Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Spring Portraits with Vintage Val



After a long winter, I am always eager for spring flowers!

Here in Michigan, they don't arrive until mid-May and it's SOOO hard
to wait that long!

This year,  I am going to Europe in mid-May, so I was
especially anxious for the flowers to bloom in time for
my spring Vintage Val shoot!

I wanted to showcase Val's painting abilities in an 
apple orchard brimming with blossoms!


I'm so lucky we were able to accomplish this just two days
before we leave on vacation!

I found the most gorgeous location with blooming
apple trees, tall grass, yellow dandelions and purply ground flowers.



For spring portraits, I like to shoot with a large aperture (f1.4-f2.8)
to really blur those blossoms.


I always shoot using focus points so my subject's face is
in sharp focus, but the surroundings blur.

Read your camera manual to learn how to use focus points
with your own camera.



While scouting this location before the shoot, I saw this
thatch of tall purple/blue flowers.

I brought the pink blanket and pillow with this shot in mind.


Pay close attention to your location and use pretty
elements like this stray patch of ground cover.


Because of Val's schedule, we were forced to shoot at 3pm on
a bright sunshiny day...UGH!
Nothing worse than the sun right overhead, but if you know
how to shoot in this light...no problem.

I think the light is what makes these photos enchanting!


I always back light in this situation.  Look for shadows on the
face.  If you're seeing big patches of harsh sunlight on their face, turn 
them until the sun is behind...poof!  Shadows disappear!

Then I use a reflector to light the face.
I actually hold my own reflector!


Look for natural "frames" for your portraits
like the interesting branch of this tree.. 


The sun was right over head, so I got down and shot
from ground level to put the sun behind Val...
plus I used a reflector to light the face.

Learn how to use a reflector in this blog post.


I always try to give portraits a feeling of movement.

Learn how to do that in this blog post.





I hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are in this beautiful world!


1 comment:

  1. These are beautiful Jill. My son's fiance is an artist. You have now inspired me to do a photo shoot of her. Thank You.

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