Portrait Advice Wanted Please.. (Page 4): read his post..he did not take the picture..GET A LIFE...ex marine who is not offended...

sailor2545 Loc: Victoria, BC

read his post..he did not take the picture..GET A LIFE...ex marine who is not offended

Ponz wrote:

Guys - I did not take this picture. This is what I need to duplicate.

Ponz

Ponz

Kuzano wrote:

That hole in the middle of the two is the "portrait hole". If you don't do many portraits, for FF rent an 85. If you plan to do a lot of portrait work, you should fill that hole.

I sprung for a 70-200 f/2.8 last night. That'll fill he portrait hole and more...

Ponz

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Ponz wrote:

I sprung for a 70-200 f/2.8 last night. That'll fill he portrait hole and more...

Ponz

Good for you. If you want ONE lens for portrait work, that is it. While primes in the 50, 85, 105, & 135 focal lengths are great and certainly have their uses - especially when you want a wide-open REALLY short DOF, the 70-200 covers all but one of those lengths and adds some. Since for most portrait work does not occur in low light and you WANT a decent DOF, the strengths of those primes is not a big deal. I do not know which 70-200 you bought, but I know the Nikon and Canon versions are—for all practical purposes—just as sharp as those primes. I know because I have and use the 50mm Sigma Art and the Nikon 85 and 105 f/1.4 lenses. The 70-200 images are virtually indistinguishable at the same apertures.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

Looks like an official military photo. Notice the ribbons are all displayed and can be identified. This shot was taken with a 4X5 camera in a studio and every picture taken in that studio regardless of photographer will look the same. The pose is standardized. The photographer will only make sure everything meets the standard including the tilt of the head and the folding of the hands.

Ponz wrote:

My favorite shoots are landscapes and nature. It'... (show quote)

HOHIMER

I like it better with a little more cropped off the top. Otherwise, right on!

Ponz

CaptainC wrote:

Good for you. If you want ONE lens for portrait wo... (show quote)

I bought the Tamron version. I've researched it extensively and it beats the Nikon version in all aspects except maybe focus acquisition.

Ponz

Ponz

ole sarg wrote:

Looks like an official military photo. Notice the ribbons are all displayed and can be identified. This shot was taken with a 4X5 camera in a studio and every picture taken in that studio regardless of photographer will look the same. The pose is standardized. The photographer will only make sure everything meets the standard including the tilt of the head and the folding of the hands.

Sarg - I just need to duplicate as close as possible. Perfection is not required - just good usable shots.

Ponz

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

rpavich wrote:

judging by the catch lights in his eyes (only one it looks like) there was a large softbox or something to camera left 45 deg up and then a hair light to camera right behind him and a third light on the backdrop only.

There are TWO catchlights in subj's right eye, so there's either a 2nd frontal light or a reflector. Agree w/ the rest, except not sure about backdrop light; might be enough from the front to light the background. Esp. since sharpness of the flag implies it is close to subject.

If subjects are wearing caps, get your frontal lights low enough to get under the cap.

Ponz

Los-Angeles-Shooter wrote:

There are TWO catchlights in subj's right eye, so there's either a 2nd frontal light or a reflector. Agree w/ the rest, except not sure about backdrop light; might be enough from the front to light the background. Esp. since sharpness of the flag implies it is close to subject.

If subjects are wearing caps, get your frontal lights low enough to get under the cap.

"If subjects are wearing caps, get your frontal lights low enough to get under the cap." --- Good advice.

Ponz

Abo

AP wrote:

You mislead all of us. We took our time to respond to your photo shown. Did you have permission to use the photo of
the Navy Captain ? I now see you are a biginner in the field of photography.

Students spend thousands of dollars to go to school and learn. You were giving FREE Instruction that fooled us all, you are disrespectful towards all of us, shame, shame, on you! US Navy Seabee MCB-8 Vietnam Veteran 1966-68 disabled. AP

I know Goofy Newfey has addressed this... but what part of this don't you understand?:

"I've attached an example of whet they are looking for as an end result"

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Ponz wrote:

I bought the Tamron version. I've researched it extensively and it beats the Nikon version in all aspects except maybe focus acquisition.

Ponz

Good choice then. You will use it a lot.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Ponz wrote:

"If subjects are wearing caps, get your frontal lights low enough to get under the cap." --- Good advice.

Ponz

A cap with a bill that would cast a shadow is an entirely different problem than what has been discussed here at this point. Good advice would be to avoid caps if possible.

You will find that 70-200mm lens just exceedingly wonderful for this work. Keep in mind that the distance sets the perspective and the focal length just determines the framing. Don't decide you want some focal length and move to get the framing, find the right location first every time.

One other possible topic you might get interested in would be what lights to acquire if you want to take CaptainC's advice about how many are needed to really do it right. Probably too late for this shoot, but that's an interesting discussion for later perhaps.

Ponz

Apaflo wrote:

A cap with a bill that would cast a shadow is an e... (show quote)

Would you please elaborate just a little more on your distance vs focal length. I believe my working distance from camera to subject will be somewhere between 8 and 12 feet. For this type of portrait which would be better - closer or farther?

Ponz

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Ponz wrote:

Would you please elaborate just a little more on your distance vs focal length. I believe my working distance from camera to subject will be somewhere between 8 and 12 feet. For this type of portrait which would be better - closer or farther?

Ponz

AS a general statement, 12 is better than 8, but 8 can work.

Ponz

CaptainC wrote:

AS a general statement, 12 is better than 8, but 8 can work.

Thanks. So if I can squeeze more than 12 is that better?