Originally Posted by
LabRat
Mainly, the old portrait rule is that a shorter FL lens would show more modeling/roundness of a face, but in some cases maybe too much up very close (almost like a distortion), esp if the sitter had a big nose or a narrow face that protrudes toward the camera (the old term is a "horsey" face), but to "flatten" out a deep face, some compression from a longer FL is used...
The problem with too long FL's is that the face can be too flat on the plane (called "moon faces"), and can destroy the depth and roundness of the faces/features, so different subjects would require different FL's...
And at close camera to subject distance, you would choose a comfortable camera to subject distance for the sitter, and enough room for you to have space to light well, and have room to work...
Most slightly longer than "normal" FL's are a good compromise for different faces + working distances...
Steve K
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