portraits for beginners

Sudbury Hall, in Derbyshire, was the venue for another photography course, this time on the subject of 'portraits', run by Going Digital.  After the frenetic time I had shooting The Bophins a couple of days earlier, this was a very different photography experience.

It's a picturesque venue, but because it hosts the National Trust Museum of Childhood, there's a slightly odd mix of a prep school and a stately home...

All week, the weather forecast had been for rain, but on the day it was bright sunshine - probably even worse for portrait photography (and especially problematic for anyone trying to shoot my shaved head!).

The course covered both group and individual portraits, using fill flash and reflectors.  And, the main lesson I took away - pay more attention to what's in the background.  Plenty of otherwise good shots taken by the attendees were ruined by stray branches, or other background distractions.

And, I got sunburnt, despite it being cold and windy...

85mm @ ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/1250s

85mm @ ISO 640, f/4.5, 1/100s