Settings for a Fashion Shoot

ktorrektorre
edited March 2013 Posted in » Nikon D5100 Forum
I'm just starting out with the Nikon D5100 which we purchased to do fashion photography for our new website. We have a basic white sheet backdrop and two photography lights. The photos we have taken are coming up a bit grainy and are too dark. My questions are:

1. Can anyone help with what settings we should use for shooting models in fashion photography?

2. What type of lighting do we need to use? We are shooting in a house with some lighting from windows which can have the curtains closed if need be.

Cheers!

Comments

  • GerardHGerardH
    edited March 2013
    What settings are you using? If you're using all auto/default settings, it sounds like the camera is metering the backdrop and underexposing the subject(s).

    I don't have a lot of experience with studio shooting per se, but I would suggest using the manual mode and the lowest ISO you can get away with. Meter the subject under the lighting that you're using for the shoot so you can determine the correct exposure and take it from there. Bracket the exposures and make adjustments as needed.
  • MooseMoose
    @ktorre - Couple questions...

    1. Which lenses are you using?
    2. Are you shooting hand-held or on a tripod?
    3. Are you photographing adults, kids or both?
    4. Do you own a speedlight (external flash)?

    This will help me narrow down a solution for you. :)
  • ktorrektorre
    edited March 2013
    We are using the 18-55mm lens and shooting hand-held. We are photographing adults, and no we don't have a speedlight.

    A friend told us to us manual mode, 100 ISO, f/8, 1/125, but there is now a shadow. Just cant get it right!

  • MooseMoose
    edited March 2013
    @ktorre - The only way you can get nice looking fashion shots with your current setup is to shoot outdoors under a shadow (building or tree). This will give you nice even light for illuminating your model on all sides. You can then use your built-in flash to act as fill light.

    As for shooting indoors, your shots are turning out grainy, too dark and probably a bit blurry because you don't have the right gear.

    To shoot hand-held indoor fashion shots, you really need a bright lens and a couple speedlights. By "bright lens", I'm talking about a lens with a maximum aperture around f/1.4 to f/1.8. The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G comes to mind.

    The next best option is to use a tripod, some continuous lights and a model who can remain quite still in a variety of poses.

    Settings for each situation will vary. If you don't have the budget for additional gear, then I recommend following my first suggestion...shooting outdoors under indirect light.

    As for settings in that particular situation, I would enable Aperture priority, select the lowest f/number for your lens (f/3.5 to 5.6 depending on your focal length), set the ISO to 100, enable Single Point AF and select the center focus point, enable AF-S and turn on the flash.

    Please check out my Shooting Portraits with your D5100 guide, it will help answer many of the questions you might have.

    Hope that all makes sense and happy shooting! :)
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