Screenshot image from the video by Tatyana Zadorin.
Using only the bare necessities, photographer Tatyana Zadorin was able to pull off a pretty cool natural light outdoor portrait shoot when she traveled to South Carolina, USA to visit her family. The seven-minute behind-the-scenes video titled Natural Light OUTDOOR Portrait Photography – Behind the Scenes mostly showed Tatyana demonstrating how she made use of her Canon 5D Mark III and a couple of lenses Canon lenses with 85mm and 35mm focal lengths. She also offered the settings that she shot her photos with for those who want to emulate her images.
To be honest, there’s nothing really special about the locations she chose but as many good photographers can do, Tatyana was able to turn literally everyday scenes many people would just pass by into cool backdrops. Like vines running through a black fence, old brick buildings, and even the exterior of a junk shop.
Towards the end of the shoot, Tatyana briefly talked about her preference to shoot her model from below. She said:
“I am angling my lens up to get a wider shot. And I always like to show off the shoes so they’re like one of the main focus in the camera. Because if you shoot from above, then the model sometimes looks short.”
Check out the full video below:
We’ve extensively written about shooting natural light portraits in the past. In case you’re looking for tips on how you could master this yourself, you’ve come to the right place.
These two video tutorials contain how-tos on taking natural light portraits: one by Back Photography, which was specifically about shooting with an 85mm lens; and the other by Karl Taylor, who recommended shooting in the late afternoon so as to be able to catch the Golden Hour. Meanwhile, this piece dishes out tips on shooting outdoor portraiture at different times of the day and night. Lastly, this article houses five tips on how to choose a location for natural light portraiture.
Via Tatyana Zadorin’s channel on YouTube.