CREATIVE PROJECTS
4
Shutter speed
Once you’ve set your aperture, half-press the
shutter button to meter the scene, and turn the dial to
adjust the shutter speed until the exposure indicator is in the
middle to obtain a balanced exposure. Keep the ISO low for
maximum image quality. However, to ensure you have a fast
enough shutter speed to capture pin-sharp shots, you may
need to increase the ISO to 400 or even 800, depending on
the ambient lighting.3
Camera settings
Set your camera to manual mode for full control. To
shoot handheld you’ll need to set a wide aperture to
let in plenty of light; depending on the speed of your lens this
will be somewhere between f/2.8 and f/5.6. This will ensure
that you have a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera
shake, and will also create a nice shallow depth of field, so
your model’s facial features stay sharp while peripheral detail
and the backdrop are thrown out of focus.6
Focus on features
Make the most of features such as the eyes, mouth and
hair, but don’t feel that you have to include every
feature in a single frame. Try shooting half of your model’s
face, or her profile, and come in tight to emphasise details
such as the eyes for added impact. For precise focusing,
manually select the autofocus point that’s closest to the
detail you want to capture – you’ll need to change the active
focus point as you compose different shots.5
Composition
When it comes to composition, try to think outside
the box and capture something a bit different. Most
portraits are taken face-on with the camera around eye level,
so try changing the angle and viewpoint. Get up high and
shoot down on your subject, and get low and angle the camera
up for an abstract feel. Try shots from the side too, with your
subject looking both at you and away from you.8
Open in Elements
Select ty_elements64.dng and set Exposure to -0.75,
Highlights to -45 and Shadows to +30, then select
ty_elements65.dng and set Exposure to +1.05, Highlights to
-25, Shadows to +55 and Blacks to +42. Click Select All at
the top-left, and set Clarity to +10, then click Open Images to
open all five images in Elements’ Expert/Full Edit mode.7
ACR adjustments
Open the five starting images in Camera Raw. They are
DNG files so they’ll open in ACR by default. Click the
ty_elements61.dng thumbnail, and set Exposure to +0.60 and
Shadows +20. Select ty_elements62.dng and set Exposure
to +0.65, Shadows to +38 and Blacks to +23. Select ty_ele-
ments63.dng and set Exposure to +0.35, Highlights to -27
and Shadows to +43.