Portraits with Leica M?

dave lackey

dave lackey

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Well, just went off the deep-end and committed to purchasing my mentor's entire studio set-up thanks to his pending divorce. :confused:

So, now, am looking for a space near la casa to work in. In the meantime, I have an M6 coming my way courtesy of KEH. My question of the day is, "Has anyone done portrait work in the studio with their Leica M and can they show some results?"

The idea of using the Leica is exciting so, I hope I am not disappointed! :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance,
 
MM04-book60.jpg

summicron 50

MM04-book36.jpg

summicron 50

MM05-Portrait003.jpg

summicron 50


not a portrait but in studio
MM05-BW000.jpg

summicron 35


ciao
 
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SLR's are much better studio / portrait cameras in my view. Under ideal / studio conditions the RF is no advantage and the lack of accurate framing is an issue for me. I've used my M's but like my Nikon SLR's much better if I'm shooting 35mm.
 
x-ray said:
SLR's are much better studio / portrait cameras in my view. Under ideal / studio conditions the RF is no advantage and the lack of accurate framing is an issue for me. I've used my M's but like my Nikon SLR's much better if I'm shooting 35mm.
Click to expand...

I'll go a step farther than x-ray and say that if you are in a studio, MF cameras are much better than 35mm. The portability advantage that 35mm cameras offer is not necessary in the studio.
 
Only time I've ever shot with studio lights, not bad under the circumstances, I think. TX at 3200, Nikkor 85/2.
 

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some excellent examples here.

the only one I could find is this one of my nephew, taken with an M6, handheld meter and one light (I think), M6 + 90/2 summicron.
 

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I'm with FrankS on this one. I realize that we are in RF land here, but let me make a heretical suggestion. If you're working with strobes in a studio setting, I'd find something in medium format with a leaf shutter (e.g. Mamiya C330) to work with. They can synch at any shutter speed and, in my opinion, the increase in quality moving from 35mm to MF beats any change in quality among brands within 35mm. The best lens in 35mm that I have used is the 50 Summilux Asph, but for the price of that lens, you could get a very nice used Mamiya C330 system (or even a used RB67 system) that will just blow it away in terms of image quality at any reasonable print size!
 
One thing about studio work, unless you are doing this as a hobby and/or relatively "budget," is that you need have the equipment that compares favorably to your competitors. I met recently with a guy in SF that has his own studio and, while he much prefers to work with his hasselblad for his personal work, he uses a Canon 1Ds for his studio stuff. That' what his competitors use, so that's what he uses.

Using a Leica M, with the possibility of insufficient sync speeds and other factors, does not add up well.

just my 2 cents.
allan
 
I'd rather use my DSLR for studio shots than my Leica M. The main reason for me is that I like to play around with lighting and I'm not very good at calculating camera settings in accordance with the lighting setups.
 
ywenz, this is not a comment or slight on you, just a thought raised by your post:

I'm wondering if the younger digital photographers will ever learn "the basics" since they really don't need to due to the instant feedback of digital and the automation of modern cameras.
 
errata corrige

errata corrige

the first and second - kodak tri-x
third - neopan 400
embrace - neopan acros 100

all in D-76




ciao
 
ywenz said:
I'd rather use my DSLR for studio shots than my Leica M. The main reason for me is that I like to play around with lighting and I'm not very good at calculating camera settings in accordance with the lighting setups.
Click to expand...

A flash meter is your friend.
 
A flash meter is critical, but there is something to be said for using a dSLR as a "polaroid," if you will. strobist.blogspot.com describes this method, in his particular field of photojournalism, very well.

When I use my digital this way, I just keep chatting with the client while firing off test shots. Usually I have my 1 umbrella'ed flash dialed in after just 2 shots (I can guestimate pretty closely now), and all the while the pointing of the camera makes the subject a bit more relaxed.

If I had a multi-light setup I would definitely want a flash meter, unless I wanted them both to be key and have basically no shadows.

allan
 
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