How To Take School Pics That Don't Suck
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- Shop all backdrops used in this video and more:
www.fjwestcott...
Where To Buy Templates:
Matthernandez.shop
Patreon:
patreon.com/MattHernandez
Sign-up for News Letter:
Matthernandezcreative.com
My Gear:
Sony Alpha 7R V Mirrorless camera body amzn.to/3P8WF1e
Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Camera body amzn.to/3OI1LQV
Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II Lens amzn.to/3KRe5xc
Sony FE 24-70 mm F2.8 GM II Lens amzn.to/3sj4zwd
Sony VG-C4EM Vertical Grip amzn.to/3OOSUgp
Sony NPFZ100 Z-series Rechargeable Battery amzn.to/44mhkDq
Westcott FJ400 amzn.to/45BDCSM
Westcott FJ80 II amzn.to/45GfluM
Westcott FJ-X3m amzn.to/3KPI4W9
Westcott FlexiGles amzn.to/3E63lH9
Westcott 45 Degree Deep Focus Reflector amzn.to/3E85yBX
Westcott Beauty Dish Switch (white interior) amzn.to/45f4yrI
Westcott Beauty Dish Switch (silver interior) amzn.to/45Xrdcf
Westcott Rapid Box Switch 1x3 amzn.to/45wlhXu
Westcott Rapid Box Switch 1x4 amzn.to/3QQYuS2
Westcott Rapid Box Switch Bowens Insert amzn.to/3qG0Rw7
Westcott HurleyPro H2Pro Water Weight Bags amzn.to/3E58BLt
BlackRapid RS-4 Camera Sling amzn.to/3QQ31E5
Think Tank Airport Commuter Backpack amzn.to/3P7EER2
RØDE Wireless GO II Wireless Mic amzn.to/3YSdCk4
Haze Machine: amzn.to/3spPgBZ
Fog Machine: amzn.to/47CMLMV
Sprayer: amzn.to/493NtlF
Follow Me:
IG: / matthernandez
TikTok: / matthernandezcreative
Facebook: / matthernandezcreative
Web www.matthernan...
Jazz up school yearbook photos... No Pro Light Mods with smoke...?
I mean I guess we could try that 😂
😂
@danh2716 These are not custom Senior portrait sessions but regular underclassmen pix- 2500 kids. The pods and smoke are more Sr pic ideas.
@@bellouise It was a joke bell.
I hate shooting glasses so thanks for the tips!!!
No problem! They can be tricky.
Matt, I love watching your videos. You don’t get extremely technical. You mostly go by feel and every once in a while you give us a golden tip that just makes a world of difference. I appreciate artists like you. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
Nice to see someone actually doing school yearbook how-to's. Question about posing for the yearbook photo now days (sorry in advance if its a dumb question).
I shot them in the 90's for other companies and they always had us setup with the key light on camera right. Boys were always short lit (shoulders facing the main) and girls broad lit (shoulders away from main). But a lot has changed since then with all the gender debates. I assume everyone now gets posed straight forward to camera, to avoid the arguments of who identifies as who? Or is it just for the sake of speed of posing? Every yearbook photo I see now days, everyone is straight forward. I don't see anyone addressing the posing issue. Thanks.
I just tell them to turn either way or stay straight, it’s up to them! I tried doing all 3 for everyone this year but it took too long so we had to abandon that half way through and tell them to pick.
@@MattHernandez Ah, OK. Just ask them to pick their best side and let it be that. Good call. Thanks.
Great title…. If you need a free assistant for a week let me know… I could learn a lot working with you for a week! Keep up the great videos!
Thanks, will do!
I am just getting back into photography, bought a mirrorless, I'm using all my old lenses on it, and I'm remembering how much fun it is to watch endless technical tips from wise photographers!
Hahaha nice
I don't do yearbook photos, but watched this anyway because I think all portrait lighting is relevant to photographers... and that proves true here. Thanks for the walkthrough
Thank YOU for watching.
Yeah, it is a nice setup when you are doing it in for eg sports hall. Try it in a small classroom with a low ceiling 😁
What is eg sports half? Yellow ceilings can be challenging for sure! Thank you for watching.
@@MattHernandez For example sport hall etc.
Great man! We use a similar setup that we changed up a little bit from Matthew The Body. I know you are going to crush that school job!
Haha thank you!
Matt, your videos are always very well done, very informative, as well as motivational. Thanks for not being afraid to share tips (I won't say tricks) of the trade.
Thank you VERY much! I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to say that.
Simple setup is efficient! Thanks for the tips dude!
Absolutely! Thanks for watching
good man , I am gonna watch more from you for sure
Thank you!
This is gold!
Thank you!
I appreciate your solution and the way you present it in this video. Going to subscribe. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the lack of catch lights, which really can make people look dead and expressionless, like a shark's eyes. And I didn't see much of a catch light at all with your overhead setup. What would a workable solution be to get catch lights in all the subjects' eyes?
There were catch lights! The were on the top and smaller but they were there. Just hard to see on the video.
Curious how you are setting an accurate white balance reading when you stand in front of your main light to photograph the white card? We live and die with Expo Discs which also nail the exposure in addition to the white balance but are always looking for other ways to do things. Thanks
The color looked good I don’t think my shirt was reflecting onto that card enough to make a difference. I actually tried it myself before that holding the card and it was the same.
My local high school has between 700-800 in the graduating class. Since all the classes are so large (K-12), the district uses the big, national companies. Those companies do very basic, limited training then send out inexperienced photographers who wind up with glasses glare, bad lighting, and poor posing in their images. They switched companies from last year, but I haven't been impressed with what I've seen. It's really a shame. Your video is great - especially with raising the light to eliminate the glasses glare.
Thank you for the feedback that’s great to hear!
You da man Matt!
Hahaha thanks brother 👊🏽
Awesome!! Great video!! Thank you!!
Glad you liked it!
It's hard to tell on video, are there catch lights on the eyes with that two light setup?
Yes there are!
Hey Matt. What software do you use to stay organized with that amount of students. Specially to know who is who?
Good question.
I would be interested to know what the "back end" work looks like to keep files from 4 shooters organized, and all the kids synced to the correct pics.
I use Photoday! They use face recognition software and it’s pretty amazing.
Being nitpicky and overthinking it a bit, I probably wouldn't set WB wearing a green shirt that close and almost directly under the key light. There's probably a bit of green color contamination that's pushing up the magenta in WB. All that said, I'm probably stealing this setup for the hockey team headshots that I do.
He was actually wearing a black shirt. I wasn’t close enough for the green in mine to do anything I don’t think. Should work well for hockey go for it! Thank you for watching and the feedback I appreciate you!
I agree could be some green, but at the end of the day if all the bays are grey carded by the guy in the green shirt they should all look consistent which is the most important part. I don’t think parents would notice that color shift though. FYI gonna have to wear that green shirt for all the make up days if it made a big difference in color shift. 😂
Thanks for the links--was the backdrop link in the link list? If not i'll just browse the site haha Thanks man
Yes it’s the first link at the top!
@@MattHernandez Oh man my bad that's on me LOL. Thank you!
Nice work. 👍
Thanks 👍
@@MattHernandez I watch a lot of photography on utube. There’s portraits, sports portraits, lighting techniques, camera settings and …. You cover it all my friends👍
Thanks for the video ❤ great advice. How do you give the photos to the schools? Print orders or digital? Volume photography feels overwhelming on the backend.
Both no think I mentioned I use Photoday for ordering. You should check them out!
You’re welcome!
lol school photos are my goal.
Hey it’s easy money 😂
@@MattHernandez facts. I do lots of high volume sorts at the moment which is nice. But schools are the next addition. I just spoke with one of the local schools here and hope to get in for 2026 SY 🙏🏾
Thanks a lot for the video.
I will definitely give it a try at setting the main light from above to get rid of the glare on the glasses.
About the background and hair light, I just use a diffuser panel with something like a 400w to get both a clean white solid background and hair light at the same time. Where I'm from we always have to use white background in the yearbook photos.
I have a question about the lighting when it comes to kids in a box. I also shoot the year book for the 5 years old, instead of a formal shooting I set a cardboard box and sit the kids in a cushion inside the box (the front of the box open towards the camera). If I use the light from above it'll create a shadow because of the box. Would you use it your system and just add a small fill light from behind the camera for example or that would create glare on the glasses?
You could definitely do that, but I asked about white specifically and they didn’t want that. I think that would most likely create glare unfortunately. Especially if the glasses aren’t no glare.
Two light setup perfect! Question. Would you put a silver reflector under his chin or leave as is in your video? Thank!!
Thank you! I’d leave it personally.
Thanks, was the back edge of the overhead light aligned with the front of the model?
It’s angled down about 45° at the back of their head/shoulders.
@@MattHernandez Thank you, that is extremely helpful when starting out, I appreciate it.
@@MattHernandez Wasn't Kevin's question about the main light? I think he wanted to know how feathered the front edge of the light is relative to the subject.
Great video and timing. Thanks for doing it. I just got home from photographing my first school for the year. Would you have a side view showing or info on how far the 7' umbrella is from the subject? Is the umbrella over him or in front of him? Is the far edge of the umbrella in line with his body?
It’s a couple steps out from the subject.
Glad you liked it thank you!
@@MattHernandez Thank you. I LOVE watching your videos and your teaching style. Informative, on topic and using the latest gear and technology/software. Keep them coming! :)
Would you add a small speedlite on low power for a catch light cause little to no light in dem eyes might have some of the kids look scary
Yeah that's what I was thinking. With the light that high, some kids will have dark eyes...especially any with "deep inset" eyes. I guess if the light is out in front of the kids enough you may get some catchlights?
You could for sure, but he did have catch lights in his eyes. The first one with the wrong white balance wasn’t as noticeable but it was there.
Do you have a product list for lighting?
Yes if you look in the description there’s link to most of the stuff I use!
If you had to pick a certain size of strip light modifier for new people to get started with good edge lighting, what would you suggest? Just getting started and wanting to get the most versatile gear until I can afford more gear! Great videos Matt!
If you’re getting a strip I’d get the 1x4.
www.fjwestcott.com/products/rapid-box-switch-1x4?sca_ref=2860320.WGNh3o3iRN
@@MattHernandez you da best!
I'm not Matt, but for a lot less money than the 1x4' he linked to I'd recommend the 12" x 36" (or 1x3 feet) strip boxes from Glow (Adorama's house brand). The "umbrella" style one lists for US$80, and the type you need to assemble with rods is half that price. Even the ones with rods and "speed ring" in the middle connecting them assemble pretty quickly, but I try to use collapsible ones for location jobs and keep the other ones assembled in my studio.
Did the strobe batteries last for the entire shoot?
We had to change the key lights once today because we ran the modeling lights. If we hadn’t had those on they would have made it.
What is your system / work flow to track students name to their photo?
I use Photoday, which uses face recognition software. I love it you should check them out.
The big flaw that is in this set up is kids with disabilities
I disagree. All you have to do is lower the light! We had some and it was fine.
@@MattHernandez I mean yeah but you have it behind the backdrop. So it takes a lot longer when you have thousands of kids which was my point.
IMHO, way too bright on the top of his head/hair, especially for a guy.
I disagree, but thank you for the feedback!
First 👵