Orio's quick guide to lens apertures

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

What of child portraiture?
I go to the office summer party with my camera hoping to get some nice portraiture of my favorite secretaries only to find myself shooting more children. Laughing

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

magnet-2009 · Joined: 22 Apr 2009 Posts: 505 Location: Greece, Athens

I' ll keep the f/2.0.... Wink

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

the selection of aperture is easy for me
f/1.2 and f/1.4: for lens who open @1.2 or 1.4
f/1.8 to f/2.8: for lens who open @1.8 or 2.8
f/4 to f/5.6: for lens who open @4 or 5.6
f/8 to f/11: I don't have such lenses

ok, I am a liar
that was until I got my 5DII
now dof is not a joke anymore and I have to close Confused

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

Why are so many beautiful woman so self-conscience about my f-4/5.6 portraitures of themselves?
My most recent case, I shoot an informal/outdoor shot of a most beautiful young mother, with her first infant on her knee. I figure to shoot her at F-4/5.6 to get both subjects in focus, yet at 1.5 meters-I’m close enough to get a nice blur on the background with a 80mm Zeiss lens and, also, a great 3D. It was a good hit for me!
I show the print to her husband last week and he loves it, [I love it], and he gets it framed for a Valentines present.
This was a free photo to him!
A week later I find she loves the picture’s “frame” but not the photo. Her dejected husband tells me she has always been critical of photos of/with herself.
This is not the first time this has happened to me. It drives me crazy!
This is 20-year-old woman with perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect teeth, and a perfectly glowing smile! Aaaaaarrrrg!
Next time I shoot a pretty lady I try f-2, I hope her husband likes it! Laughing

[No real question here, im just venting some fustration] Evil or Very Mad

supahmario · Joined: 18 Mar 2009 Posts: 615 Location: Berlin, Germany

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

Carlsson · Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 793 Location: Portugal

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Since an image is worth a 1000 words, here's a face shot I took last September and I remember it was at F/2:

As you can see, both eyes and cheecks are sharp (they could also be sharper but there is a micro motion blur), while the back of the head gets softer
and this blends it better with the background, avoiding the pasted-on look and giving the image a more organic feel, and some feminine softness,
in spite of the face acne which is quite visible due to the lateral light source.

This is the kind of choices that I usually make being aware. There is a lot more to a portrait than simply setting a wide aperture.
And of course every shot is an island: if I used a 135mm lens instead of the Planar 1.4/85 I would have had to change parameters in order to obtain a similar result.

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

That’s a gorgeous photo, Orio, the question is [I guess] did she love it?

And whom do I keep happy? The photographer, the subject, or the husband? If the husband didn’t like my photo, he would never have had it framed, and she would never have seen it! Laughing

Personally, I think the answer would be: keep the subject happy!
I got to learn to see more this feminine.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

Thanks Orio, you writing is perfectly clear and easy to understand for me. I see points and style completely.

Except for those other secrets you havent revealed yet! Laughing

Bruce · Expire: 2014-11-22

Thanks Orio, you writing is perfectly clear and easy to understand for me. I see your points and style completely.

Except for those other secrets you havent revealed yet! Laughing

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

I will say it since I am a woman...some you will just not please we all have different vanity points we don't like more so than a man ...it could be the photo of the century and still not be liked Sad

although technically a great photo.
Orio Have you got a selection of photos of different body shapes/faces or all nice models..I think you know what I am getting at...not in a mean way or disrespectful to you...is there techniques for "helping" these areas?

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

F22: In combination with 8-10 stop filter to get the Michael Kenna look Smile

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

Thanks Orio

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Somewhere on the net there is a US military guide to how to adjust the lighting for people according to every aspect of their appearance - unfortunately the link I used to have to it is in a dead computer. There do seem to be several excellent Forces guides available that are well worth studying, here is part of section 7 from the "basic photography" guide available here: http://www.shopdawg.com/navmanual/Photography.zip (it takes a couple of minutes to download)

Extract:

"The success of a portrait is equally dependent on
lighting as on the pose of the subject. The manner in how
the subject is lighted can actually set the mood of a
portrait. The best portrait lighting will simulate natural
sunlight. This is because we are accustomed to seeing
faces illuminated from above and to one side with
shadows cast downward and on one side or the other.

Light coming from below eye level casts shadows
upward and produces an unnatural, ghastly effect. Good
portrait lighting shows off the subject to the best
advantage, emphasizing the form and expressiveness of
the facial features. When lighting appears pleasing and
natural in a portrait, it produces prominent highlights on
the forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin with enough
shadows to round out the facial features.

Lighting for a studio portrait normally requires at
least two lights. One of these is the main, modeling, or
key light; the other is the fill or fill-in light.
Portrait lighting is divided into various types called
lightings. Some of these lightings are as follows: broad,
short, butterfly, Rembrandt, split, and rim. These names
have been assigned because of the visual effects the
lighting creates when it falls on the subject from a given
direction. This visual effect is derived from the
modeling light. Other light sources that may be added
to the modeling light to enhance the subject are as
follows:

Broad lighting–The main light completely
illuminates the side of the face turned toward the
camera.

Short lighting–The main light completely
illuminates the side of the face turned away from the
camera

Butterfly lighting–The main light is placed
directly in front of the face and casts a shadow directly
under the nose.

Rembrandt lighting–This is a combination of
short and butterfly lighting. The main light is placed
high and to the side of the face turned away from the
camera and produces a triangle of light on the side of
the face in shadow.

Split lighting-The modeling light is placed to
light completely one side of the face while placing the
other side of the face in shadow.

Rim lighting-The modeling light is placed
behind the subject and places the entire face in shadow..."

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

It looks as if someone has posted the guide I lost track of here:

http://www.tpub.com/content/armycomsystems/SS0510/SS05100045.htm

That's the start of the section about lighting portraits of people according to their facial features. It's about studio portraits, of course, but the principles apply regardless of the light source and location.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I moved this thread to Techniques, it is better suited there.

RioRico · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:34 am Post subject:

I've just started using a lens where focus vs aperture is a little more complicated. It's a Schneider Betavaron 3,5...11/0.08 zoom (50-125mm) enlarger lens. Fixed-focus, and the stops are only numbered 1.2.3.4.5. The 3,5...11 refers to magnification. I have it on 26mm of extension for use from .5m to past infinity. More extension turns it macro.

I 'focus' by zooming a bit, moving back and forth a bit, using trap-focus on my Pentax K20D to get a sharp subject when wide open. At f-stop 1 it's not soft but DOF is shallow, at least when zoomed out fully. This is NOT a fast lens -- nor lightweight, at 820g. Extremely crisp and contrasty in adequate light. But because the only way to 'focus' is to move and/or zoom, framing is a challenge, or maybe a semi-random exercise. I'm not quite sure how to apply these aperture guidelines, eh?

I'll get out of my dank dark forest tomorrow, wander around in light and color and subjects more interesting than fallen logs. Wish me luck with this thing. I hope I don't drop it and crush any small animals.

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

Wow! Do you have a picture of the lens on the K20D?