Your portrait technique

[BarryS]

I'm getting ready to do some portraits in both 4x5 and 8x10 and have a few questions about large format technique. Do you---

A) spend a lot of time looking at (and directing) the subject on the ground glass, then insert a holder and quickly shoot when you like the subject's expression, or do you

B) spend a relatively short time getting the focus and composition on the ground glass, insert a holder, and take a lot of time to interact with your subject and shoot when you find a decisive moment.

Does your technique vary if you're shooting portraits with a very narrow depth of field? Option B seems preferable, but I worry about messing up with a very shallow DOF if too much time passes between focusing and exposing.

[Ron Marshall]

Method B. I have a string tied to the camera, that I can put beside the subjects eye, if I want to check that they will be in focus.

[Walter Calahan]

B always works better for my subjects.

[Marcus Carlsson]

Always B.

I have noticed that the subject usually don't move that much, and I can at the same time talk too them calmly (sp?) and tell them to blink one more time.

/ Marcus

[domenico Foschi]

Be gentle with the young, wonderful Marcus.

Somewhere between A&B

[Ash]

I don't really have that problem when shooting handheld, but I guess I focus and make sure everything is set up prior to needing to engage with the model... then I focus as I go (good thing with rangefinders).

It's usually easier to engage before during and after setup, relaxing the person, then getting them comfy and taking the shot when you see it, not waiting for a second chance because you were too busy trying to pull out a dark slide.

[lenser]

Barry,

If you can find a copy of George Hurrell's biography, there is some fascinating reading about his camera and people technique while working with the elite in Hollywood from the twenties through the nineties.

Tim

[Norm Buchanan]

Hi Barry,

I use B, but as I don't shoot trained models I typically shoot for a little while with my digital camera to get the subject comfortable and so I know how they will behave before I use any sheets of film. It has worked very well for me.

Cheers,
N.

[Ted Harris]

Light, I always use lots of it so I don't have to worry about slow shutter speeds.

[Don Hutton]

Light, I always use lots of it .....

That may help when you're not using a Packard nor an Ilex 5 (show me just one example with an honest 1/50th) - all the LF portrait lenses I want to shoot don't really benefit from the zillions of w/s I could blast at unsuspecting subjects. 1/25th is the norm on an most Ilex 5s or a Packard. Mostly, I want to use lenses wide open with light modifiers which, by design, need the key light close to the subject. Slow shutter speeds are a fact of life with the portrait lenses I would most like to use. A simple rig with a mirror and a flashlight across the subject's nose makes assessing the subject position very easy after some interaction has passed.