While this lesson was shot in New York City during the summer, you can use these same techniques for your winter vacation getaway. That's not to say that these techniques are only used in warm weather -- they're not. It's just that shooting outdoor portraits in warm weather tends to be more fun than it is in cold weather.

Shooting In Auto Mode
As with most lessons on this site, we first like to show you the types of shots that most people take, so that you can clearly see the differences between average shots and professional-looking ones.

We met up with our traveling couple, Karissa and Steve, on a somewhat overcast summer day in Manhattan, New York. One of the shots they wanted to take was of themselves in Central Park. After a little scouting, they found a nice setting overlooking a pond and Steve took out his digital SLR, an Olympus EVOLT E-500, to take a portrait of Karissa.

To start off with the "common" shot, he set the shooting mode to P (Program), activated the built-in flash, aimed, and took a shot (figures 1, 2 & 3).

Dealing with Detracting Elements
The result here (figure 3) actually isn't too bad, but there are a few elements that keep it from being really good.

1. The Lighting
   The light from the flash, while filling in the shadows, does more to flatten out Karissa's features than enhance them. Remember, if your light source is traveling from the same direction as your lens, you're going to minimize your subject's sense of dimension. The more glaring issue here, though, is that the shot looks as though it was taken with a flash -- not exactly the sort of light quality with which an oil painter would choose to render her subject.
   
2. The Pose
   Posing is also a critical element. Even though Karissa has a great smile in this shot, she looks as if she's just lost an earring or is adjusting her wireless earpiece. Although you don't want your subject to be so focused on posing that it comes across as forced, you also don't want them to be striking gestures that are distracting.
   
3. The Background
   It's also important to pay attention to the background. Here the scene is pretty, but the person feeding the ducks in the background is somewhat distracting. If you're going to shoot in an area where there are others nearby, either wait for them to exit the frame or get to the location before the crowds hit. Also notice in this shot that the wire fence near the bottom of the frame is somewhat distracting as well.

Deactivating The Flash
After reviewing the result, Steve decided to first focus on the lighting. He didn't like the effects the built-in flash were creating and wanted to adjust the settings of the camera manually for a more natural look. So he deactivated the flash and made the following adjustments to the camera:

• Exposure mode: Manual
  
• Focusing mode: Manual
  
• ISO: 100 (its lowest setting)
  
• Resolution: RAW
  
• White Balance: Daylight (5300K)

As you can see, there's a big difference in the quality of light between these two results. This last result has a more natural look to it, as Karissa's features are much more prominent. Notice the natural tonal gradations around the cheeks, nose and lips. The eyes, however, are rendered fairly dark in shadow with these lighting conditions, and Steve decided to bounce some light into her face to brighten it up.

Using a Portable Light Modifier
Fortunately, Steve happened to have a 32" Soft Gold/White LiteDisc reflector stuffed in his backpack, and decided to use it to bounce some of the overcast light into the shadows of Karissa's face. The nice thing about the LiteDisc is that it folds down to a third of its size and into a small carry bag for portability (figure 7).

Once he popped the LiteDisc out of its carrying case, he had Karissa hold the LiteDisc outward so that the White side bounced light up into her face. When the light looked good to Steve, he took another shot at the same exposure settings (figures 8, 9 & 10).

As you can see from the result, the LiteDisc has helped to fill in the shadows from the previous shot. Karissa's eyes are lit up from the reflection on the LiteDisc and yet there is still a sense of dimension to her features. It's a subtle touch that does not make the lighting look artificial or contrived, the way it did with the built-in flash activated.

Warming Up The Skin Tones
Next, Steve wanted to see if the Soft Gold side of the LiteDisc would warm up Karissa's skin tone a bit. He asked Karissa to flip the LiteDisc so that the Soft Gold side was facing up and then took another shot at the same camera settings (figures 11 & 12).

Steve really liked the effects of the Soft Gold side of the LiteDisc. Because of it's metallic surface, the overall reflection was brighter, the catch lights in the eyes were more pronounced and it created an overall glow to Karissa's skin. Notice also how her skin tone is slightly warmer than in the previous shot, lending a healthier, more vibrant look.

Comparing Results
Now let's take a look at our results so far, side by side. Remember, you can click on any image for an enlarged view (figure 13).

Getting the Couple Shot
As we learned in the previous lesson in this series, Simple Vacation Portrait Tricks, taking a self-portrait with your hand outstretched tends to make for awkward-looking poses. So, Steve asked for one of the crew to take a shot of the both of them in the same location, first without the LiteDisc fill (figures 14 & 15).

*NOTE: If you need to ask a stranger to take a shot of you and/or your party, make sure your camera and lighting adjustments are already set and take a moment to show them the basic controls of the camera: shutter button, focus ring, zoom ring, etc. You may also want to point out what elements you want in the background as well, since most people don't naturally consider the entire frame when taking snapshots.

Again, the lighting looks natural, but we're not really able to make out the eyes so well as they fall into shadow.

For the last shot, we photographed them with Karissa holding the LiteDisc (Soft Gold side facing up) to bounce light up into their faces (figures 16 & 17).

The result here is great. The light illuminating the two of them is warm and glowing and the pond, bridge and trees serve as a beautiful backdrop. Karissa and Steve were both excited to have a wonderful photograph to treasure in the years to come.


Summary
As you can see from this lesson, you don't need to haul around a ton of lighting gear to get professional results. A basic knowledge of camera settings and a collapsible light modifier can go a long way toward creating beautiful portraits. As always, remember to experiment and have fun!