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Thread: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    England, UK
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    40

    Re: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz

    There's a really interesting video of Martin Schoeller shooting a female bodybuilder on youtube. She can't even actually see him because of the huge bank of lights that he is behind but he still maintains a beautiful rapport whilst rattling off 10x8's like a machine.
    I think that jp498's suggestion to let the subjects look through the ground glass is a good one. Most people have simply never had the opportunity to do this and are typically very impressed.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    1,015

    Re: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz

    I haven't been doing this very long at all (a couple of months) but I shot digital portraits pretty extensively.

    I find the whole thing totally refreshing. Regarding blinking, so far it hasn't been a problem. The thing is, you can watch them blinking, so you know if they blinked. As long as your shutter speed is reasonably fast, you'll be able to tell. If you are worried you missed a blink, shoot another one. I tell them to look at the lens, and then I watch their eyes. I wait for them to blink and then shoot it when I think I find the rhythm of their blinking.

    I also find people are totallly weirded out by the camera in a good way. They have no frame of reference for how to pose with the big camera, so they don't do any of their stupid smiling stuff. I think they also recognize that there's something slightly serious about it and that helps a lot.

    Focusing wise, I tell them to move their feet around till they are comfortable, and then my instruction to them is to not move their feet. If I was shooting so wide open that I was afraid I'd lose focus on their eyes, I'd either want to imobilize them at their waist (in a chair) or open up a little wider.

    Anyway, I'm still learning but this is way more fun and satisfying than shooting digital portraits. It's also harder, in a way, but that's mostly because of shooting film and developing it (I'm screwing that up all over the place). Using the camera and taking the portrait is really fun.

    Couple of results are here:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmce...7623159051495/

    One more thing with the blinking thing, you really have to train yourself to realize that you can look while you are clicking the shutter. Working with an SLR you've been training yourself to not see the subject at the actual time the picture was being taken (because of the mirror blackout), so with the view camera, you have a huge advantage. I also recently got a Mamiya C330, and it has the same advantage, because you can look through the viewing lens while the shutter on the taking lens is firing. I would say that the couple of months I've been using that and another TLR (a Yashica, which I probably would recomend skipping in favor of the sweet, sweet C330 with its super great and cheap 80mm 2.8 lens) was really helpful in slowly developing this seeing-while-the-shutter-is-firing thing.

    But seriously, it's awesome. People have no idea what you are doing. It makes for interesting pictures I think.

    And yeah, put them under the focusing cloth. It's pretty magical and people dig it. Puts them at ease.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    1,015

    Re: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz

    couple more things

    was just reading something by Alec Soth and he says he always asks people "what their dreams are".

    I work in a hospital sometimes and I've found that asking people where they are from, and what kind of food they like are two relatively non-invasive, non-offensive questions that people will generally answer. The point is not necessarily the answers themselves, but to get people talking and have them forget about where they are for a second. As important in the ER as it is in portraiture.

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    1,015

    Re: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz

    Marizu's Martin Schoeller video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZTGXhWjAf4

  5. #15

    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Oslo
    Posts
    647

    Re: 1st Post - LF Portrait Photography Biz


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