Tutorials

Equipment I Use + Love

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

I decided to review my cameras, lenses and editing software because I feel as though it will benefit you guys a lot when purchasing a camera or a new lens. I really enjoy the gear that I work with I feel as though it’s all very high quality and though the gear doesn’t completely matter it does help create beautiful images. I decided to not include my studio lights or camera bag that I personally use in this post because I simply could not find the make or model of the ones I use but I found a similar camera bag and decided to add it instead.

Cameras

Canon Powershot G7X: I began my photography career with a simple Canon Powershot G7X Mark ii. The G7X is a point and shoot sized camera that has manual capabilities. This is a great camera for if you aren’t that serious about photography but you still want manual capability instead of a point and shoot.

Canon Rebel T5: I shot with this camera for about 2 years before transitioning over to the 7D and I got some really good pictures from it. I feel as though this camera is great for an amateur photographer because with the right lens you will still be able to capture striking photographs that look at the professional level. A few words of caution from this camera, I’ve found that for some reason the way the button is designed causes the images to appear blurry and causes quite a bit of camera shake. I’ve found that many times my images appear a lot shakier when I shoot with my rebel instead of my 7D, this could just be a user error but if you struggle with camera shake I would invest in a tripod or shoot on a high shutter speed at all times.

Canon 7D Mark ii: This is the camera I’ve been shooting with for the past 9 months and I’ve fallen in love with it. The camera makes it easy to get consistently clear shots at all times and works well with all of my lenses. I love the way my images look from the 7D and I feel like my photography has progressed quite a bit from using this camera. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone really serious about photography.

dream camera: canon 5d mark iv, a girl can dream

Lenses

50mm 1.4: I absolutely LOVE this lens. The 50mm 1.4 lens is my favorite of all the lenses I’ve ever shot with. One of my favorite aspects of it is the fact that it’s a prime lens so it forces you to move around your model instead of easily zooming the lens. I love the bokeh effect that this lens gives and even though it doesn’t go down to aperture 1.2 I still think it is an amazing lens and highly recommend it to anyone interested in portraiture.

85mm 1.8: Again this is another prime lens that I like quite a bit. I haven’t practiced as much with the 85mm because I just adore the 50mm so much and my personal 85mm doesn’t go down to the low apertures that I like. I do really like how the 85mm really focuses a lot more on the subject rather than the background and creates a really nice blurred background for portraits. I recommend this as a good second portrait lens but I would recommend the 50mm lens over this one as my personal preference.

24-70mm 2.8: This lens is an absolute dream. This zoom lens is my second favorite lens in my collection because of its landscape capabilities. I shoot with this lens a lot of times when I either don’t have enough room to move around my model and need a zoom capability or on the rare occasion that I shoot something other than portraits. This lens is on a bit of the pricier side since it is an L series lens but I would still highly recommend it if you like more of your subject matter in focus for portraiture or like shooting basically any other subject matter.

Editing

Editing Software: I originally used to edit completely in Photoshop Elements 15. I began to watch more and more YouTube videos on editing techniques but I wasn’t feeling inspired or like I could do much with Photoshop Elements. I decided to try the Lightroom CC trial and I couldn’t understand the hype, to me it was more confusing than photoshop ever was and I was even more frustrated. I quickly decided Lightroom wasn’t for me and studied Photoshop even deeper. I then began to realize that the Lightroom trial I had downloaded wasn’t the same as the videos I was watching so I downloaded a trial of Lightroom Classic and instantly fell in love.

I love the fact that I can save my edits from some images to create a more cohesive feel throughout all of my images. I also absolutely adore the HSL sliders, tone curves, split toning and camera calibration that Lightroom offers. I feel as though Lightroom’s layout of these tools is very easy to access and direct making it a lot easier for anyone to edit their images using it. However, I would say Lightroom’s spot removal tool is not very good and often doesn’t do what I want it to which causes me to take the image into Photoshop for that step. If you’re wanting to do more manipulations with your image I would recommend Photoshop however if you’re just wanting to edit an image I would recommend Lightroom.

Want to do a shoot together? Click here for booking and pricing information!

Instagram: @goodallphotos

Facebook Page: @goodallphotographs

Contact me! goodallphotos1@gmail.com

Photography Tips for Beginners

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

Photography is an art form that boils down to three essential points: composition, lighting and editing, everything else after these three puts a person beyond an average photographer. In this post, I’m going to cover these three essentials that every photographer should know about.

Composition

Composition is a very wide grouping because there are so many things that can fall under it. Here I am going to cover the basics that every photographer should know.

Rule of Thirds: This rule essentially states that there are three segments of an image, you will be able to see this best if you turn on the grid function of your iPhone and notice there are three distinct areas. To create a correctly composed image you should position your subject in the center of one of these thirds. For example in the images below you can see how one might position in the right third, left third or center third.

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Simplicity: Simplistic images are ideal so your eye doesn’t get distracted by things in the image. It is best to limit the number of objects or distractors when photographing anything. As Sorelle Amore says it is best to keep your images within the 3 items rule stating that your image should have at most three things in it at once. If your image has more than 3 things in it it is recommended to turn it black and white so your eye doesn’t also have to focus on color. In the image below there are three things happening in the image, the sun, the road and the model.

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hipster portraits

Curves: S and C curve are essential for adding movement in your images because they allow your eye to follow the shape of the S or C. I love using this in my images because it guides your eye to what I want it to see. Similarly leading line composition does the same thing except the lines are straight. Curves are predominately used with female models because they are associated with feminity while straight leading lines are associated with masculinity and often used on male models.

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Framing: Framing your subject with surrounding objects or their own body parts is a great way to draw attention to their face or to the subject you are photographing. Framing can be as easy as bringing some hands above your head, positioning your model underneath some trees or the way rocks frame a vast landscape. If you see symmetrical objects on either side of your subject try and position them/it in between these two objects to create a simple frame and an easy way to draw in your viewer’s focus.

Lighting

Lighting is an essential part of photography. Harsh lighting can result in images that are hard to edit in post or even turn out well. I highly recommend shooting at golden hour if you are a beginner photographer or even just any photographer. At golden hour the light is even on your entire subject which avoids harsh shadows that might ruin your photo. Avoid shooting from 11-4 however if you have to shoot at this time in the day here are a few tips to help you.

  • Angle upwards. Have your model angle your head towards the light so the shadows are cast on their neck and not their face.
  • Bright Colors. Style your model in bright and dynamic colors to distract from the bright light, bright colors also photograph the best during midday.
  • Not Too Hot. Stay aware of the temperature. If you live in the South you’ll know that 11-4 is the hottest part of the day so make sure you shoot your close-up portraits first to avoid any detailed sweat in the portrait
  • Stay hydrated. I know this sounds stupid but sweaty models and photographers are never a good combination so make sure you’re hydrating, heavy equipment and blazing sun are not a good match.
  • Shoot Dark. This is apart of my personal style but I think it is really helpful in the editing process if you shoot slightly darker than what your meter reading says. If your meter changes in the middle of the shot and goes lighter it’s okay because you’re already slightly darker. Also, it is much easier to brighten up an image slightly with exposure, whites & shadows than it is to darken an image. Shooting darker also gives your images a moodier feel.

golden hour portraits + golden hour portraits ii

Editing

Editing can change so much in an image. I personally like to edit a lot in Lightroom and I actually have many lightrooms presets that I use in most of my images, such as my Hipster Golden, Black & White Fade, and my Golden Airy presets. I think it is important to create your own personal style and then reflect that in all of your images. The easiest ways to set your photography apart is to use the Camera Calibration and Split Toning functions in Lightroom. I’m not going to share my exact editing workflow, however, I will tell you some editing do’s and don’ts.

DO

  • Enable profile corrections before anything else
  • Adjust black sliders to add more contrast
  • Adjust shadows to add detail into the image
  • Adjust HSL sliders to fit the skin tone of the subject first
  • Edit your image to look like film that way even when editing styles age your image will remain timeless
  • Watch editing tutorials of your favorite photographers and pick up on their tips

DON’T

  • Develop your entire editing style around someone else’s
  • Adjust the tone curve more heavily than creating a slight S shape
  • Completely crush the whites or blacks
  • Add a ton of saturation and vibrancy to your image it won’t age well
  • Listen to everything I say these are my editing opinions but yours can vary, find your own style and rock it!

 

 

How to: Create a Color Scheme

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

I recently learned about color theory and how it affects images from my photo class and I wanted to share my knowledge with all of you. I did a shoot with the extremes of color using only the secondary colors purple, orange and green in my image. I made the color saturation and shade as similar as possible to create a cohesive and creative looking image but this is only the most dramatic of creating a color scheme. To make a color scheme I love using the website Paletton because it creates a color scheme for you depending on if you want complimentary, monochromatic, adjacent, triad or a tetrad color scheme. Most photoshoots try to have complimentary colors that cause the image to be more appealing to the eye. In this post, I will go over the psychology behind color to show you how color can affect your images.

 

Warm Tones

Warm tones evoke a more home-like and autumnal feel in your images. These images are often seen during the summer and fall months of the year because of the colors of nature. These colors such as red, orange, and yellow have been psychologically proven to evoke happier feelings in people.

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Warm Colors

Red: Red has been seen as a very masculine and bold color that causes people to feel both romantic, angry and happy all in one color. Red is mostly used as an accent color because it is so dynamic. As a photographer, you want to stray from using a lot of red in your image along with other colors because red can easily distract the eye from your subject.

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Orange: Orange is a color used in many Instagram themes because unlike red it is not overpowering but it still draws attention to the viewer. Orange evokes feelings of friendliness and kindness in the image and overall gives the image a very comforting feeling of being calm.

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Yellow: Yellow is seen as the happiest color by many people. Yellow is associated with happiness, sunshine, laughter, and joy but too much bright yellow can be alarming to people. When working with the color yellow you as the photographer want to make sure you are working with a more subdued shade or simply limit the amount of bright yellow in your image.

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Cool Tones

Cool toned colors have a very calming yet sad feeling to them. Cool toned colors are often seen as more feminine than warm-toned and have a varying spectrum of feelings surrounding them. Cool colors are also associated with winter and cleanliness.

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Blue: Blue is the most common of the cool toned colors and the most widely liked by the public. The bluer your image is the higher chance you have of a person liking your image depending entirely on the color scheme. Blue is associated with calmness, spirituality, and trust which is why many companies use blue in their logos and most people’s favorite color is blue.

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Green: Green symbolizes health, nature and new beginnings and it is also seen as the color easiest on one’s eyes because it is so prevalent in nature. Green is mostly used as a background color for your image in the trees or grass and is rarely used on a model. Incorporating a lot of green is amazing in landscape photography but lots of green in portraits can lead to feelings of anxiety or stress and cause the viewer to not focus on the subject.

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Purple: Purple is the last of the main cool colors and is often associated with love, feminity, and royalty. Purple is often used as a soothing color because it is seen in sunsets and flowers. Purple is another color that should be used with a light touch because too much purple can be seen as overwhelming to the eye.

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To further show this I edited this image with both cool and warm tones. As you can see the one with warmer tones has a more autumnal feel than the cooler toned image.

 

Neutrals

Neutral has a varying definition by who you’re asking. In the fashion community, a neutral would be a khaki, grey, black, white, brown, navy or denim as those colors go with and compliment almost everything. In photography, however, a neutral is when a color is simply lacking saturation or hues that will stand out to the eye. This mostly entails whites, blacks and brown shades as these colors are the most likely to lack color. Neutral colors will add a much more simplistic feel to any image that is very calming to the eye. A neutral color palette is often times seen in an Instagram feed like in Amanda Shadforth’s or Rachel Gulotta’s this can be achieved by desaturating the image, sticking to a very monochromatic color palette or simply converting the image to black and white.

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on color scheming and that it helps improve your photographic game.

If you would like to see the full sets of any of these images click the links below!

Want to see more of my photography tutorials? Click here to see more!

Want to do a shoot together? Click here for booking and pricing information! or click here to book me for your photography needs!

Want to see more of my summer shoots? Click here!

Instagram: @goodallphotos

Facebook Page: @goodallphotographs

Contact me! goodallphotos1@gmail.com

How to: Successfully Shoot Water Portraits

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

Shooting images with an added element of water can present a whole extra set of problems. After a few tries and learning from my mistakes, I wanted to help you learn how to take beautiful portraits with water.

Tips

FOCUS: Since water is ever-moving it is best to make sure you’re focused on the correct subject so it may be better to manually focus if you have the experience. Autofocus might focus on the water instead of your model so you want to double and triple check that you are focused correctly.

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SHUTTER SPEED: I recommend shooting on a very quick shutter speed instead of a slower speed. Again since water is constantly moving you don’t want the water to appear too soft in your images unless the water is the main focus of the images. Turn up your shutter speed and really make sure the water is as clear as you can make it.

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COLOR SCHEME: Have your model wear a more neutral color and avoid patterns as this can distract from the main focus of the image is the water and portrait. In your images, you should always try to only have 3 main subject points. In the water, those subject points should be water, the model and one additional thing such as clouds in the sky or something floating alongside your model.

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LIGHTING OUTDOORS: If shooting in an outdoor area such as a pool or the ocean make sure to shoot at a time when the sun is not high in the sky so avoid times from 11-4. I say this because water is a natural reflector and can cause excess lighting on your model’s face that isn’t anticipated. Make sure you’re constantly checking your meter reading because the lighting conditions when shooting in water change quickly and drastically.

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LIGHTING INDOORS: If shooting indoors with water such as in a bathtub I recommend using studio lighting of some sort if you have limited natural light due to a small window. I personally have always used studio lighting because I feel as though it brings out colors better and makes your image look a lot crisper than natural light might. Also since bathtubs are so white the studio light can help make sure it’s very bright and not muddy. I have shot natural light before and it’s a little bit harder to control and maintain the ISO I want to not get grain in my image.

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LENS TO USE: I recommend using a 24-70mm lens when shooting bathtub portraits or a 35mm lens because you don’t have a lot of space to move around so a longer focal length lens will work best in these scenarios. When shooting outdoors I recommend a 50mm portrait lens so you can get the nice bokeh behind your subject and it creates a sharper feel than a lot of other lenses I’ve shot.

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CREATING A MILKY LOOK: Firstly you should fill the bathtub almost all the way with warm water so your model doesn’t freeze! Next, add a gallon of nut or soy milk or as much milk as you need before it becomes a fairly thick consistency. I would say add enough so you can still see your hand if it’s about an inch under but enough so you can’t see it if it’s more than 3 inches into the water.

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POSING: Water is ever-moving so evoke that in your model, direct them to move with the water or stay perfectly still to allow for contrast. I personally like to pose women with more graceful and moving poses while I pose men with a more sedentary pose to contrast with the water.

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PROPS: In the pool or ocean I don’t recommend using props because I think it distracts from the overall landscape. When shooting in a bathtub I recommend using between 10-15 drops of food coloring, flowers or leaves. Make sure you use real flowers because artificial flowers float to the bottom and don’t allow for the pretty bohemian look. Also when using food coloring make sure your subject isn’t wearing white because although it isn’t likely it will stain there is always the possibility. I also recommend using milk along with the food coloring because I think it makes the colors pop more!

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If you would like to see the full set of these images you can click on the three links below! If you end up taking water portraits make sure to tag me @goodallphotos so I can see your interpretation of it!

Surrealistic Water Portraits

Pool Portraits 

Water Portraits (the OG)

Want to see more of my photography tutorials? Click here to see more!

Want to do a shoot together? Click here for booking and pricing information!

Want to see more of my summer shoots? Click here!

Instagram: @goodallphotos

Facebook Page: @goodallphotographs

Contact me! goodallphotos1@gmail.com

Let’s get shooting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To: Take Pictures Through Windows

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

Taking photos through windows can be tricky for a photographer no matter your skill set. It’s hard to both focus your camera correctly and still get a cool reflection on the model. After a couple 100 images worth of failed attempts, I mastered how to shoot through a window.

Tips

  • My first mistake came when I decided to have my lens autofocus on the model. My lens naturally focused on the reflection behind me instead of what was in front of it. I learned quickly that it was essential to manually focus to achieve a sharply focused image.
  • Next, I found that it is nearly impossible to get a clear image if the wall behind the window is textured at all. I quickly discovered that the textured, brick wall behind me was ruining my photos and I had to change my positioning to get a clear view. Some of the photos turned out okay but the intense wall texture was too much for many of the images and became distracting as shown in the picture below.
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  • I also quickly discovered that my shadow might be seen at certain angles so make sure you check and double check that your shadow isn’t distracting from the main subject, sometimes you need to use your shadow to block the sun but in other situations, you’re going to want to avoid that. In the picture below I should’ve used my shadow to allow for less bright sunlight on the model’s face.
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  • Make sure to direct your model clearly because often times the window is thick and your voice becomes muffled to your model.
  • Do not take the picture if there is something white or light colored behind you because the model’s face will be obstructed. I would recommend finding something darker to cast a shadow and create that true reflective quality. Jessica Whitaker’s video goes more in depth on this concept. 
  • If you follow these tips then you can achieve really good images through a window such as the ones pictured below.

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For more images from these shoots click the links below!

Cafe Portraits & Laundromat Portraits

Camera: Canon 7D Mark ii

Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4 & Canon 35mm

Aperture: 1.4

ISO: 250

Want to do a shoot together? Click here for booking and pricing information!

Want to see more of my summer shoots? Click here!

Instagram: @goodallphotos

Facebook Page: @goodallphotographs

Contact me! goodallphotos1@gmail.com

Let’s get shooting!

 

Summer Photoshoots 2018

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

This summer I’ve decided to create a bucket list of photo shoots to improve my portfolio. I wanted a post that could be easily accessible and contain each of my photo shoots in one place from this entire summer. Here is my Summer 2018 portfolio. Leave a comment down below saying which photoshoot was your favorite from this summer.

Best of Summer

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Laundromat Photoshoot 6.8.2018

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Ugly Location, Pretty Portraits

Coffee Shop Photoshoot 6.8.2018

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Cafe Portraits

Laundromat Photoshoot 6.13.28

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Laundromat Photoshoot

Pool Photoshoot 6.15.2018

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Pool Portraits

Surrealistic Bathtub Portraits 6.18.2018

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Surrealistic Portraits

Golden Hour Portraits 6.25.18

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Golden Hour Portraits

Studio Portraits 6.22.18

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Studio Portraits

Dreamy Portraits 7.24.18

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Dreamy Portraits

Hipster Portraits 7.25.18

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Hipster Portraits

Travel Photos

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Roatan + Belize City + Cozumel

Golden Hour Portraits ii 

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golden hour portraits

Dark Portraits 8.18.18

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dark bath portraits

Arboretum 8.22.18

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arboretum portraits

How To: Edit Like Brandon Woelfel

| Nia Goodall (goodallphotos)

If you look at Brandon Woelfel’s feed on Instagram you will notice a common theme in his images, a cotton candy color palette. Woelfel often uses Photoshop to achieve these unique colors in each of his images but I found a way to achieve something very similar in Lightroom. Here are the steps to achieve a similar look to Woelfel, I, however, do not encourage copying his style in all of your shoots. I think it is important to emulate a photographer from time to time to learn how to shoot with styles different than your own and improve your photography game. Personally emulating Woelfel’s style showed me some tricks for photographing portraits at night that I might use in my own images.

First, you must photograph a model holding fairy lights at some time after golden hour. Woelfel often photographs at blue hour or at night time with artificial light to illuminate his image. I photographed at sunset into the night time and I didn’t have any trouble achieving the look. I would also recommend purchasing some serial killer/ oversized glasses to reflect more of the fairy lights. Mango Street made a Brandon Woelfel starter pack that is relatively inexpensive and a good starting point to begin photographing like him.

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Steps

  • After photographing the image you will begin your editing process.
  • I started by adjusting the temperature of the image to make it a lot cooler and making the tint a bit more magenta to achieve that aqua and pink look in Woelfel’s images.
  • Next, I turned up the exposure a little to bring back some light on his face and brought down the contrast to create more of a faded look in the image.
  • After that, I raised the shadows, dropped the blacks and dropped the whites almost all the way to add a little bit of contrast back in the image and even out the light distribution on his face.
  • Next, I played with the tone curve a little bit to create the crushed black look and created a slight S curve from that point.
  • I then played with the hues of the colors by making the yellows more orange, blues more aqua, aquas more blue, purples more magenta and magentas more purple which might sound a bit counterintuitive but it creates the colors that I wanted.
  • After I adjusted the saturation by dropping the saturation of the oranges and yellows and bringing up the saturation of the blue and magenta to emphasize the colors further. I also brought the luminance of all of the colors up slightly.
  • I added a pastel pink color into the highlights and a pastel blue color to the shadows to really create that cotton candy look to the image.
  • Lastly, I raised the vibrance up and brought down the saturation while also bringing down the clarity slightly.
  • I’m not saying these editing techniques will work for every image but they worked fairly well for me to create a similar looking image to something I thought Woelfel might create. For a more in-depth tutorial, I would recommend watching Mango Street’s video on this very technique.

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Untitled collage