What is the ideal setting for outdoor portraits?

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Question from Janice: “I have a sorta duh question. What are the ideal setting for outdoor portraits? I have been experimenting with different setttings and have never been able to find the “perfect” one yet for clean crisp pictures. I have a canon 50D if that helps.”

 Tanea: Might be a matter of having the right lens

Stacey: That’s a big questions with so many answers. What kind of depth of field? Shooting large groups? Backlit? I never bought much into light meters, I figured my camera’s meter was just fine, but I finally broke down and got one. OMG!! It’s saved me hours in post to get the exact right exposure in camera

Michael: @Stacey, what light meter are you using?

Sasha: Do you use light metering in auto or in manual?

Christy: What kind of light are you using? Open shade? Subject facing into the light source? Any fill flash? On camera or off? Reflector? For sharpness, the lens makes all the difference.

Melissa: Just remember what your camera settings do; as well, flash helps in some lighting but be aware of your camera settings! A high shutter speed helps alot in very sunny situations andyou can have your ISO as low as it will go… as well, the F-stop setting can help in making things a little darker and will also help in having your image crisper as more will be in focus on a higher F-stop. Lens are a big thing as well, stock lens won’t always give you the sharp images you are looking for, it is best to invest in lenses as well as the camera!

 

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