Page 108 - Photoshop User January 2017

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From the Help Desk answers to photoshop & gear-related questions
Do you have any quick tips on photographing people?—Pauline
To: Pauline
From: KelbyOne Help Desk
Every photographer who shoots portraits or group shots has favorite techniques. And many are very dogmatic about their techniques. “This is the only way to...,” “You must always...,” “Make sure that...,” “If you don’t....” I’ve heard it all in classes I teach, and I’ve read about “absolutes” in many of the books I review for Photoshop User magazine.
I’m more flexible and think that every image is unique and each situation has its own requirements; however, I do have some general “Do” and “Don’t” advice, little things that may (or may not) improve your photo—again, depending on the individual situation.
Generally speaking, try to avoid mixed lighting and locations where dark shadows and bright sunlight (or arti- ficial lighting) fall on the subject. I know a lot of people will strongly disagree with me on this, but I love shoot- ing outside on overcast days. The lighting will generally be flat, which enables me to add highlights, shadows, and perhaps tint in Photoshop. And it’s a piece of cake to select that overcast sky and replace it with a beautiful blue sky and the clouds I want. (I have a library of skies on my server from which to choose. Some are shot at an angle and some with the lens parallel to the ground. My collection includes sunny and stormy skies, as well as night skies.)
When shooting a head shot, it’s often (again not “always”) good to have the subject’s jawline aligned with the lens. That enables the subject’s cheekbones to stand
PETER BAUER
out. And shoot a couple of shots, at least one with the subject looking at the lens and another with the person looking straight ahead.
You may need to use your flash to add “fill” lighting, especially if the background is quite bright. Pointing the flash directly at the subject may be overwhelming, so you may want to bounce the flash off the ceiling when shoot- ing indoors, or use a FlashBender (or similar device) to diffuse the light. And, of course, you may have forgotten about it, but your flash may have come with its own snap- on diffuser. And you can often use a longer lens and shoot from farther away to soften your fill flash.
Don’t forget to control the environment before you click rather than thinking, “Oh, I’ll fix it in Photoshop.” If, for example, you’re taking a shot of a wedding party and there’s a cocktail napkin in the foreground, walk over and pick it up. Not only will it save time in post-processing (okay, save a few seconds in this case), people who see you pick up a piece of trash may be impressed with what a nice person you are. (You are a nice person, aren’t you?)
While I was waiting for a car in maintenance, one of the dealer’s account executives, Ron Bell, inspired me to add one more tip: Don’t overlook taking a photo of a person with his or her favorite or signature item. Ron suggested that the perfect photo would be of someone behind the wheel of a brand-new, bright red, Mustang convertible. Of course, it could be someone with their golf bag, a teddy bear, a special hat, or perhaps in uniform. ■
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› › photoshop user › january 2017