How is the weather in
your town? This winter seems to be one
of the coldest I can remember. Guess I
don't understand the global warming stuff as
much as I thought I did. For me, the
cold weather brought extra skiing and
boarding days, so I am all good. For
those of you who are not winter sport fans,
I hear that you are tired of taking snow
pictures of the kids and pets and are
running out of pictures to use. Let me
help you out.
Indoor Photography.
Maybe you do not
have your own studio, but with a bit of
knowledge and a few Photoshop tricks, your
photos can look like you do. There are
two main items to consider when shooting
portraits: background and light.
This is certainly not news as we have talked
about it before.
Background 1.
Seamless paper rolls
can be purchased for around $40. Try
to find a local spot instead of ordering
online since shipping is painful. Each
roll is 36 feet long by 9 feet wide.
You will need to hang it and then roll it
down so that it is both the wall and the
floor of your shot. This can be done
easily by buying some PVC pipe at a home
supply store and a bit of chain. The
roommates and I turned our garage into a
studio this way. We have 3 different
pipe rolls hanging from the ceiling so we
can use different colors in a shoot.
We lay a blanket on the floor under where
the paper will go. This keeps us
from having any moisture from the floor seep
up through the paper and makes it warmer for
the subject.
Background 2.
Although seamless
rolls make it easy, it is not necessary.
You can choose to take an environmental
portrait which includes the background items
as part of the story. A child reading
in bed, a puppy getting a bath in the tub, a
group huddled around the tv are all examples
where the background is part of the story.
Make sure to remove distracting elements
(ones that will draw more attention than the
subject) and be aware of how your colors
work together. You can also choose to
blur the background which we will go over in
our Photoshop tutorial below.
Light 1.
If you are setting
up a studio, you will need to invest in some
lights, umbrellas, and light stands which
will run you around $500-1000. If that
kind of money is out of reach for you, there
are some ways to work around it. I am
not saying they will be as great as
expensive lights, but they can still make
excellent shots. Sunlight is free.
If you have large windows that let in a good
amount of light, you can position your
subject sideways so the light does not hit
them directly in the face. Another
alternative is to spend around $50 for a
sunlight floor lamp. These are great
to have in your home anyway since they give
true color light for your paper scrapping
and a little happiness if you suffer from
the winter blues. They diffuse light
and use a different spectrum, making them
great for photo shoots. Put one just
off to your right or left slightly behind
you aimed at your subject positioned on your
paper roll and you are in business.
Able to really splurge? Get one for
each side for even better light.
Light 2.
Not much natural
light in your home? Then it is time
for a field trip around your town.
Colleges, libraries, museums, health clubs
all tend to be buildings with huge
architectural windows that let in a
wonderful amount of light. Look for
skylights during overcast days or afternoon
hours for some wonderful diffused light.
Grab your subject and head out to take a few
shots in someone else's light.
Go on and take a new
batch of photos and then read the next page
on blurring those backgrounds.
