If you've ever taken pictures of a weekend trip, a family reunion, or a special trip with friends or family, you know that taking pictures outside can pose some unique challenges. Even if you've been taking pictures for years, this is still true. Sunlight can be very strong. Your composition can be ruined by things you don't want there. It can be hard to show colors in the right way. And sometimes, good old Mother Nature just doesn't want to work with us. As an outdoor portrait photographer, you may not be able to do much about Mother Nature, but with practise and patience, you can overcome many of the other challenges you face. As a photographer, I've learned a few things about taking pictures outside that might help those who want to follow in my footsteps:
- Change the amount of depth of field (the range of distances from your camera that are in focus). With good control over the depth of field, the edge of a forest or mountains in the distance can make a beautiful background for your subject. With an SLR camera, you can change the depth of field so that the background is more or less in focus compared to your subject. This helps the person who looks at your portrait know where to look. The eye is drawn to things that are brightest and clearest. If your subject is sharply focused in comparison to the background, she will stand out as the main focus of your portrait. By changing your aperture setting, you can change the depth of field (the size of your lens opening, expressed in f-stops). The larger the opening of your lens, and the smaller the depth of field, the smaller the f-stop. For example, if you look at a picture of a beautiful butterfly in a field of flowers in a nature magazine and the butterfly is in sharp focus while the flowers are slightly out of focus, this is because the photographer used a narrow depth of field (small f-stop setting). This may be hard to do in places with a lot of light. To avoid overexposure, as you open the aperture (lower the f-stop), you must also speed up the shutter (shorten the exposure time) for the same amount of light. Increasing the shutter speed usually makes the image less clear. Try different things until you find the right combination of aperture and shutter speed to get the shot you want.
- Take charge of the light. "Down light," like bright sunlight at midday, is usually not a good thing. It can bring out the worst in your subject because of the shadows it casts. Can anyone say "Raccoon eyes"? "Lateral light," like the light in the early morning and late afternoon, is much better. You can control and direct lateral light to make beautiful patterns of shadows on the face of your subject. "The first tree in the forest is the best" is a saying among photographers who take pictures outside. The harsh down light is blocked by the first tree's canopy, but since you're on the edge of the forest, you still have side light to work with. The same idea applies to porches and the edges of other overhangs. Professional photographers sometimes use shade cloth and reflectors to block light coming from below and direct light coming from the sides to make their subject look better and get the effect they want.
- Keep it simple. The subtle pattern and colour of an adobe wall, the simple repeating pattern and muted tones of planks on a fishing pier, or the uniform colour of a patch of blue bonnets, snapdragons, or yellow primrose can make great backgrounds for your outdoor portraits. When you are putting together your portrait, you want your subject to be the centre of attention. If you aren't careful, busy patterns, large areas with too many bright colours (especially if they are a mix of colours), or big shapes in your foreground or background that aren't treated right can really take attention away from her.
- Make sure there aren't any distracting things behind your subject. What looks like a simple bush, mailbox, or birdhouse to you can look like an extra limb growing out of your subject's head in a two-dimensional portrait. You might get some interesting effects this way, but they probably won't make a good impression on your subject. Take the time to find an interesting angle with nothing in the background that will draw attention away from the subject.
- Make the colour right. Before digital cameras, most colour correction in outdoor portraits was done with corrective filters or special films. The white balance setting on digital cameras lets you change the colour (expressed as colour temperature in degrees Kelvin). Most digital cameras today are pretty good at adjusting the white balance automatically for outdoor shots. Use the table below as a guide if you want to try out different manual white balance settings.
Typical Sources of Temperature
- 1000K....... Candles; oil lamps
- 2400K.......
Sunrise in the early morning
- 3200K....... Tungsten light bulbs
- 4000K....... Fluorescent
- 5200K... is a normal daylight colour; an electronic flash
- 6000K......A Cloudy Day
- 7000K....... Shade
Keeping your composition simple, adjusting the depth of field, and getting rid of anything that might take attention away from your subject are all ways to make your subject the focus of your portrait. By controlling the natural light and adjusting the white balance of your photos, you can bring out and enhance the true beauty of your subject. Aside from this, make it your goal every day to let your creativity out so you can see the world around you in new and different ways. Don't settle for seeing the ordinary as just ordinary. Just take a moment to think about it: everything is ordinary to someone. Art is made by people who can see beyond the ordinary, who can interpret their world in a unique way, and who can show others how they see the world. So, try new things and don't be afraid to do so. All of the shapes, textures, colors, and patterns of light in the world are the work of God. You don't need grand landscapes or amazing man-made structures to take great photos in the great outdoors. May Mother Nature help you out always. Good morning, and have fun!
