jkelly
Analog hobbyist
For candid shots with a rangefinder, I try for the most shallow DOF possible given the lighting conditions and the film speed.
M3, Summitar, Fuji Superia 400
M3, Summitar, Fuji Superia 400
What's the best aperture for portraits?
- Thread starter sirius
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bmattock
Veteran
Seldom used trick - shoot with flash, and ND filters so you can still shoot wide-open. This is ideal when you 'want' flash to open up shadows or as basic fill, or to blow out a background (off camera flash against a background like a muslin backdrop). This is one situation when RF cameras can shine in portraiture - ND filter stacking won't affect your viewfinder.
This is an old trick, not used much anymore, but when done correctly, will leave people asking how you did that. No amount of photoshop can do this, either. It's all light - control it, or it controls you.
Silva Lining
CanoHasseLeica
bmattock said:
That's a great idea - i'll give that a try. Not sure how my brain will cope with all the math - but experimentation is key.
bmattock
Veteran
jkelly said:
Given what you had, it looks great, of course. This is another case where slower film would have allowed you to open the aperture up more, or alternatively, a ND filter to effectively slow the film down and achieve the same effect. Since you were shooting with an M3, you wouldn't even be bothered by the filter stack, unlike an SLR user.
Sometimes I forget, lighting conditions and film speed are not the end of the discussion when it comes to light control. You can't really make the film faster without pushing it, of course, and if you're already into the roll, that's pretty much right out. But a good ND in a gadget bag can work wonders. Even a polarizer can work double-duty, kind of like an ND lite. Good for a couple stops slowdown.
bmattock
Veteran
Silva Lining said:
It's pretty easy, and it has to be, because I suck at math. I hate filter factors, so I convert them to f-stops before I even go out. A 4x ND filter is 2 stops (I had to look that up just now). So if you put a 4x ND filter on, take 2 stops (shutter speed 2 clicks slower or aperture 2 clicks wider) and you have the same exposure as before. If you're shooting a manual flash and it says use f-stop THUS at distance THAT, just take those two stops off and away you go.
On-camera metering will do it all for you, of course. TTL is nice, E-TTL for flash is nicer in situations like this, but in a studio setting, you can take time to plot it all out.
This is one area where digital is reivivng older techniques - tricks like these were discarded because they take time and make people's brains hurt. But you can experiment with a digital camera and check the effect right away.
VinceC
Veteran
The advantage of studio work is that you can control the background and light. Many studio photographers use a background that mimicks soft-focus blurring. That way you can shoot f/8 or f/11 and still have a soft-looking background.
bmattock
Veteran
VinceC said:
Also wind, rain, temperature, and bugs that crawl bang up the subject's whatever as if on cue.
More seriously, you can also control the camera better in a well-equipped studio. Try mounting a camera on a 30 foot tripod outdoors, assuming that's the perspective you want. Indoors, one hangs it from the ceiling. If shooting large format, movements are possible to really get that dramatic focus using Scheimpflug.
Oh, I could go on and on. Wide-open irises on female models, for example. A known aphrodisiac for men. Etc.
Mazurka
Well-known
bmattock said:
It's a good technique to open up the lens from f/16 or smaller when using daylight fill-flash -- heck, I find it indispensible with the Leica M's dismal 1/50 sync speed (which is also very unfriendly to 75 and 90mm lenses.) 🙁
However, it takes a lot of filtering to shoot wide-open when at least the background is sunny.
And when you filter out the light falling on the film, you need a corresponding increase in flash power. Your flash unit will also need the capability to handle so low an effective ISO.
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Rico
Well-known
I use f/5.6 for head-and-shoulders at 1m distance. This allows the ears and neck to fall out-of-focus, while keeping eyes and nose critical. It requires a studio or fixed subject because head movement wreaks havoc. Backgrounds melt away nicely, and power level on the lights is comfortably low. For candids and action portraiture, you have to be more flexible. 🙂
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
With an 85/90/100 lens, f/4 is generally the best aperture for portraits. Minor focussing errors are taken care of, and backgrounds are out of focus to a reasonable degree. I wish Leitz paid me for this implicit plug for the Elmar 90. When I had a Summitar, I usually did portraits at f/2 so as to exploit the characteristics of that lens.
waileong
Well-known
No best
No best
Well, it's easy. Stop down till the face is completely in focus. F8 should do it for most lenses.
However, this ignores the purpose of the portrait. There may be valid reasons for not wanting everything sharp. Eg to show menace, you may wish to have part of the face in shadow, shoot 3/4, and have part of the face out of focus, etc.
In other words, the creative direction (what exactly you want to portray) drives the technical direction (lighting, pose, props, DOF, etc).
No best
Well, it's easy. Stop down till the face is completely in focus. F8 should do it for most lenses.
However, this ignores the purpose of the portrait. There may be valid reasons for not wanting everything sharp. Eg to show menace, you may wish to have part of the face in shadow, shoot 3/4, and have part of the face out of focus, etc.
In other words, the creative direction (what exactly you want to portray) drives the technical direction (lighting, pose, props, DOF, etc).
sirius said:
