Lf portrait movements?

[dietcookie]

Every situation is different.



.. and this one required some shift to move the building to the left a bit, while keeping the line straight.

sweet shot

[Maris Rusis]

When doing face portraits on 8x10 with very shallow depth of field (360mm lens wide open, for example) I swing the back to get the catch-lights in both eyes simultaneously sharp. Then I tilt the back to get the edge of the bottom lip sharp as well. Some back and forth, some rechecking is required but when all three points are sharp its time to shoot.

The eyes and the lips are the parts of the face one attends to when looking intently and respectfully at someone. Maybe this is why ultra shallow depth of field portraits can be very powerful even though almost all the picture is mush.

[Steven Barall]

I think it was Shaw who said that the best way to learn to write plays is by writing a lot of plays. Experimenting is the best way to go because then you'll really learn instead of just remembering what people have told you. That said, get a good view camera book to learn the important basics. Everyone recommends Steve Simmon's book.

[Frank Petronio]

I don't! I like Jim Stone's book better

[C. D. Keth]

When doing face portraits on 8x10 with very shallow depth of field (360mm lens wide open, for example) I swing the back to get the catch-lights in both eyes simultaneously sharp. Then I tilt the back to get the edge of the bottom lip sharp as well. Some back and forth, some rechecking is required but when all three points are sharp its time to shoot.

The eyes and the lips are the parts of the face one attends to when looking intently and respectfully at someone. Maybe this is why ultra shallow depth of field portraits can be very powerful even though almost all the picture is mush.

That's a really excellent way to do it. I like the three-point approach as it speeds things up. Thanks!

[John Kasaian]

I can't say that I use any movements, or if I do they are minimal. I do prefer a wider lens sometimes (250 WF Ektar in 8x10) to take advantage of the 'gentle' distortion.