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Glamour Images Exposed... Literally: 5 Tips On Exposure

It is indisputable that a glamour picture should possess not only good composition, but also great exposure. An image with bleak colors and flat light and shadow doesn't draw much attention, so it is the primary task of an artist to make it look good. In Glamour Photography, it really is a critical issue.

The above described is as obvious as it is difficult to harness. As a rule, a glamour photographer takes several thousand photos during a single shoot - and afterwards they choose up to 20 shots. The "surviving" pictures are normally quite well-shot and very attractive, possessing good light and flawless colors - ready and able for showing off.

If you would like to improve on your skills in getting great exposure for your Glamour Pictures, these 5 simple but effective tips may be just what you need.

1. Mind the light. Of course, it is quite obvious, but indeed it proves invaluable to think about the lighting conditions and the mood of the picture even before you start shooting. A couple of test-shots would not only reveal the pattern of light and shadow, but also any possible visual flaws. Forget about making haste and take all the time you need to arrange the light. Afterwards you will spend less time changing the lighting scheme and will be able to devote more to the process of picture-taking.

2. White balance - why it is important. White balance is crucial for getting natural-looking colors on your glamour pictures. Your camera can be adjusted for perfect WB in the particular lighting conditions by using some menus and a sheet of paper as a sample. I will not describe the process here just look through the manual, you will find all sorts of handy instructions there.

3. Heading for soft light. Softbox is a simple tool photographers use for more natural lighting: it only consists of a black body and a white screen. The light becomes more subtle and dispersed, which helps avoid deep shadows and make a photo glow. Normally it helps a lot, because there isn't much glamour in too bright and too sharp light. You just should know that softboxes can be quite useful once you know what kind of light you want.

4. Aperture number. Shutter speed and aperture number both influence exposure. The narrower it is (which corresponds to high aperture number), the less light it admits into the camera body, but the more sharp image you get. Vice versa, low aperture number (corresponds to the wide open aperture) provides the most light and creates distinguishable border between foreground and background - the latter becomes blurred. Both ways can deliver astonishing results - you only need to figure out what you're after.

5. Post-production. Surely, real professionals don't use graphic software - or simply don't talk about it. Never-the-less, it really isn't very clever to trash a good picture only because it is slightly screwed up in terms of color or lighting, is it? A little of graphic editing could bring it back to life. Thats why post-editing sometimes can save your hard days work from going right into the trash. But it really doesn't mean you shouldn't try and take a good pic that would require minimum post-editing - ot none at all. Mind that RAW format is the best for post-processing. It is much easier to deal with than JPG, as it preserves more initial information that can restore good colors and exposure.

There actually should be the tip ? 6, which is think small a dozen of light sources will not make you a masterpiece. There may well be one or two light sources, which suffices for most cases. Additionally, Id like to mention the tip ? 7 PRACTICE. No comments on that one, thank you.

Free: Useful Beauty Photography Tips

Westcott Softbox

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