How do i take a good portrait? I'm trying to take some nice pictures of my siblings for their first communion to have. The only problem is that i'm not sure what the best settings would be and i feel as though my angles aren't too great. I also have an issue on the background that should be used. I have a d3100, kit lenses, 35mm F/2.5 (hard to manual focus well) and 100watt cfl bulbs/ clamp lights that i bought thinking i could use as a cheap light kit.
you give a middle eastern man space clothes and put him behind an ocean with the debri of his space ship
>how do i take a good portrait?
>but i dont know how to use a camera, i cant take a picture right, and i cant figure out a background
>>2826024
You find a good subject, and find a setting that fits with what you're trying to say about them. You then find light that fits the mood of that statement, and arrange it in a way that is flattering to the subject (or unflattering, depending on your goal). You then use your people skills to coach an expression/pose from the person that matches all of the above.
There is no recipe. Being good at art is hard. You have to come up with a lot of it yourself.
>>2826024
>explain to me step-by-step every tiny little thing involved in taking a good picture, don't skimp on the minutiae because i'm completely retarded
>>2826618
Dicks like you are the reason /p is on the decline. OP is obviously new to photography or a hobbyist who has never tried doing portraits. They just want advice from more experienced individuals, maybe even professionals, so that they can advance their skills. All they get is condescending bullshit from douchebag trash like yourself. We should be sharing our knowledge whenever we can, not making people ashamed to ask for help.
>>2826665
i dont recall /p/ gaining anything from spoonfeeding such fundamentals things like settings and angle (lol what is google); especially in such broad terms and you pair the question with a picture of a migrant (totally says "first communion")
suck a dick
>>2826665
I just don't have any respect for shitheads whose first reaction to not knowing something is to go to an internet forum and ask for a step-by-step spoonfed to them.
There are so many other resources in the world, much less the internet. Go to google and type in "how to portrait photography" and there's a week's worth of reading material there. If you can't make an effort on your own to educate yourself even a little bit without resorting to making other people disseminate all the information for you, then get the fuck out of here and pay for a professional.
>>2826683
Go read a book, amirite
>>2826024
i could help you, but man, there is too much shit to pay attention.
>background problem - aparture wide open and zoomed in, that will blur the background
>position yourself a little bit above your object
>experiment with flashes and lights on different objects and analyze wich positioning is best
>there is no right or wrong lightning
>3/4 from object looks better than front or side
>my english sucks, so dont direct flash face.
Hope you can take something from here.
Good luck !
>>2826992
also /p/ mode on camera works good for portraits, cuz aparture n shit
>>2826970
>I just don't have any respect for shitheads whose first reaction to not knowing something is to go to an internet forum and ask for a step-by-step spoonfed to them.
>There are so many other resources in the world, much less the internet. Go to google and type in "how to portrait photography" and there's a week's worth of reading material there. If you can't make an effort on your own to educate yourself even a little bit without resorting to making other people disseminate all the information for you, then get the fuck out of here and pay for a professional.
Pretty much this. If you can't be assed to at least start with a google search, I'm not going to help you.
I get reading something in a couple of places, not really understanding it and wanting to ask someone for clarification, and I actually love seeing posts like that here. Another kind of post that I like to see is when someone just flat out can't figure out how to search for something (sometimes you have to know specific jargon to find certain bits of information). On the other hand, I can't stand to see someone who can't even be bothered to leverage THE source for information in the modern age that there are people who live in third world countries who have never shat in anything other than a hole in the ground know how to use.
Put forth some effort.
>>2826024
Honestly hit up youtube and mentally ingest the hours worth of tips that other people have already spent time on
