Using Nature to Compose an Outdoor Portrait
Last month I visited my daughter at her college in Statesboro GA for a long weekend. I planned on sharpening my outdoor portrait photography skills so I brought my Canon 6d camera, lenses, tripod, flash, flash transmitter (so I could use the flash off-camera), and a 6-foot octabox for my flash. Day 1 went really well; the weather cooperated and we did most of the shots by the lake in her backyard. Day 2 was a different story. It started to rain mid-afternoon. This was the day we planned on shooting at the botanical gardens so I didn’t want the session to get rained out. Luckily it stopped raining and we raced over to the gardens for a brief time. The sky was overcast and there was a softness in the air, that is not found on sunny days. I had my daughter dress in earth tones and subdued colors to blend in with nature, rather than over-power it. The beauty of the shot of the left is the leading line of the fence and the branches in the upper left corner that seem to frame Brittany. The softness of the background and Brittany’s beautiful smile also contribute to the great composition of this outdoor portrait. Composing an outdoor portrait is about building depth, using leading lines to lead to the subject, and using natural elements to frame the subject.
On day 3 we were a little tired out from shooting and posing so we had a quick shoot by the lake.
To view my portrait photography site visit Lightscapes Portrait Studio.
If you would like to learn more about DSLR photography visit my online class
To view my fine are photography site visit Mary Buck Photography.
