How will you make a great portrait with your consumer kit lens camera and 100USd equipment?
Introducing Barva1, my new Custom Colour Profile for Canon Cameras.
Shot on canon 70D 18-135 F3.5/5.6 IS STM @5.6
I like to challenge the common ideas on Portrait Photography.
First : You have to own a Full Frame camera.
Not really necessary. I have owned 3 full frame cameras. Before the 70D I was using a Nikon D700 and moved to Canon for the video purposes. Then I came to the conclusion that for web or medium size printing to have a full frame body was not necessary.
The picture above has been token with an apsc sensor, would you say that if I had not told you?
Second : The lense has to be a prime with fast aperture.
The benefits of a fast sharp prime lens in portrait photography are very useful.
With Those lens You can generate a shallow depth of field and work in low lights.
But in a studio you can control the light intensity. You can also control the background moving your subject away from that.
Third : You need a tall room for the setup.
This following is the room I have used for the shot.
The necessity of a tall room comes from the idea of placing you lights high above the subject.
Well. Not everyone plays that way. Many portrait photographers have the light just above the camera.
The person you photograph will be more comfortable sitting or leaning over a table.
This apply Especially if your session last some hour and standing will make him or her tired.
Fourth : You can't do much with a speedlight.
An off the camera speedlight gives plenty of room for creativity, is easy to setup and most of the time does the job. You can add a reflector to compensate the key light with a fill light.
On my picture above, looking close to my eyes, you can notice a white spark.
Infact a reflector that has been placed on the table below my face. The purpose is to brighten the shadow and give a more impressive look to my eyes.
Fifth : You need a softbox
No. You don't.
Try an umbrella with inside silver reflecting.
Kind of beauty dish of the poor, but it's as simple as portable.
The reflected light of the umbrella has a modular rounded coverage. Light will also go to the background. The silver linen inside will add an extra punch to the portrait.
Sixth : You must shot raw file and finish the portrait in postproduction.
Raw files are the core of digital photography. I still remember the magic of playing with shadow and highlights on my first raw file.
But having a past in film photography I also remember the magic of finishing the shot in camera.
You know. I like to build complex shots in post , but I also like not to spend time in postproduction. When not necessary.
And to much relying in correcting in post doesn't seems to me a good habit.
Seventh : ... Anyway you have to correct the skin tones in post.
To get pictures with a good to great colour rendition of skin tones in the camera I have made my own colour profile.
It's here. It's based on Portra400 from kodak and it would be free at least for a while.
You have just to download to you computer, connect your Canon camera, open the Eos Utility and upload.
It's very simple and if you Google: Upload Canon Profile you will find many tutorials that will help.
Please download from this link www.paoloandrenelli.com/barva1
The idea of having a Custom Profile closer to the aesthetic look of film is not just to avoid the post processing.
For me is the feeling of watching the screen while taking picture and have already great finished shots in camera. You must give it a try.
Introducing Barva1, my new Custom Colour Profile for Canon.
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