Childrens Portrait Photography Studio

While it is impossible for everybody to have a studio like the childrens portrait photography studio at Dale Studios, you still need to have an understanding of studio lighting. This will help you to achieve better portraits outdoors or on location.

Your basic studio lighting set up should consist of 1 strobe unit, which is a flash unit that releases the same strength of light as daylight. This light should be placed at a 45 degree angle from the subject. You should also have a reflector that will be placed at the other side of the subject to help soften the final image by bouncing light into the harsh shadows that are created by the strobe unit.

It is very important to take your time whenever you are choosing the background. A simple “trick” here is to use a light background for subjects that have dark hair and a dark background for subjects that have light hair. A blue color works well for portraits of children and a white background works best for babies. If you do not want to go to the expense of getting more than 1 background, then a maroon colored background will work well instead.

The last thing that you are going to need is a stool that can be placed at least 1 meter in front of the background. If you place it too near the background you will get harsh shadows on the background from your subjects.

Once you place your subject on the stool and have all of your lights and reflectors in position, make sure that the subject's body is facing the main light source. From there, have the subject turn their head towards the camera, which should be at their eye level.

Now there are many different types of portrait shots that you can choose from including:

1. The head and shoulder shot is the most popular portrait shot. There are a few different ways in which this pose can be shot: (1.) Get the subject to face the camera. This is a boring option that should be mainly left for passport photographs. (2.) Get the subject to face the main source of light, which should be placed at a 45 degree angle to them, then get them to rotate their head until their eyes are looking directly into your lens.
2. The three quarter length stance is one in which you will have to be very careful with your subjects' hands as they can become very distracting if placed in a poor position. The best way to overcome this is to get the subject to use a prop that is appropriate to their character.

Of course, there are many other different types of poses that can be used for successful portraits. You should never be afraid to experiment as trial and error will help you to become a great portrait photographer.