I need some photography advice.

[Joey83]

I've been asked if I could/want to photograph one of my friends next week.

She wants photos of her in a dress in the woods, but I don't know what lens to use, I have a Sony A77 dslr, a Sigma 150-500 f/5-6.3, an old manual focus 135 f/2.8 (I'm struggling to get useable photos with that lens and focus peaking) and a Sony 35 f/1.8 lens.

I'm not really that good at photographing people and I only get one shot at this as I can only afford one trip there each year.

So I guess my question is which lens and general settings do I use?

The last year or so I've been using "M" mode on my camera while photographing at my local airport and that works out ok, but I'm my own worst critic as no photos are ever great, they are only "OK".

I'm sorry if this thread makes little sense.

Joey.

 

[CampWithChin]

You should use the Sony 35 f/1.8 lens for most photo session.

M = Manual. You need to know how to set aperture, shuttle speed and ISO. This is for expert mode.

If you want simple, dial the knob to A = Aperture. Set the aperture you desire and let the camera set the rest. Wide aperture mean blur background.

 

[Boort]

@Joey83

I'd take environmental shots with the 35mm and head shots/ portraits with the 135mm.
I'm not one for shooting people but I saw this earlier this year:

Good advice for natural light portraits.

I'd recommend shooting during golden hour around sunrise/set for warm pleasing light, or bring some tan cloth (towel/sheet) and an assistant to reflect the midday light while softening and warming it up.

Boort

 

[Itacal]

On the Sony A77, the sensor is an APS-C, which gives you a crop factor of 1.5. So, your 35mm lens, if I am not mistaken, will actually give you a focal length of roughly 50mm. Many people claim a 50mm lens is boring, but I beg to differ. Everyone I ever taught to use a camera started out with a 50mm lens only, which is considered a normal perspective. I have never considered a 35mm lens "wide" anyway. I use a Zeiss 35mm manual focus lens for about 95 percent of what I do. It is the main lens for many photojournalists because it can be used in so many situations. Anything 28mm and wider is really too wide for portraits. Wide angle lenses flatten everything and exaggerate features. Telephoto lenses, on the other hand, compress the backgrounds ... If you shoot a photo of someone standing with mountains in the background, a wide-angle lens will exaggerate the space between the person and the mountains behind them. If you do the same with a 300mm lens, the mountains will appear in the photograph as if they are much closer behind the person than they actually are.

My advice would be to 1) use the 35mm lens. 2) Watch your backgrounds ... Nothing more upsetting than to take a beautiful shot of someone and have another object sticking out of their head or sitting on top of it. Move around until you make sure your backgrounds are clear and don't distract from your subject. 3) Shoot at a wide aperture and make your focal point her eyes. A wide aperture (the smaller the number the wider the aperture) is always better for portraits because it will smooth out imperfections because it is only tack sharp at the point of focus. 4) Watch your light. Take your time and look at how the light hits her face. If you see a shadow across the bridge of her nose. Have her move and adjust your shooting position until the shadow is gone. Stray shadows will ruin a great photo. Shoot before 0900 or at sunset (Magic Hour). The afternoon sun is terrible light for photos, unless you have significant cloud cover. The light is directly overhead and makes for harsh edges and shadows. Avoid shooting between 1100 and about 1800, if possible. 5) Most importantly, never take a photo of your subject straight on. Have the person stand facing you and then have them turn their body about 45 degrees. Then have them turn their head toward you/the camera (Take a couple of shots of them looking straight ahead, not at the camera) ... This will give you a much more flattering shot of your subject.

Hope this helps ...