Week 8: Senior Portraits

Photos of the Week

Week 8 Assignment: Senior Portraits

I ventured into something new for me this week, senior portraits. My niece Kelsey (top) and her friend Brianna asked me if I could take their senior portraits for them and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to try some new things I have learned and test some different lighting situations.

The shoot started out in the early afternoon, which is probably when the sunlight is the harshest, creating dark shadows. To overcome this, I used a flash for "fill flash", which fills in the dark shadow areas with light. I still want some shadow in those areas so it will still look natural. I also wanted to find some simple backgrounds or interesting scenes to do the portraits. Some seniors also like to take their portrait with something that means a lot to them, or their favorite hobby as we did with Brianna and her horse. These portraits can tell you a little for about the subject than your standard headshot.

As we shot later into the afternoon, the sunlight got better, giving you a warmer look, and eventually the sun went down putting us in the shade essentially. The second and third shot of Kelsey were taken in the shade and just using a little bit of umbrella flash for some catch light in her eyes, but the light turns out to be a lot more even on the subject because it has been diffused by the sky and umbrella. An overcast sky during the day with do the same thing. All in all, it was a lot of fun and a good learning experience for me.

Coming Next:

Week 9 Assignment: Textures