Portraiture Lens

[dongjeng]

Hey all
I was wondering what lenses the pro's are using for in studio glamour shoots?

[Peter_AUS]

From the reading I have done it seems that they use something in the range of 85mm - 135mm depending on the equipment, studio size and types of portraiture that they are taking. Remember if using Digital to take into account the x factor of the sensor, e.g. on my 10D an 85mm would be equivalent to a 136mm lens, a 50mm lens would be 80mm equivalent lens.

[Michael Fanelli]

From the reading I have done it seems that they use something in the range of 85mm - 135mm depending on the equipment, studio size and types of portraiture that they are taking. Remember if using Digital to take into account the x factor of the sensor, e.g. on my 10D an 85mm would be equivalent to a 136mm lens, a 50mm lens would be 80mm equivalent lens.

Although I don't take many portraits, I was under the impression that the mild telephotos used are chosen for their perspective and the slight flattening of the image. If so, the 1.6 factor has no effect, that just limits the FOV. Am I right or wrong?

[another view]

I think you're both right. 85-135 has always been the "classic" range because of the good type of distortion you get from a mild telephoto (i.e. compression, but not enough to be really obvious). That characteristic won't change when using, for example, an 85mm on a film camera or DSLR - only the angle of view. So with that same 85mm, you'll have to stand farther away and that might change your interaction with your subject. I don't do a lot of portraits, but something to consider.

That said, I've seen great portraits taken with lenses from 14mm (on film) to over 300mm. It all depends on the effect you're after.

[Liz]

I use both the 85mm/f1.8 and the 50mm/f1.4 for portraits. Personally I prefer the 50mm - IMO the color rendition is better, great bokeh and I prefer the shorter focal length.


Liz

I think you're both right. 85-135 has always been the "classic" range because of the good type of distortion you get from a mild telephoto (i.e. compression, but not enough to be really obvious). That characteristic won't change when using, for example, an 85mm on a film camera or DSLR - only the angle of view. So with that same 85mm, you'll have to stand farther away and that might change your interaction with your subject. I don't do a lot of portraits, but something to consider.

That said, I've seen great portraits taken with lenses from 14mm (on film) to over 300mm. It all depends on the effect you're after.

[racingpinarello]

With a film or digital camera I would still use an 85mm lens for the compression that brings. As with any telephoto lens it will bring objects in the background closer to the subject. So with a 85mm 1.8 you can blur a background so that it compliments the subject. A 50mm will not do as much.

http://www.lorencrannell.com/wedding/index3.html

If you go to the first image you will see what a telephoto lens can do. This was shot with a Canon 1d mark2 with a 70-200 f/2.8 lens

Loren

[Asylum Steve]

Welcome to the site, dongjeng...

I always feel I should throw my two cents in when these discussions come up, as most folks tend to give recommendations for what really is a headshot lens, not a portrait lens.

The thing is, a portrait of someone can be anything from an extreme closeup of only part of their face, to an environmental or location shot where the subject is actually a small part of the frame. With that in mind, any and all lenses can be "portrait" lenses if they're used to take someone's portrait.

Now, most of the replies here are touting short telephoto lenses (85mm-135mm range), which should be more accurately thought of as headshot lenses, in that they're used when the shooter wants his or her subject's head to be a significant portion of the picture.

Since you're asking about glamour photography, and since glamour is as often as not both head AND body, I don't think a medium tele would always be the lens of choice, unless of course, you're shooting in a large studio with a lot of room front to back.

My guess is that, much like my fashion work, a glamour shooter would prefer either a normal to short tele zoom, or even a medium wide to short tele zoom (say a 28-105mm).

That would cover all of your bases as to angle of view. You could go wide for a body shot, or go closeup for a headshot, and anything in betwen...

[Peter_AUS]

Interesting Steve,

I use my 28-135 IS lens majority of the time. I have tried the 50mm but the distance I have to work with is limited and find the 28-135 lens gives me the telephoto leaway I need.

Probably should have prefaced that in my original answer.

[dongjeng]

Welcome to the site, dongjeng...

I always feel I should throw my two cents in when these discussions come up, as most folks tend to give recommendations for what really is a headshot lens, not a portrait lens.

The thing is, a portrait of someone can be anything from an extreme closeup of only part of their face, to an environmental or location shot where the subject is actually a small part of the frame. With that in mind, any and all lenses can be "portrait" lenses if they're used to take someone's portrait.

Now, most of the replies here are touting short telephoto lenses (85mm-135mm range), which should be more accurately thought of as headshot lenses, in that they're used when the shooter wants his or her subject's head to be a significant portion of the picture.

Since you're asking about glamour photography, and since glamour is as often as not both head AND body, I don't think a medium tele would always be the lens of choice, unless of course, you're shooting in a large studio with a lot of room front to back.

My guess is that, much like my fashion work, a glamour shooter would prefer either a normal to short tele zoom, or even a medium wide to short tele zoom (say a 28-105mm).

That would cover all of your bases as to angle of view. You could go wide for a body shot, or go closeup for a headshot, and anything in betwen...

Thanks Steve for the welcome and suggestions from you and everyone else. I didn't expect this many replies and it does help when so many have something to say.
Now, I just have to remember what lenses I have and hopefully..my shoots will turn out much better thanks to everyone here.

Bless y'all

Doug

[Lionheart]

Hey all
I was wondering what lenses the pro's are using for in studio glamour shoots?

My personal preference in the studio is the 85mm and 135mm for tightly framed or close-in face shots-which is 95% of my studio portrait work. For everything else, I use the 28-70 f2.8L. But I'm not a pro, so my opinion doesn't count