canon is known for have a bit of a a problem with low light situations but once you learn how to use the camera you dont have that problem any more. Go to dpreview.com and research different cameras. They are exteremly reliable. Like most anything, practice, practice, practice. You will never learn your camera if you never practice. And please... Read your manuel front and back... Itll save you a lot of trouble on the field if you dont like how something is going.

Cameras I would recommond-
-Any Canon or Nikon camera just not the Nikon D40 because it limits you to what lens you can use. But the D40 still takes excellent pictures.
-Olympus E-500 or higher. Little worse at JPEG than Canon
-Pentax

Try out a camera at your local store and see if you like it yourself. I love my Canon XTi even when people say it has an underexposure problem.

Answer 2

This is the exciting part of photography!!!!!!! Getting to do free stuff!!!! that the only way to get started. I happen to love to do pics of couples and of seniors and stuff. The best thing that I could tell you is took look at other professional photographers sights and see what they have captured... Just to get an Idea of what to do.
Here are a few web sites I like.... the first one is a lady I used to work for.....
www.snapsphotography.biz
the second is a lady from Dallas that is awesome.
www.perryaslyn.net
the third is a lady I know from my home town...
http://www.donnacummings.com/
And the forth is my web site...
www.instilledmemories.com

Take a look at these and see what you like and maybe incorporate some of the Ideas into your shoot.

Kissing shots are always "romantic".. a little uncomfortable but turn out good.
Make sure that the people are comfortable... you can tell in a picture if they are not.... If you have an idea for them to do tell them but also tell them to be relaxed.

I hope that that helped a little...
If you would like any other tips you may e-mail me at
[e-mail] I would be more than glad to help you out

Answer 3

Find a good location! Great scenery is half the battle. Then get the couple to feel comfortable. Tell them just to be themselves (talk, laugh, etc). Move in close for great shots. Fill the frame. Try to get candid shots not expected poses. But have them interact (arms around each other etc).

Take a lot of pictures. The more you take, the greater your chances of getting some amazing ones. They won't turn out horribly! Depending on the camera you have (point & shoot is easiest to deal with) hopefully it will have a good autofocus & the pictures won't turn out blurry. Try to keep your hand steady (camera shake will cause blurry pictures).

Answer 4

One of the most important rules in taking photographs of people is to tell the people to not pose. It's not the camera that take great pictures it the person behind the camera and their imagination. Don't always tell them to smile becaus some people look better without a big fake cheese on their face. So what if your first couple of pictures don't come out perfect. It takes time to learn the basic of photography. LIke my photography teacher told me ,"...there is no such thing as a perfect photograph."

Answer 5

One of the best ways to get the best pictures of couples is to get them relaxed and in a natural position, not to forced, posed but comfortable. If you know them well enough and you know that they are a physical/touchy type of couple let them touch naturally. If they are less “touchy” don’t force it. Also, I have found that if you are shooting digital, shoot as many as you can, the law of averages will give you more to work with. Again, keep a fun relaxed atmosphere, incorporate their personality into the pictures, and above all have fun! This is not couples therapy, it is a photo sitting.

Answer 6

The best thing about taking pics. of a couple you know is that you know them...you may be able to pick up on the little nuances that a photographer who doesn't know them can't see...have confidence and be strong behind the camera...relax and make sure most of all to have fun...if you are not enjoying yourself your friends won't either...good luck!

Answer 7

Here's a site that will help you feel a bit more comfortable and help you direct your friends in poses. Bookmark the site so that you can read it at leisure later, but just browse and make a few mental notes to yourself. Take your tripod with you and carry several lenses with you, in case.

Good luck and best wishes.

http://jzportraits.home.att.net/