Wanted to mention to Brent the best focal length for Head shot and portraiture is 100mm or greater. In a zoom, the 70-200mm/f2.8 ii L will give you a great image proportion and is a great choice for a lot of scenarios. If your looking at Sharp Prime with low f stop and gobs of bokeh, the Canon 135mm length is perfect. Many think the 85mm f/1.2L the perfect prime for portrait but it is actually a perfect wedding lens and a bit short proportionately when it comes to humans. Peter Hurley and others offer a lot of incite on portrait focal length. That said the best prime for portrait and more... like stage, nature or indoor sports could be the stunning 135mm/f2L. Great low light f stop and it is considered the sharpest Canon lens ever produced. It is extremely fast to focus and inexpensive because Canon development costs have long been paid for. A must have prime lens!
Try remote flash...I use Gary Fong light spears and love the ability to shape the light easily for most any indoor setting;)
If you want the latest Canon sensor, prossers, and resolution go for the MK4...The best of all worlds. The 4 out performs the MMiii in every area. Two prossers work so much better than one. The SR offers even more resolution but with sacrifices. I can not believe the keep rate in low light and focus speed with the upgrade. Big improvement and money well spent. The III rarely gets used now. Don't believe the bull about old technology bodies being as good as the new. They are not.
I agree with Richard...I think many people have low resolution eyes.
Like Ken said the 135mm f/2.0L! Considered the Holy Grail and called "The Lord of the Red Rings". Half the price of most other L's to boot! If you have one or have read about this lens you will know what I'm talking about. This is the sharpest lens Canon produces wide open at 2.0 and unreal bokeh. It has many uses from landscape to Head shots. The 50mm f/1.2L is the perfect companion lens for portrait work to compliment the 135. Stepping back a little more than the 85mm is worth it. http://kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/135mm-f2.htm
Comparison for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS1ygkuoeV8
Save money is with a fabricated 45 degree ruler but also shoot with the lens wide open and in monochrome mode. Also pick something close and finite to check focus after the adjustment and compare the result. weather can also have an effect with fine adjustment due to materials expanding and contracting.
Something to consider is that a full-frame camera gives us shallower DoF, for the same field of view, than the crop-sensor camera does. Here is a good article on the subject: http://neilvn.com/tangents/full-frame-vs-crop-sensor-cameras-comparison-depth-of-field/
Every Canon L lens I have has needed micro adjustment. There is a fine line between sharp and soft when it comes to wide open aperture. Lens/ camera body tolerances come into play when two parts of different manufacture come together. I have a 50mm f/1.2L that could not be adjusted and was outside the adjustment scale on my 5d mkiii... low and behold is within the scale of adjustment, tack sharp and perfect on my mk4. This can happen. If a lens is as sharp as advertised out of the box...you just plain got lucky!
Most of the UH responses are offering you a choice between image quality and possessor speed. Camera cost and packaging of particular models are choices that can be good or a compromise. Sharpness in sports photography is first priority and image quality second so the cost savings in a smaller less expensive sensor gives that price break. Image quality in FF is usually the first priority and the possessor speed varies depends on the model going up the ladder. Crop sensor images are affordable because of the internal components...example is the D500 or the D7 mkii. If they were FF they would cost considerably more. FF offers a larger raw image and the ability to crop. Possessor speed increases as you go up the model line in most cases. Again its speed or quality or both in many different packages. Top of the line VW or a Porsche base model scenario.
Sounds more like something that could support a car or truck! Over engineering can be good.... The tipping over or failure factor will be an issue at the point where the figure is just setting on top of that heavy duty table! I would use the 3/4" plywood and make the legs with 2x4 to any length you need. Use glue and screws to attach them or even add a cross brace if the length exceeds 12". look how long the legs are on a kitchen table. I bet most tables will support several hundred pounds...
Watermark signatures are a way to communicate or advertise your work and not a way to protect an image unless you cover the entire image for a client proof. This is a reliable article on the subject from B&H: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/pros-and-cons-watermarks-photographs
Awesome, UH is a great place to learn and share!
Nice Cat Gene. Thanks for the comments on IS. This article is current and has a lot of information if anyone is interested from a trusted source: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/image-stabilization-when-use-it-and-when-turn-it