If you’re new to photography or just need a refresher on how to create stunning photos, my guide will help you master Sony 60d settings for outdoor portraits. I’ve put together a list of the best tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years to help you take stunning photographs.
When shooting a portrait in outdoor conditions, the most important thing is to select shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings that will result in correctly exposed images.
A lot of photographers I’ve talked to want to learn more about the Sony 60d settings for outdoor portraits . Some have even complained that when using aperture priority mode for portraits, their images still aren’t as sharp as those created by pro photographers.
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by. So you know I just got a new camera and it’s super great! It has tons of neat features and I’m excited to learn them all. One feature in particular that I thought I’d share with you is the picture styles.
Sony 60d best settings for portraits
Hi, my name is Jack and I started photography just over a year ago. Since that time I have been reading every article and forum post I can get my hands on trying to find the right way to photograph my subjects. Although I seem to find a lot of information, there always seems to be something missing…something that would make me understand the theory behind the photography principles…something that would make it easier for me to translate all the facts into application.
Now, you might be asking yourself — what’s the big deal about being exactly 70cm from my subject? It all comes down to how the light is distributed on your subject. When photographing a person, you want a nice mix of top light (sun from above) and side light (sun from their side). If you move too close, you’re going to get a silhouette of your subject because there won’t be enough light hitting them; if you’re not close enough, they’ll be too dark.
Sony 60d settings for outdoor portraits
If you’re looking for the best Sony A6000 settings for portraits then you’ve come to the right place. The truth of the matter is that if you’ve recently purchased the Sony A6000 or similar camera models such as the A6100, A6300 or A6500, then it’s not necessarily simple or straightforward to shoot beautiful portraits from the get-go if you’re just starting out on your photography journey.
The best Sony A6000 portrait settings to use, like most things in photography, is subjective but I will aim to help you have the basics down of what you need to change from default so that you can take beautiful portraits with limited photography experience and without having to understand all the deep technical aspects of photography.
Table of Contents
- Choose an appropriate lens
If you’ve only recently started using the Sony A6000 and only have the standard kit lens of 16-50mm at your disposal it’s going to be difficult to shoot beautiful portraits. When I say beautiful portraits, I’m talking about crisp images of your subject with a blurred background and light reflections (known as bokeh).
While you can still get nice close-ups with the standard kit lens, if you want to achieve the type of portrait photography I’ve described, you’re going to need to invest in one of the cameras.
The right lens to choose is going to depend on your photography needs and budget, but if you’re looking for a dedicated portrait lens then the E 50mm F1.8 OSS (also available from B&H Photo here or from Adorama here) or the (also available from B&H Photo here or from Adorama here) are both fantastic options.
These are prime lenses, that are going to allow you to shoot with a shallow depth of field and in low light conditions.
If you want to invest in a lens with a bit more versatility that can be used in a variety of conditions then consider the E 16–55mm F2.8 G (also available from B&H Photo here or from Adorama here) which is a premium all-in-one lens that can be used for portraits at the upper range of its focal length.
The E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (also available from B&H Photo here or from Adorama here) is another option if you want an all-in-one lens but it’s higher f stop will mean you won’t necessarily be to achieve a blurred background but it will be an improvement in image quality compared to the standard kit lens.
Both these lenses are great options if you are planning on travelling and want to use one travel lens for the majority of the time.
- Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode
Now that you have the right lens on the body of your camera, let’s focus on what shooting mode to use in order to achieve the best Sony A6000 settings for portraits.
If you’re still getting started with photography and don’t necessarily have the confidence to be shooting in full manual model, then I would recommend moving the dial at the top of your camera to ‘A’ and shooting in aperture priority mode.
This mode lets you set, the f stop you shoot at while automatically adjusting the shutter speed to ensure you have balanced photos. This means you can manually adjust your photo to get the right level of blurring in the background that you hope to achieve without having to worry about your photos being under or overexposed (i.e. too much or too little light).
If you’re completely new to photography and you just want to start shooting, then feel free to start out by using the ‘Intelligent Auto’ mode (the gold camera mode). This will let the camera adjust everything automatically and once you get more comfortable you can move towards using the Aperture Priority Mode.
Sony A6000 set on Aperture Priority Mode
- Set your ISO
The ISO value on your camera adjusts the camera’s sensor sensitivity to light. If you’re shooting on ‘Intelligent Auto’ mode this is set automatically have you to ensure your photos are balanced. If you decide to shoot on ‘Aperture Priority Mode’ then you have the option of setting this to Auto as well or alternatively, manually adjusted the ISO value.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to keep your ISO as low as possible. This is because a high ISO can distort your images and make them look more grainy. Ultimately though if you’re new to portrait photography and shooting on Aperture Priority Mode, then Auto mode is fine to start off with and you can then work your way to adjusting the ISO manually as you gain more experience.
To change the ISO setting on your Sony A6000, you can press the right side of the dial with the label ‘ISO’ on the back of your camera.
- Choose Your Focus Mode
When it comes to the right focus mode for the best Sony A6000 settings for portraits, it is highly dependent on the subject that you’re shooting. If you’re an experienced photographer, you’ll likely want to shoot on manual but if you’re just starting out choose one of the autofocus options.
If you are trying to take a portrait of animals for example, who might be moving around a lot and not staying still then you’re best to use the ‘AF-C’ option which is continuous autofocus. This will allow the camera to adjust the focus as the subject moves around.
If you’re subject is still then the ‘AF-S’ option is a basic option that will focus on one area of the image. Finally, the ‘AF-A’ is a hybrid of the two that is a good option if you don’t know what your subject will be acting like!
You can see what area the camera is focusing on by pressing the shutter button halfway down before taking your picture.
To change the focus mode on your Sony A6000, press ‘Menu’ then go to tab ‘2’ and select the 6th option aptly named ‘Focus Mode’.
Use continuous autofocus when taking portraits of animals
- Switch On Face & Smile Detection
The Sony A6000 has an inbuilt option to help you focus on the faces of people while shooting portraits. This helps you focus on your subject and is really helpful if you’re not at the stage where you’re comfortable using manual focus or prefer not to.
To switch this on, press ‘Menu’ go to the 5th tab and down to the 6th option called Smile/Face Detect and press On.
- Shoot in RAW
If you’re planning on editing your portraits, make sure you are shooting in RAW to allow yourself as much flexibility as possible to adjust the photo in editing. RAW files, while much larger than JPGs, store a lot more data about the photo that you’re taking and will allow you to correct issues with your photo in post.
You’ll need to ensure you have a large enough memory card if you plan on taking a lot of photos but the extra expense will be worth it so you can make adjustments to your photos down the line. You can change the file size you are shooting at by pressing Menu and in the first tab going to the third option named ‘Quality’.
- Use Default Options for Other Settings
As outlined upfront, this guide to the best Sony A6000 settings for portraits focuses on the key things you need to change from default in order to shoot better portraits.
If you haven’t adjusted other settings on your camera previously, then you don’t need to worry about adjusting other things in your camera. For example settings such as White Balance can be left as ‘Auto’.
In my view, the Sony A6000 does a pretty good job at shooting great imagery out of the box so there’s really no need to get into all the technical options of your camera when you’re just starting at.
A portrait of a cat with a blurred background
The Sony A6000 settings that I’ve outlined above are the main items that I would recommend focusing on when starting to take portraits. They will give you the most control over your images and help you take sharp and beautiful portraits from the get-go!
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We are continuing our series of recommended settings for cameras, and this time we have the Sony A6000, an advanced interchangeable lens camera designed for enthusiasts and professionals. In this article, I want to provide some information on what settings I use and explain what some of the important settings do. Please do keep in mind that while these work for me, it does not mean that everyone else should be shooting with exactly the same settings. The Sony A6000 has a myriad of settings that can be confusing to understand, so the below information is provided as a guide for those that struggle and just want to get started with a basic understanding of these settings.
Before going into the camera menu, let’s first get started on the exterior controls. The A6000 has a lot of menu options, but there are some things that you can only control with the external controls.
1) Camera Mode Dial and C1
The Sony A6000 has a rather simple and uncluttered top plate. Aside from the hot shoe and camera’s built-in flash, there are only two dials and a single function button you will be dealing with.
The first dial close to the flash unit is the camera mode dial. This is where you set the main camera operating mode, whether it is Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual or one of the Auto or Scene modes. As explained in my understanding camera modes article, I usually shoot in Aperture Priority mode, since it gives me control over the most important camera setting – aperture. The camera does the rest of the exposure calculation work quite well.
This leaves three modes that I find to be the most useful on the A6000: Aperture Priority, Manual and Memory Recall. Although the Memory Recall (MR) mode is targeted at more advanced photographers that want to store settings for different situations, I would encourage every A6000 owner to explore this mode, since it can be very useful when changing from one shooting scenario to another. All you have to do is access “Shooting Menu 7” in the camera menu, then save your settings in one of the three memory banks.
If you don’t want to go that route yet, I would encourage you to try using the Aperture Priority mode instead of the Program Mode, Auto or Scene modes.
The right dial is a function dial that can be used for different purposes depending on what mode you are in. In Aperture Priority and Manual modes, for example, the dial is used to adjust lens aperture, while in Shutter Priority mode, it changes the camera shutter speed. Once you set your camera to Aperture Priority mode, you just use this right dial to tweak the lens aperture (for shallow or large depth of field).
The C1 function button next to the camera on/off switch / shutter release by default is used for changing the Focus Mode. I personally prefer to keep that function in the C1 button, but you can change it to one of many other available functions through the camera menu, as explained below.
2) Rear Buttons
The rear of the Sony A6000 is a lot more functional compared to other parts of the camera, thanks to a number of different navigation and function buttons. The A6000 is definitely “right-heavy” on the back, with almost all buttons located to the right of the camera LCD. The Flash button is a physical button that opens up the pop-up flash – it is not programmable like other buttons. The Menu button located right next to it obviously opens up the camera menu – that’s where you make changes to the camera. Here is how the back of the camera looks:
At the top right side of the camera you will find the AEL button (Auto Exposure Lock), which is conveniently located where your right thumb would normally be. Since I rarely lock my exposure, this is the first button I modified to make it more usable. For normal situations, I use the AEL button for back-button focusing, which imitates the “AF-ON” button on DSLR cameras for focusing and recomposing.
To the right of the AEL button, almost on the side of the camera, you will find a red button that is used for recording videos.
2.1) Fn / Function Button
The Fn (Function) button is a very useful button that you will be using a lot to make quick changes to the most important camera settings such as ISO, White Balance, Drive and Focus modes, etc. Although you can modify and customize the function menu when the button is pressed, I personally find the default values to work quite well. Let’s go through these real quick:
Drive Mode: I mostly keep it at “Single Shooting”, but sometimes switch to Self-Timer when photographing on a tripod to avoid camera vibrations.
ISO: The “Auto” setting usually works pretty well, but it is not as flexible as the Auto ISO feature on Nikon and Canon DSLRs. You can set Auto ISO Minimum and Maximum, but there is no place to set a minimum shutter speed or override the default formula of shutter speed = focal length. I usually leave Minimum ISO at 100, while setting Maximum ISO to 3200 – anything above ISO 3200 is too noisy for my taste.
Flash Mode: Auto. Don’t like using that small pop-up flash!
Metering Mode: Multi, but sometimes I change to Spot metering when a situation calls for it (see my article on metering modes)
Flash Comp: 0.0
White Balance: AWB (Auto White Balance)
Focus Mode: AF-A, which is a combination of AF-S and AF-C modes, works pretty well on the A6000.
DRO / Auto HDR: Off
Focus Area: Flexible Spot: M. This mode works great for selective focusing. Once you press the center button on the dial, you can easily move the focus points.
Creative Style: Standard. Don’t bother with creative styles, as they are irrelevant when shooting in RAW.
Exposure Compensation: 0.0, I prefer to use the rear bottom dial for accessing exposure compensation instead.
2.2) Navigation and Other Rear Buttons
The multi-functional navigation dial on the back of the camera is very useful and can be used to navigate through the camera menu, make quick exposure changes, as well as access specific functions by pressing each of the four corners. “DISP” switches between different views on the camera LCD; “ISO” allows changing camera ISO; the left side is used to access camera drive mode, while the bottom side is for making exposure compensation adjustments.
There are two extra buttons beneath the multi-functional navigation dial – Playback and C2 / Trash. Playback is obviously to play back images on the LCD and the C2 / Trash button can be used to delete unwanted images during playback. When the camera is not in Playback mode, the C2 serves as another programmable function key. By default, the A6000 opens up the In-Camera Guide. While it could be useful for beginners that want to see some tips, I personally don’t use it and change the button behavior to a more useful function – to zoom in when shooting in manual focus mode. This way, I can easily and quickly switch to manual focus using the C1 button on the top of the camera, then use the C2 button for changing zoom levels, which greatly increases manual focus accuracy.
3) Camera Menu
In all honesty, I do not find Sony’s menu system particularly user-friendly. Although the Sony A6000 adopts the newer menu system from the Sony A7 / A7R / A7S cameras, it is still a rather cluttered and out of place menu system in my opinion. Lots of menu options to go through, with different functions thrown under random menus. Even the menu system of Olympus cameras, which I find to be rather complex to navigate through, is more organized in comparison. Let’s go through each menu setting.
3.1) Shooting Menu 1
Image Size: Default (24M), grayed out on RAW
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
Panorama: Size -> Standard (only visible in Panorama mode)
Panorama: Direction -> Right (from Left to Right, visible in Panorama mode)
Movie File Format: AVCHD (Default)
3.2) Shooting Menu 2
Movie Record Setting: 24p 17M (FH). I rarely ever shoot video, but when I do, I use the setting that consumes least amount of memory
Drive Mode: Single Shooting
Flash Mode: Auto
Flash Comp: 0.0
Red Eye Reduction: Off
Focus Mode: Automatic AF (AF-A)
3.3) Shooting Menu 3
Focus Area: Flexible Spot
AF Illuminator: Auto
AF Drive Speed: Normal
AF Track Duration: Normal
Exposure Comp: 0.0
Exposure Step: 0.3EV
I found “Normal” for AF Drive Speed and Track Duration to be optimal for most situations.
3.4) Shooting Menu 4
ISO: ISO AUTO
Metering Mode: Multi
White Balance: Auto
DRO / Auto HDR: Off
Creative Style: Standard
Picture Effect: Off (grayed out in RAW mode)
3.5) Shooting Menu 5
Zoom: Grayed out in RAW
Focus Magnifier: Used for zooming in while focusing manually. Grayed out in AF mode, must be in MF to work. I usually have this on the back button AEL, as explained above.
Long Exposure NR: On
High ISO NR: Off (grayed out in RAW mode)
Lock-on AF: Off, but can be a good option when something needs to be actively tracked
Smile / Face Detect.: On (Regist. Faces) – works pretty well for registering and tracking faces
3.6) Shooting Menu 6
Soft Skin Effect: Off (disabled in RAW)
Auto Obj. Framing: Off (disabled in RAW)
Scene Selection: grayed out in Aperture Priority, but will show a bunch of scenes when in Scene mode
Movie: Grayed out in Aperture Priority mode. When in movie mode, I usually pick Aperture Priority as well
SteadyShot: On – keep this turned on. It is for image stabilization, but only works with lenses that have it
Color Space: Although color space does not matter for RAW files, I use AdobeRGB because it gives a slightly more accurate histogram to determine the correct exposure (since the camera shows histogram based on camera-rendered JPEG image, even if you shoot exclusively in RAW).
3.7) Shooting Menu 7
Auto Slow Shut.: On
Audio Recording: On
Wind Noise Reduct.: Off
Shooting Tip List: has some good info for beginners
Memory recall: only available when when MR mode is selected on the top of the camera. Allows picking one of the three presets.
Memory: going here will save all the current settings in one of the selected presets. I usually toggle between two presets – for Landscapes and People. For landscapes, I set camera mode to Aperture Priority, Manual Focus, ISO to 100, turn Auto ISO off and turn off other irrelevant settings such as face registration. For portraits, I set the camera to AF-A focus mode, ISO to Auto, and tweak other relevant settings.
3.8) Wheel 1
Zebra: Off
MF Assist: On – a great feature that automatically zooms in when you move the focus ring in manual focus mode.
Focus Magnif. Time: 5 Sec, I like to keep it a bit longer
Grid Line: Rule of 3rds Grid
Auto Review: 2 Sec
DISP Button:
Monitor: No Disp Info and For viewfinder checked. Display All Info is too cluttered and Graphic Display occupies too much of the screen.
Finder: No Disp. Info, Histogram
3.9) Wheel 2
Peaking Level: Mid – focus peaking only works in MF mode.
Peaking Color: Red
Exposure Set. Guide: On
Live View Display: Setting Effect ON
Disp. cont. AF area: On
3.10) Wheel 3
Pre-AF: Off
Zoom Setting: Optical zoom only (grayed out in RAW)
Eye-Start AF: Off – do not enable this, as it could drain the battery. This setting will automatically detect if you are using the viewfinder and try to focus. And if you put it against your body, the camera will indefinitely try to acquire focus.
FINDER/MONITOR: Auto – will automatically switch between viewfinder and LCD.
Release w/o Lens: Disable – do not allow firing the camera without a lens.
AF w/ shutter: On – if you want to focus and recompose, set it to Off and use the AEL button on the back for AF On as explained earlier
3.11) Wheel 4
AEL w/ shutter: Auto
e-Front Curtain Shutter: On
S. Auto Img. Extract.: grayed out in Aperture Priorty. Only works in Superior Auto mode
Exp.comp.set: Ambient&flash
Bracket order: 0-+
3.12) Wheel 5
Face Registration: used for registering faces.
AF Micro Adj: Off, don’t do this unless you want to calibrate a lens
Lens Comp.:
Shading Comp.: Off
Chro. Aber. Comp.: Off
Distortion Comp.: Off
3.13) Wheel 6
Function Menu Set.: Function Upper and Lower – leave these at default
Custom Key Settings:
AEL Button: AF On, for focusing and recomposing
Custom Button 1: Focus Mode
Custom Button 2: Focus Magnifier. Once you do this, you will be able to use the C2 button in MF mode to zoom in during MF. Pressing the center button on the dial will allow to zoom in up to 11.7x (pixel level). The button won’t do anything in AF mode.
Center Button: Standard
Left Button: Drive Mode
Right Button: ISO
Down Button: Exposure Comp.
Dial/Wheel Setup: F/no, SS
Dial/Wheel Ev Comp: Wheel – since the lens aperture is controlled with the dial, I like to use the rear dial for exposure compensation.
MOVIE Button: Always – will record movie any time without going into Movie Mode
Dial / Wheel Lock: Unlock
3.14) Connection 1 and 2
I don’t care for or use these. Might be best to keep “Airplane Mode: On” to save battery life.
3.15) Applications
I don’t usually use any applications, but you can use things like Smart Remote to remotely control the camera.
3.16) Playback 1 and 2
Display Rotation: Off – I don’t like it when the camera flips verticals
Other settings are used for accessing specific playback functions
3.17) Setup 1
Monitor Brightness: Manual
Viewfinder Brightness: Auto works pretty well
Finder Color Temp.: 0
Volume Settings: 7
Audio signals: Off – I always turn these off
3.18) Setup 2
Tile Menu: Off – you don’t want extra icons to access the menu
Mode Dial Guide: Off – won’t display the guide when changing camera modes
Delete confirm: “Delete” first – don’t want to scroll when I need to delete something
Pwr Save Start Time: 1 Min usually works pretty well
3.19) Setup 3
Cleaning Mode: used for cleaning the camera sensor
Demo Mode: grayed out
Remote Ctrl: On (for remote control)
HDMI Resolution: Auto
CTRL FOR HDMI: On
HDMI Info. Display: On
3.20) Setup 4
USB Connection: Auto
USB LUN Setting: Multi
Language: English
Date/Time Setup: usually turn Daylight Savings On
Area Setting: For setting the timezone
3.21) Setup 5
Format: for formatting SD cards
File Number: Series
Select REC Folder: skip this
New Folder: Skip this
Folder Name: Standard Form
Recover Image DB: Skip this
3.22) Setup 6
Display Media Info.: Shows what’s on the card
Version: Display firmware version
Setting reset: will reset the camera settings or reinitialize the camera
I hope you found this article useful. Once again, these are settings that work for me and they might not necessarily suit your needs. It is best that you explore your camera and learn about each setting as much as you can in order to take advantage of all the available features and customizations.
Outdoor Portrait Photography: 12 Tips for Beautiful Results
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If you’re looking to capture stunning outdoor portrait photography, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’m going to share my absolute favorite tips for outdoor portraits, including:
How to choose the perfect focal length
How to focus for tack-sharp results
The best light for outdoor portrait shooting
Key settings and file types
Much more!
So let’s improve your images, starting with my number one tip:
- Never select all of the focus points for portraits
If you want to take beautiful portraits, consistently, then you’ve got to nail focusing.
And a huge, huge focusing mistake I see beginners make? Using either the Auto AF area mode, where the camera picks the focus point for you, or using a large number of focus points in the hopes that one will cover the subject.
Unfortunately, neither of those options works, and you’ll often end up with out-of-focus, blurry shots.
Instead, I recommend two options:
For photographers using older cameras, pick a single focus point (the one in the center of the viewfinder works well). Then use that single point to lock focus (and recompose as necessary).
For photographers with newer cameras, consider using your model’s Eye AF technology. This will hone in on your subject’s eye and (ideally) nail focus. Not all Eye AF is created equal, so before you devote yourself to it, make sure your camera does a good job. But if you do a test and come away with lots of sharp photos, it’s a great setting to use.
- Always focus on the eyes
The eyes are the windows to the soul and should be the focal point of any good portrait. Plus, the eyes are the most detailed element on the face and should be portrayed that way.
(When you are shooting with a wide aperture and you’re focused on the eyes, the shallow depth of field effect will soften the skin, too.)
As discussed in the previous section, you should be focusing with either a single AF point or your camera’s Eye AF function. If you’re working with a single AF point, place it over the eye and lock focus, then recompose if required. If you’re working with your camera’s Eye AF, then make sure it’s finding your subject’s eye, then shoot with abandon!
- Shoot with a wide aperture for a shallow depth of field
A wide aperture will produce a shallow depth of field effect, which blurs the background and makes your subject stand out.
So if you can shoot at f/2.8 or even f/1.8, you should. Of course, not all lenses can use such a wide aperture; some fail to go past f/5.6 and beyond. I’d recommend investing in a wide-aperture lens if possible (and there are plenty of wonderful budget options, such as a 50mm f/1.8).
- Don’t shoot a portrait at less than 50mm; try to stay at 70mm or higher
The last thing you want to hear from a client is, “Why does my head look swollen?”
Which might happen if you insist on shooting at 35mm, 24mm, or wider.
Sure, it provides an interesting effect, but the distortion you get at focal lengths wider than 50mm generally isn’t flattering and should be avoided in nearly all circumstances.
(The exception is in the case of environmental portraits, where you can keep your subject small in the frame and use the wider focal length to provide context.)
Personally, I like shooting at 70mm and beyond. The longer the lens, the greater the compression effect, which in turn creates better background blur (i.e., bokeh). Most of my portraits are done between 120mm and 200mm.
If you’re just getting started with portrait photography, consider purchasing an 85mm lens. There are decently priced 85mm f/1.8 lenses on the market, which are relatively compact and will provide a nice background blur.
- Always shoot in RAW, not JPEG
These words have bellowed from my mouth a thousand times, and they will surely come out a million more. The RAW file format is an unmodified compilation of your sensor’s data during the time of exposure. It is your digital negative. And it gives you immense post-processing flexibility, not to mention improved image quality.
When you shoot in JPEG format, much of what you capture is stripped away. You lose lots of key information, including color nuance and tonal range. It’s a recipe for disaster.
So stick to RAW files. Yes, they’re larger and require processing. But unless you’re a photojournalist on an ultra-tight deadline, they’re worth the extra effort.
(If you love the shareability of a JPEG and can’t see yourself shooting without it, then consider using your camera’s RAW+JPEG mode, which saves both a RAW file and a JPEG file at the time of capture.)
- Always bring a gray card or a piece of a gray card for white balance
To avoid confusion, I am going to explain this backward. When opening Adobe Camera Raw or any other RAW image editing application, there is always a way to select a custom white balance. Usually, it is an eyedropper of some kind that you can use to click on what you think is neutral gray in your image.
Now, imagine a world where your photoshoot involved 4 locations and a total of 800 images, and all day your camera was set to Auto White Balance. You might end up with 800 different white balance values, a post-production nightmare.
But if at each location you have your subject hold the gray card on the first shot, you will save hours of work. When you open images in your favorite post-production application, all you have to do is click the eyedropper on the gray card, select all the photos from that location, and synchronize the edit. Precious hours will be saved.
(It may be wise to take a gray card shot once every 30 minutes or so to compensate for the changing light of day.)
- Avoid direct sunlight in your outdoor portraits
Direct sunlight is harsh, makes your subject squint, and creates hard directional shadows and unpredictable white balance conditions.
Which is why you should avoid direct sun as much as possible.
Instead, shoot in one of three conditions:
Shade
Overcast skies
A low sun (i.e., around sunrise or sunset)
That way, you can lose the harsh shadows and photograph your subject in soft, flattering light. With proper exposure and white balance, you can make such shots look amazing.
- If you must use direct sunlight, work carefully
In the previous section, I explained why you should never shoot in direct sunlight.
But sometimes you get stuck. A client insists on a particular photoshoot time and place, or the sun comes out from behind the beautiful clouds, and you’re forced to work with what you have.
And in such situations, you can take certain steps to get the best possible results.
First, pay careful attention to the direction of the light. Putting the sun directly behind your subject isn’t a good idea, unless you are trying to make a silhouette. Instead, try putting the sun at your back, then have the subject look off-camera (away from the sun) to prevent squinting. Another great trick is to wait for a cloud to move in front of the sun; this usually creates a very bright-yet-contrasty look.
Also, if possible, use some sort of reflector to minimize shadows on your subject. Invest in a portable, pop-up reflector, or – if necessary, use an existing reflector, which I discuss in more detail in the next section.
- Work with a natural reflector
While outdoor photography might seem reflector-free, there are actually plenty of natural and human-made reflectors you can use to improve your photos.
Here are just a few outdoor reflector ideas:
White delivery trucks
White building walls
White cars
White sand
White signs
White tables
You get the idea? And if you’re heading into a location where a natural reflector might not exist, then make sure to bring one. As I mentioned above, you can buy a pop-up reflector, though you might also make one out of foam core or white cardboard.
- Learn the Sunny 16 rule
The Sunny 16 rule is a classic guideline from the film days, one that lets you determine the proper exposure on sunny days – without an exposure meter.
Of course, pretty much every camera comes with an exposure meter these days, but it’s not always accurate, and it can be good to have a technique to fall back on in uncertain situations.
So here’s the Sunny 16 rule:
On a sunny day, with your aperture value set to ƒ/16, your shutter speed will be the inverse of your current ISO speed. If your camera is set to ISO 100 and your aperture value is ƒ/16, your shutter speed will be 1/100s. And if your camera is set to ISO 200 and your aperture value is f/16, your shutter speed will be 1/200s.
On a cloudy day (or when you’re shooting in the shade), you can simply use ƒ/8 instead.
- Bring a sheet and a few spring clamps from home
You know that cheap old sheet you stuck in the corner of the closet to use as a drop cloth the next time you paint? Add it to your kit and take it with you every time you head out for an outdoor portrait shoot.
(Another option is to buy the cheapest low-thread-count white top sheet you can find.)
What should you do with it? Well, a sheet is an amazing, cheap diffuser – sort of a seven-foot softbox for the sun.
So take note of the sun’s position, then use the sheet to block the light. If you need a sidelight diffuser, clamp an edge of the sheet around a branch. Anchor the bottom corners with rocks to keep the sheet from blowing into your image.
For an overhead diffuser, clamp all four corners to branches above your subject.
- Avoid powerlines and signs
We have already discussed keeping your camera focused on the eyes – but you must also keep the viewer’s mind focused on the image as a whole, specifically on your portrait subject.
Powerlines, signs, long single blades of grass, single pieces of garbage, and sometimes even trees can be serious distractions in an otherwise great outdoor portrait photo.
So before you take a single shot, look carefully at the area surrounding your subject. Do you see any distractions? Anything that might take away from the photo? If so, either clean it up, or move your subject into a position where such background distractions aren’t visible.
Look at the photo below. Do you see how clean the background is? That’s the goal.
Outdoor portrait photography: final words
Well, there you have it:
12 tips to take your outdoor portraits to the next level. Whether you’re capturing outdoor headshots, full-body shots, or even group shots, these tips should serve you well, so commit them to memory and use them the next time you’re out shooting.
Most importantly, have a great time! Enjoy what you’re doing, and it will show in your work!
