Blog

Settings for Portraiture

Posted on by Mark
11
Aug

To enable me to capture images with appropriate settings (and not have to kick myself when I get home for having wasted a photo opportunity due to inappropriate settings) I apply what I call the SAIFFER settings (Shutter-­Aperture‐ISO-­Focus-­Focal Length-Exposure-­Raw).

John
John

SAIFFER Settings Set up your camera with the following settings:

  • Shutter Speed: Use1/60 sec or faster (using slower shutter speeds may result in subject blur).
  • Aperture Priority: Use f/4 for full frame sensors or f/2.8 for crop sensors. Use the maximum aperture if your lens does not open to these wider apertures.
  • ISO: No higher than 800
  • Focus and Focal length: 50-70mm (equivalent) and ensure the eyes are sharp.
  • Exposure: Ensure there is no loss of detail in shadows or highlights (adjust if required by reviewing the histogram on the camera).
  • Raw: Set the ‘Quality’ to Raw.

One of the creative projects on my Sony Alpha Workshops is how to create Professional Portraits (I supply the models). Go to https://www.markgaler.com/sony-alpha-creative-workshops to find out more.

This is an extract from my new book ‘Introduction to Photography: A Visual Guide to the Essential Skills of Photography and Lightroom’.

It is available from all good book stores and Amazon US , Amazon UK and Amazon Australia