Early in the time and tardy in the evening are choicest for outdoor portraits.
This is called the "Golden Hour" and is the time of day when the sun is less intense and provides both a warm glow and long shadows. Bring your camera and a few lenses with you, and pick two or three different shooting points using the different lenses. Taking this time to prepare will enable the shoot to move along well on the day of the shoot.3.
1. Meet with your client and determine their objectives for the portrait session. Find out if they want the pictures taken in a park or a more urban setting. Are the pictures for a specific purpose, like an engagement announcement or is it just an annual portrait they have shot? Confirm the type of wardrobe your client will be wearing.
2. Find two or three locations that are close to each other and meet the requirements of your client. Travel to the locations a day or two prior to the shoot early in the morning just after the sun has risen and in the evening just before the sun sets.In a studio, a photographer has comprehensive ascendancy over all aspects of the portrait he is fascinating. When shooting an outdoor portrait, the photographer has some government, nevertheless needs to be able to elbow grease within the globe and be schooled the capital future and speck to shoot outdoor portraits. Lens selection, poses, external flash and in some instances a tripod are all necessary items that a photographer needs to work with when shooting outdoor portraits.
Instructions
Call your portrait client and confirm the location and the time of the shoot. Do this two or three days before the actual shoot date and be prepared to meet with the client should they want to see the sight you selected.
4. Arrive at the sight 15 minutes before the scheduled meet time. Attach a medium telephoto lens and external flash to your camera. Turn your camera on, change the exposure mode to aperture priority. Select a fairly large aperture on your lens. This allows for a nice shallow depth of field where your client will be in focus and background slightly out of focus. Turn your flash on, set the power of the flash to be one stop less than the exposure of the camera. This will add a little bit of light to your client and will give their eyes a "catch lights" appearance, which gives the eyes life in portrait photography. If your flash has a "fill flash" feature, use this feature to accomplish the same effect.
5. Position your model in the scene and begin your outdoor portrait shoot. Use as many poses as possible in the time allowed to give your clients options when selecting the final print. When posing your client, always have the clients shoulders slightly turned away from the front of the lens. If you photograph the client straight on, the client will appear very wide or bulky. By turning the shoulders and having the client look directly into your lens you create a more pleasing and attractive profile. For each pose the focal point for the portrait should always be on the eye. The only time you would deviate from focusing on the eye is if the your model is looking at something, like an engagement ring, which at that point you would focus on the ring.
