Portrait Photography Help?

kzlambert · Sep 20, 2006

Hi there,

I am a portrait painter and have just started a painting course. I am looking to do some large scale photorealistic portrait paintings. In order to do this I am looking to get clear, sharp, high pixel photographs to work from. Below I have enclosed the kind of quality I would ideally like to emulate.

Here you can see the detail in the skin and hair is very sharp. If anyone can suggest what kind of camera I would need to look at to achieve this kind of image, I would be very grateful. Please take into consideration I am a student and would be looking for a reasonably priced model.

Thanks in advance

Sdashiki · Sep 20, 2006

thats more the lens than the camera.

of course, you cant skimp on the megapixels, but youll get a photo of said quality from alot of different cameras. Of which I am sure alot of people here can give you comments on.

But, in the end, its all about lighting and the lens.

your example photo only has that amount of detail because of the lighting and shadows. if floodlit, it wouldnt be so wrinkly.

kzlambert · Sep 20, 2006

Sdashiki said:
thats more the lens than the camera.

of course, you cant skimp on the megapixels, but youll get a photo of said quality from alot of different cameras. Of which I am sure alot of people here can give you comments on.

But, in the end, its all about lighting and the lens.

your example photo only has that amount of detail because of the lighting and shadows. if floodlit, it wouldnt be so wrinkly.

Thanks for that.. I am very new to photography so all help is welcomed. I am looking to buy something that I will not need to buy additional accessories for to obtain the desired effect.

Sdashiki · Sep 20, 2006

It takes 100s of photos to get one good one, if you are talking about something like print or modeling.

So, plan on that.

I think you should just buy an SLR (as opposed to a point and shoot), that way you can always buy new lenses if the need arises. PLus they have lots of useful features that would add to the photo.

Im not sure about which SLR, do a little research on these forums and I am sure youll find what fits your needs in terms of cost and megapixels.

In any case, a well lit scene shot with a Polaroid always looks better than a horribly lit one with an 8MP camera!

Once you get your camera, test it out and see what works for what results you want.

kzlambert · Sep 20, 2006

Thank you Sdashiki your information has been very helpful.. I will deffinately look into an SLR and am very aware that its not just a camera that makes a brilliant photo....otherwise there wouldn't be proffessional photographers.

Sdashiki said:
It takes 100s of photos to get one good one, if you are talking about something like print or modeling.

So, plan on that.

I think you should just buy an SLR (as opposed to a point and shoot), that way you can always buy new lenses if the need arises. PLus they have lots of useful features that would add to the photo.

Im not sure about which SLR, do a little research on these forums and I am sure youll find what fits your needs in terms of cost and megapixels.

In any case, a well lit scene shot with a Polaroid always looks better than a horribly lit one with an 8MP camera!

Once you get your camera, test it out and see what works for what results you want.

beavo451 · Sep 20, 2006

kzlambert said:
Hi there,

I am a portrait painter and have just started a painting course. I am looking to do some large scale photorealistic portrait paintings. In order to do this I am looking to get clear, sharp, high pixel photographs to work from. Below I have enclosed the kind of quality I would ideally like to emulate.

Here you can see the detail in the skin and hair is very sharp. If anyone can suggest what kind of camera I would need to look at to achieve this kind of image, I would be very grateful. Please take into consideration I am a student and would be looking for a reasonably priced model.

Thanks in advance

Since you are just starting out, I would ask a photography student or another photographer for help. Learning studio shooting goes much faster if you have a person with knowledge to work with one-on-one. That level of portrait photography requires a lot of practice and expertise. A studio type shot like the one shown needs a solid understanding of light and its behavior.

That being said, I think you would be well off starting out with a very simple camera/lens combination and taking the pictures in daylight. A combo like a Nikon D50 and 50mm f/1.8 lens can be had for around $550. Daylight is free and so is Internet forum advice.

kzlambert · Sep 20, 2006

beavo451 said:
Since you are just starting out, I would ask a photography student or another photographer for help. Learning studio shooting goes much faster if you have a person with knowledge to work with one-on-one. That level of portrait photography requires a lot of practice and expertise. A studio type shot like the one shown needs a solid understanding of light and its behavior.

That being said, I think you would be well off starting out with a very simple camera/lens combination and taking the pictures in daylight. A combo like a Nikon D50 and 50mm f/1.8 lens can be had for around $550. Daylight is free and so is Internet forum advice.

I was considering asking a photography student for advise.. when the time comes I will be having this talk with my tutors at Uni as well. I just thought that people who know what they are doing could help me on here. Which so far has been the case. I understand that I am not going to get pictures anything like that straight away. As with anything it requires time, trial and error etc..

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Portrait Photography Help?

kzlambert

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Sdashiki

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kzlambert

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Sdashiki

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kzlambert

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beavo451

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kzlambert

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