Help Please - Couple's (self shot) Portrait

Cork Boy

Hi.

Okay, so myself and the girlfriend would really love some 'professional' pictures done but we are really broke. I have a nikon d80, a tripod, 18-155mm 3.5f lens and a remote so technically I should be able to do it myself right?

Now, google for once has been no help, no matter how differently i frame the query, so I was hoping someone here would be able to help...


What I really need to know is how will i get the focus right when I'm not there? Should I select continuous focus or auto focus or single focus? Should I focus on her and then jump in? Ideally I'd love to have it on 1/4 sec or something nice and fast and try to get her to forget about the camera and just shoot away clicking the remote at random but not sure if that's possible?

Asking one of my friends to push the button is not an option as we would have trouble being as intimate as needed to generate a genuinly romantic picture that's not forced or cheesy.

Again, any advise would be much appreciated!

.Longshanks.

Auto focus on your girlfriend, then switch the lens to manual so it doesn't move. With the 10 second timer already set, press the shutter button & quicky run over into the shot.
Repeat as many times as it takes. I've done this a good few times & works fine!

5uspect

Could you tether to a laptop to help you compose and take the shots? That way you shouldn't need to run around too much.

Cork Boy

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

Auto focus on your girlfriend, then switch the lens to manual so it doesn't move. With the 10 second timer already set, press the shutter button & quicky run over into the shot.
Repeat as many times as it takes. I've done this a good few times & works fine!

Eureka! I have a remote though so running around won't be needed :cool:

5uspect wrote: »

Could you tether to a laptop to help you compose and take the shots? That way you shouldn't need to run around too much.

My camera has usb and video out (1/4" jack) so must investigate what my cabling options are.

Cheers for the advice people, much appreciated

dmg1982

You could calculate your depth-of-field (DOF) while composing the shot, so that you know how much leeway you've got with your focus (i.e. how much space yourself and the missus have to move around in without being out of focus). Check out http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
As a previous post suggests locking the focus on your girlfriend then switching to manual is an ideal way to go.

Setting the focal length to the longer end of the scale (say 80mm and over) will give more flattering portraits.

Hope it goes well for you!

Cork Boy

Thanks DMG, much appreciated.

I've acquired Nikon's Camera Control 2 which basically lets you operate the AF & Shutter from your laptop and then imports directly in to lightroom which is a bit of a help too in fairness.