Transcripts
1. Model Photography Masterclass: Shoot Like a Pro: Welcome to my new class about shooting a
model like a pro. This class doesn't focus
on models specifically. It can be any person with
more or less experience, and I'm going to show you
how to accomplish emulating, let's say, a model, making a regular person shoot
like it's a professional, like S O is a professional. So this is a topic Who am I? L et me introduce myself. I'm Peter Tomas. I'm a pro photographer. I have worked with
several brands across multiple disciplines, being them, portraits, cars, sports, landscape, et
cetera, et cetera. I usually say to my clients, the only thing I
don't do is weddings, so everything else.
I usually do. This course is for
intermediate A. The necessary equipment
for this class, of course, a camera, will be doing some shoots, so a camera, some type of light. It doesn't have to be the same kind that I
will be showing you, but you have to have some
kind of light source. Preferably not natural, so
we can manipulate it a bit. Natural light is
harder to manipulate. So you have to have some kind
of external light source, being a flash, a stroke, continuous light, whatever
you can get your ends on, you can at least learn
something from this course. Will also, of course,
need some kind of editing software for the second
part of this class. And what I mean by this is first part, learning
how to shoot. Second part, learning
how to treat and edit those photos to look
like pro photography. So, what are we going
to learn in this class? We are going to learn how
to set up the studio. I'm going to give you the most basic setup that
I can think of that works. There are some setups that
but I'm going to show you a setup with one light
source that works perfectly. We're going to learn how to talk to the model, how to interact, so to make her comfortable, especially if it's
someone is a bit more am. So we're going to learn that. We're going to learn how to
easily work on the poses. And also, like I said before, we are going to
learn how to edit the photos that come out
of your photo shoot. So I hope you like this course, and let's do this. Let's shoot a model like a pro.
2. Actually Shooting the Model: Pro Photography Tips for Stunning Results: So welcome to my first lesson in shooting a model like a pro. I would like to start off this lesson by talking
about the preparations, what goes before
the actual shoot. Some people, with no experience, might think it's just preparing the shoot shoot
edit and deliver. But actually a lot goes into preparing the
photo shoot itself. Beforehand, what I actually do, and I will always
talk from experience. I know a lot of photographers. Each one has their
little changes, their little way of working. I'm going to talk about
my little way of working. So I will talk from experience. You can always adjust
it to your liking, but I will always
talk from experience, not from whatever is
out there on the web. So first things first, what do we need to do with the model before we
even start shooting? I usually do, I like to talk. It makes sense. No. I like
to talk with the model and see what is the
target of the photoshoot. In this case, we can have two ways of
getting to that target. If you are hired by a magazine or a close branding or
shoe brand or something, you have a specific target, which is to promote that or
that series of products. Yeah. But if let's
imagine you don't have a specific client. You are shooting for
the model for a book, let's say, or for
social media, whatever. You don't have a specific
need to shoot X or Y. So what I usually
do is talk and see styles that the model likes
and would like to do. We usually share a
pinterest board. Excuse the publicity. But we usually share
a pinterest board, which is the easier way I find to share ideas and in this case, images or videos,
sometimes it's videos. And it's the first thing. I always talk to the
model and say, Oh, let's fill a board with
ideas that you like, that I like, and
somehow by magic, we will get to a consensus
of what we are going to do. Once again, let me tell you, this is only for when we are shooting for I'll
call it non clients. Yeah, when we are shooting
for social media, for portfolio, whatever. So this is what I do first. Second, it's very important to keep communication or
communicating with your model from the moment you start talking or shutting
online until the actual day. Why? Because they will
get more and more comfortable with the person
you are, the photographer. It's very, very, very
important to have a certain degree of being comfortable with
the photographer. It is very difficult
to work with someone that is not comfortable with you
as a photographer. So it's something to think about beforehand and work on it. Talk. Just talk can be
always about the photoshoot. Can be, hey, good morning, ho, you prepared for the photo
shooting next week. Yeah. Nice. So those kinds
of sheet shut and building your interest board can help in making the
model more comfortable. I've had people work with me that it was their first time, and they were saying
they didn't like to be in front of the
camera and all of that. But with time talking,
not forcing anything, just talking people get comfortable with you,
and they trust you. So it makes it much easier to have them in
front of the camera and guided by you and doing
what you tell them to do. Yeah. So this is what
happens pre photoshoot. It's very important. It's nothing that
I think that you can forget or this
doesn't really matter. It's one of the most
important things that I think every photo shoot
with the person needs, it's communication and
them trusting you. People are very self
conscious about their image, so you as a photographer have the responsibility to make
them feel comfortable. Next step, obviously,
day of the photoshoot, you as a photographer,
have to be early. Unless you have the
studio already set up, you have to set up the studio, set up the lights, and something that I like to set up as well. Is I was going to say, if you remember, we were
talking about Pinterest. Of course, it was in
the last 30 seconds. But we were talking about
Pinterest and the board, right? So what I usually like to
do is put a tripod with an iPad and with that
specific pinterest board. Why? Because if the
model comes more nervous or bit en prepared with the poses and all of that, there is that visual aid, she can she or he can go
and mess with the tablet, see what was posted, see what they like, see what was chosen to do in the session. So it's an aid that I
really, really like, and I usually use
it as let's say, as an extra in the photoshoot. From my experience, 99% of the people usually mess
with a tablet, go there, and navigate, see better
how the positions go, how they don't go. Dam. My English is a bit rusty. I'm sorry. How they
don't go, see, I like that position,
but let's try with the arm in a different way
or something like that. So it's a great, great, great tool to have a simple
tablet or a computer, if you don't have a
tablet or something that the model can
interact with. You can interact
with to guide them. So I usually put them, like I said on a tripod and I leave the head open
so it can spin, look at me. And
look at the model. Look at me, look at the models. So we can both be in sync
while we are working. So it's a tip that I can't
not use, can't not use. These days, is an
awesome awesome tip. Another tip, if you can, and if the person
being shot likes, which common sense
says they do music. Music is something
which relaxes people, which at least gives something to talk about
I like this song. Oh, I like that song too. Nice. So you engage
in a conversation, and it's a nice
breaker, let's say. So if you can have music on
your session, it's awesome. The difference it
makes. Let me tell you. And these are some tips
for for the session. Let's dive into the
actual technical stuff. Yeah. So what do you have
to set up light or light? In this case, I said light
because This example, I'm going to show you how
to do it with one light, how to do it in a simple place. I did it at my ow,
so very simple, although I have a studio, and I have about ten lights. I used one light and I
did it in my living room. So what I really want to convey
with this class is anyone can improve and get to a
pro level that is a bit. But can get to a pro level
with very simple here. Yeah. You don't need to
have $10,000 cameras, $10,000 lights,
$10,000 backdrops, et cetera, et cetera, to
get some great shots. You just need the
imagination and to work well with the person
that you're shooting. The light. In this case, I'm going for a very basic what I like to
call a 30 degree angle. It's more or less, obviously, but what I like to call
a 30 degree angle light, which I think works the best. But there are a lot of
different angles with different names and a bunch of stuff that you can
change with only one light, but I like to keep
it at about 30. Basically, the light
is by my side, left or right you choose. Keep in mind what it will do. If you put it on one side and you have to
light up the face, the model has to face that side, or if you want to
have separation on the nose and have a bit
of shadow on the other side, you have to keep that in mind. You have to work with the
light you are working with It makes almost sense. Of course, if you are more of
a pro and have more lights, you can then put one on
each side, one on top, one on the bottom reflectors,
et cetera, et cetera, so you can do some
what I like to say, it's a bit overkill. But for this example, one light, keep it simple. Keep it awesome. Then
while you are shooting, what is the most
important thing. I've talked about
this, and I will continue in this theme
that you will understand. The most important thing
is make your model, man, woman, child, baby,
whatever, feel comfortable. It's the most important thing, and it will make an absolute difference when you are delivering the photos. Of course. But when you
are looking at them, you are editing, you can
see where they are most Comfortable. You can see
the micro expressions. And when you take the photo, it's a split second. But when you edit,
you have let's say, an hour for each photo. And you spend that
whole hour looking at the expressions of
the person you shot. Right? So you can very easily get to the point
where you say, damn it. This photo didn't
work out as intended because the model is clearly
uneasy with something, he's not relaxed, is not
doing what I asked her to do, it tends, it's nervous, so you can easily see that. And then when you publish it or send it to a
client or whatever, they will see it too. The great thing
about photography is it captures the moment. The worst thing about photography is it
captures the moment. It can capture a
moment and be like, Oh, this moment was awesome. So it's for eternity
start. Oh, damn it. This moment was so uneasy. So no. And it's forever captured. So you have to manage the
people in front of the camera? Well, it's for me, personally, it's more important than
what you actually do with the camera and with the
lights and all that set up. It's more important that you put your people in
front of the camera at. Than that settings. Very quick. I usually shoot at 1/125. I tend not to go below four, maybe in one or another project. I want the separation
to be more, but usually if I go too low on the number or too
wide on the aperture, you will start to
have the i in focus, which is the rule. Say, the eye and
focus and the tip of the nose and the
ears, out of focus. I don't really like
that shallow depth of field or a shallow
depth of field. I like it a bit a bit bigger, a bit more space, let's say. So usually, I don't go below F four while shooting
in studio. Okay? The light you have
to, can I say this? Configure according
to the settings. If you are shooting, let's
imagine if you are shooting, you do some test shots. Obviously, if you are
shooting someone, and it is too bright with the settings I just
told you and you agree on them and you use them and you find the overall mood
to be too light, turn down your stroke or strokes or lights
or whatever you use. Find it to be too
dark, turn them up. So the light is kind of
after not after thought, that is not the
right expression, but after setting, if
it makes any sense. First, you set your camera, how you want it to be, right? Because if you set your
shutter speed too low, you'll have possibly
some motion blur because of the
movement of the model, in some cases, not always,
but in some cases, you might just missed the shot because of
some motion blur, so I like to keep it at
1/125 or a bit faster. Like I said, F four, usually, I work at IO 100, but kind of depends
on what I'm shooting, what I want my results to be. But as a rule of thumb, is 100, and then the lights,
you think about them after you set
up your camera. So shoot done, what is important to do after
the shoot is done. Talk to the model, M
feel not discriminating. Make her feel like
it was a great job, say what they did great. If you feel they can improve
on something, let them know. Don't be harsh,
but let them know. This is a learning
process for everyone. We as photographers
learn every day. They as models learn
every single day. So we have to be here for each other and let them know Oh, that you know the third photo, you could have
done this or that, or it might look great with
this or that, whatever. But let them know
they did great. If it's true, if it's not true. Usually, it is, I
never had the case where the model in the
end didn't do great. My maybe 20% of the time, it takes them a bit to
warm up to be relaxed. But after that, it's
smooth sailing, so shot you're doing
great man should shoot, and it always comes out great
great overall products. Sometimes the first shots go to the trash because like
I said, it's two tense. You can clearly see, especially when zoomed
in and editing. You can clearly see when
a person is two tense. So There's that. Don't rely too much
on your first shots. If you have any doubts, repeat them at the end. Oh, remember the first shot. Let's do it again now that it's more chill and everything. So yeah, let's do that. And you usually usually,
It's an understatement, but usually get a better shot if you do it near
the end where people are more relaxed and they see that it's not a big
deal, a big deal. The photoshoot, it's
something that you can easily good time
and a good time. Yeah, that's the most
important thing, right? So that's shooting like a
pro. These are some tips. The settings are very dependent
on the lights you have. The settings on the camera. I gave you the ones
I use the most, so the lights it kind of
depends on the lights you have, the power they have,
the location you have. You can have natural light
coming in through a window, or you can have something
that it's pitch dark. So it really depends on
the ambient you have. So I can't really give
you light settings. What I can say is do a
lot of test shots in the beginning
because it makes it easier for the rest
of the process. So this is my shooting
a model like a pro. See you in the next one. Which is editing. Those great shots you just took and make them look top notch. So yeah, see you
in the next one. Thank you.
3. Pro Tips for Editing Model Photography: From Raw to Final Image: Welcome to my class
about editing the photos you took
on the first class, shooting a model like a pro. So you now have your
photos ready to edit. You have them mole
on your computer. You shot raw, which
is important. If you want to manipulate
the photograph a lot, if you want to have a lot of details in the highlights and in the shadows, but you
already knew that, right? Right? So let's edit some shots. You can now see my screen. I have two shots that I
selected, two different shots. One as a more clear background. The other as a darker, although they're both
lit up by my stroke. But one is back lit. This is not the correctter because it's not the
only source of flight, but one has a back light,
the other doesn't. That's why I chose these two. I'm going to edit these shots
like the actual shoot so you can see what I did and why I did why I did what I did. You understand me,
right? The model asks specifically to have
all black and white set. So that's what
I'm going to do. I have actually developed a preset for this
photoshoot specifically. I called it the
name of the model, so you can preview
here what it does. I'm going to apply
it and go through it so you can
understand what I mean. Apply. Now, I like to have my black and white shots with V, let's say VE contrast. So the contrast is always
a slider increase. Ie lights are decreased a bit. I can increase them in order to some of the curtains
that are shot in the back, but I don't want to do
that for the all image. I will make some masks later. So ilight, I will put them back. Shadows are a bit
increased so we can see the all
features of the model. It's important if you have areas like this part
that's in the shadows. So that's important. If I turn back the shadows, you can see the whole face
goes away. So let's put query, it was White and Black I kind of it's
personal preference. It's not black and white. You see, I'm a funny guy. It's not black and white, but it's something that I will leave to your
personal preference. It's not a rule. It's they don't have
a specific idea, but you can do whatever you want with them as long
as it looks great. You. So although ye
lights and shadows do have at least a basis of a rule. I feel like whites
and blacks don't. They're more like
they're more like free for you to test out what
you like and you don't. Then we move on to
the presence texture. I didn't change it, but I changed the clarity. I don't want that exaggerates. I don't want to emphasize the
darkness around the eyes, the darkness on the mouth, the shadows near
the sheen. I don't any of this when
shooting a model. This is a no go, except if you are wanting that
style, go for it. This is always not a rule, but it's something I
don't really like to see, so I turned down
the clarity a bit. We will enhance some
features later. Masks, vibrance and saturation. They're just random values. They don't mean anything
because it's black and white. The way I did black and white on this particular preset
was in the color mixer, I removed all the colors. There are many ways to do
black and white in light room, but in this particular preset, I chose to do this this way. Why? Because if I
change the temperature, the photo changes
a lot. You see? So, it allows me to change the photo with
the temperature slider, which is something I
think it's really cool, not that I will add
back any color. The model specifically wanted the black and white session. So yeah, but I want that freedom to change it
with the temperature slider. One other thing, when I
do my blacks and whites, I always like to add a
little bit of grain. I think black and white, it's supposed to be more
raw type of photography, not so polished in my mind. This is not a rule. In my mind, it's not so polished. So I like to add a
little bit of grain. Of course, you
choose what you do. So then for calibration, I change these values
a bit to my liking. So let's start actually
editing the shot. What I always like to do, and this is built in the preset. I like to add a little vignette. I never know how to say
this word in English. But I like to add a little bit
of shadows on the corners. I'll show you the mask,
so this is darker. This is brighter. So I like to add this manually. Why? Because then I can move from shot to shot
because this is a preset, I like to move it
from shot to shot. Maybe in one shot, she's on the left third, maybe on the other, she's
on the right third. In this particular one,
she's in the middle, so okay, it works. But this way I cannod just
where I want the focus to be. Next thing I do, I
create a mask for the background because this
is a photoshoot studio like, although, as you seen
in the first video. This was actually done
in my living room. And just so I can prove to you, it can be done almost anywhere. And then I manipulate the
background as I see fit. Light room has a great way of automatically masking things. So the mask is pretty
damn near perfect, so I can start changing
whatever I want. So I will increase the
brightness of the background, so I can pop the model a
bit more because it gives more contrast between the blacks of her jacket and
jeans and the sh. And the clear or
white background. I will call it background. Always name your masks
because by the end of this, you'll have ten, 15, 20 and if you want to
edit one or another, it's much easier to know
right away which does what? So I'm going to add another. I'm going to put some
brightness from the top, so let's increase the
brightness just to the point where the
curtains are barely barely, barely noticeable. So Top brightness. I like to keep it simple
because if you write too much, you won't see it in
the list of masks, but I also want it to be straight enough to the
point that I can just go, Oh, this is where I did
this, so let's add it. So what I'm going
to do more in here, I always like to do the select
people because Light room, like I said, it's great with AI making automatic selections. So what I like to do is
facial skin, always a st. I like to do iris. Sometimes I do the lips. In this case, I don't
feel it's necessary. Sometimes I like to do the hair. Here, I'll do the hair, and these are the tree
that I will change. The others I don't
feel like the need. If I feel like the need, I can come back to them later. Create masks, name them face. I already have a skin
treatment preset, but I will decrease
the intensity a bit. What it does is
smooth out the skin. What I do is increase a bit, the shadows and decrease
texture and clarity. You can see the difference is noticeable to say
the least, yeah. So if you feel like
that it's too much. You can always have
this slider on top, which is the amount slider, and you can slide it to left, which is zero or
apply it too much, and this just looks fake as. So I will put it at about 70%. Now, this the Iris, I like to enhance
the Iris a bit. I have a preset already. Basically, it just increases exposure a bit, not too much. If you can see, they are
just a bit more clear. It's a style I do like, although it has to be done very carefully because
if you do it too much, let me just can make the model
of a serious high disease, which is what you don't want
every single edit to do, it has to be a small thing
that when it all adds up, you will have an edit you like. But how can I say this? Not one of the changes you made is so significant that
it breaks all the other. It has to be small
increments with each mask, with each step, color, whatever you want, but it
has to be small increments. If you do big increments, will ruin and overdo your shot, and it will look fake. So Mass number three Air, what I like to do to air, and now I don't have a preset. I like to pull the shaders a little
bit to the bright side. You can see the hair in
this area starts to appear. More strands of hair just so
you can see the difference. I also like to add a
little bit of clarity. Maybe it was too much,
maybe a bit too much. Dile it back a bit. And this is the
difference of hair. And if you feel like
it's too bright, you can always come
to the blacks and add black or reduce the blacks, which make it blacker a bit, or you can also play
with the exposure. So Yeah. Okay, I'm happy with it. Pretty much done
on the photograph. I don't want to do too much. What I will do now
is pick up a brush and come to the burn
and Dodge section. These are pre created presets. All the light rooms have them, so it's not just mine. So Okay. Pick dodge. And then what you want to do is clear some shadows
like around the eyes. We will not put much
intensity into this, but we will do around the eyes. So those shadows that naturally, the eye being inset into your head creates some shadows unless the light is
straight from the front. So you want to correct
them with a dodge brush. As you can see,
it makes a bit of a difference, 0.25 exposure. It's the default value.
I didn't change it. So let's put a little bit
here on the chain and Okay. So here's to dodge. I'm happy. So if you
are a perfectionist, here's another step
you can do Light room now as a generative
AI to remove some, let's say, non perfect skin. So if you think
like, for example, this and this and these
marks are too much, you can just select them, click on enter, and
watch AI do its thing. This is optional. Of course, it depends on how far you want to go with your
edit, all right. So it's not mandatory
to do this. A good makeup or even a decent makeup will eliminate those
things in shoot. So it's really not necessary. Now, we have a photo I
feel is perfectly fine. But if we want to either eliminate or accentuate
the shadow on her face. Here's a tip. You have the
face here he's the name. It makes now sense that
you name your masks. So we can duplicate
it, duplicate face. It's a strange thing to say. And then in this tri dots, intersect with, and let's do
a linear gradient like so. Linear gradient. As you can see, we can change how it
interacts with the face. And now I'm just going to reset the changes that were
copied from the face mask. Then if I want to
neutralize the face, have it with less shadow, I can increase exposure
or increase the shadow. If I want to
accentuate the shadow, I can even do exposure a bit. Personally, I like to
accentuate the shadow. It's a personal choice. We are artists, I'd like to say. So there's no right
and no wrong. Just some tips that you can
use or choose not to use. So face shadow and
ans. And there you go. You have a perfectly nice shot. You can use export. Perfectly happy with that.
Let's go to the second shot. Now. Let's do this one more quickly because otherwise
this video will be massive. Use the same preset, apply. Let's increase brightness
just a little bit because what I want to
focus on is the model, all the other things I
don't really care about. They can be chosen with a
simple, select background, and now I can or Light room
select the background for me, and I can do the
adjustments I want. In here, I will bring down
the exposure background. Now, what I want to do, select all the subjects and
increase exposure a bit, decrease the shadows,
decrease the blacks a bit. Yeah. Now subject. Now, all I want to do more is, like in the in the first shot. I will pick some of the pre selected or
pre created masks. I want facial, I want the iris, I want the hair same as before. Face. I will go to my
skin treatment one. Let me just dial it back a bit. Now, this is the iris. Let me just zoom in to see
if the effect is too much. Not too much. It's
just about right. Let's go to the hair. Let's increase the
shadows a bit. Increase clarity a bit. Let's see the difference. I like the difference. Let's
just bring this down a bit. Now, if you want the face for
me is pretty near perfect. But if you want because this model has some
blemishes on your skin, you can easily
correct them with AI. It really facilitates
our job as an editor. Just select what
you want to remove, press center and
with a little bit. The more points you do, at the same time,
the more time it takes to clear up.
That makes sense. If you do 50, it takes more time
than two. Makes sense. So now, I find that her
belly is a bit dark, so I'm going to select object, do a rough paint over. It should be pretty much
perfectly selected. Then I'm going to
do This to match more or less the brightness
from the chest to the belly. I'm going to remove
texture and clarity. And if I want to
do some more work, I can also clear up
some blemishes here. Just to make it quick. Of course, if you want
this to be perfect, you take a little bit more time, but enter and when this is done, you pretty much have done photo edited like
the model wanted. Of course, this photo
would take more time. It did take me more time because the jacket has some errors
from laying on the floor. She's lying on the floor. So that has to be all
cleaned up and all of that. But you get the point you
can easily edit a photo. What is important
is that you don't overdo anything on your shots. It's very important
to don't go crazy. Otherwise, they will look fake. Of course, you can go
crazy here or there. But if you go crazy everywhere, the shot will look fake. So my tip to you
is, don't go crazy. If you feel like
that's not enough, what I usually like to do is edit the shots,
let's say, today, then come back to
them tomorrow or the next day and look at
them with fresh eyes. If I think they are too bland or they need a
little more punch, then I can go a
little bit crazy. Yeah. That's how I work. I don't like to deliver
on the same day. I usually find
that I do a lot of editing in the following
four days after editing. What I mean is, I edit, let them rest for three days, and then I get back to them. And then I think you
have a new vision over your shots that it's more clear and it's easier to do the final, let's say the final edit. So, yeah, I'd like to do that. It's advice. I always give to people
that work with me. Let the photos rest
for one or two days, and then get back to them and see what you feel like
if you like them, if you don't, if you
feel like that's editing enough or
not edited enough. After those three or four days, you will, for sure,
have that down. You have that feeling like, Okay, it's enough,
it's not enough. So that's my tip to you. And thanks for watching. I hope you like this course. And don't forget to do
the project and take a beautiful shot of a beautiful
person and post it here. I would like to see people
post things here so I can comment and see what
people are actually doing. So yeah, do that and see you
in the next one. Thank you.
Pedro Thomaz, Pro-Photographer
