Wide angle portrait; your feelings on using wider than 35mm

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Here's one from this srping. I posted another from this roll previously, but with a normal lens. This is with a 24mm (equivalent to 35mm, anyway).

I tried to close my center tag this time......

-- Colin Miller (ckmiller@pond.net), July 02, 2001

Answers

The problem with wider angle lenses is the short shooting distance tends to exagerate features closest to the lens. In many cases -- including this one, it's the nose. If you're doing a head and shoulders portrait, this can be unpleasant, when you move farther away, the problem goes away.

I obviously don't know this person, so maybe you can tell us: do her facial features look proportioned as you would expect? If so, you're fine. If not, back up and possibly put on a slightly longer lens. To me, she looks fine, but you can be a better judge if you know the subject.

-- mike rosenlof (mike_rosenlof@yahoo.com), July 02, 2001.


my bro, in 20mm (with jeep and tripod)

Wide angle lenses are great. They make people look funny, but that's a good thing, not a bad thing. The pictures may not be artistic gold, but they sure are hella fun to take and show to friends.

-- edward kang (ekang@cse.nd.edu), July 02, 2001.


Edward's right. I love making these types of images. My g/f is 5'2" and I am 6'5" so when I borrowed my friends 17-35 f/2.8, I racked it out to 17mm, stood right next to her and got her head and her feet in the same frame. I was focused about 4 inches from her head. When I find it, you'll see it. It's wack!!!!

-- Colin Miller (ckmiller@pond.net), July 03, 2001.

Here's that photo. Her feet are small already, but this is ridiculous!!

Enjoy!

-- Colin Miller (ckmiller@pond.net), July 04, 2001.


Incidentally, you don't have to use the wide-angle look. If you take a more environmental portrait with the person's body parallel to the film plane, you just get more background in.

If you ever get a chance to see an exhibition by Albert Wiking grab the chance. He does B+W environmental and editorial portraits with very minimal gear, usually an FM2 and a 28mm. They don't look like wide angle shots, but he uses the extra space very, very well. He's very shy and retiring, so not much has leaked ouside of Sweden yet, but if you see "Eldvatten" on show or in a bookshop, it's worth a look. There are some images, though not my favourites, here:

http://www.mentorsverige.org/eldvatten/eldvatten.html

He also had our town art gallery's most successful exhibition ever, with over 80% of the town's population visiting at least once. Here's a pic that will gladden the heart of trad photographers everywhere:

http://www.alimoram.nu/bilder/referensutstallningar/eldvatten/eld 3.htm

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 05, 2001.



Struan is absolutely right. Before I give an example, however, let me say that I think the top image suffers in the lighting area. I don't mind wide angle portraits, even close up, but the face seems to be made less important by the lighting.

And back to Struan's point, an environmental portrait (maybe a dual environmental portrait):


Two Girls, Oaxaca, Copyright 1998 Jeff Spirer
43mm lens on 6x7 camera, equivalent to 21mm with the smaller format.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 05, 2001.

One of my favorites from your site Jeff.

Of course, sometimes the wonky look can only add to the mood:

New Year's Eve, 
2000

Pia. New Year's Eve, 2000



-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 06, 2001.

Well, that was a bit more wonky than intended. If you want to see it without the stretch of an incorrect height tag, it's here: htt p://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/pia2000.jpg.



-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 06, 2001.

If you really want to see Struan's image, click here since he didn't quite type it right.

Wow, that is the wildest Chanukkah party I have ever seen. Looks like fun.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 06, 2001.


That was the before pic. Aft er is even better.

The sevenfold candles are a popular (read, all-pervasive), aspect of the Swedish Christmas. Every home has at least one set of electric ones arranged in a triangle in a window, and the local hospital has a special store room set aside for its collection of several thousand. I don't know how the tradition started. My guess is that it has something to do with The Lamentations of Jeramiah transplanted from Holy Week.



-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 06, 2001.


Hmmm. Something seems to be screwing up my line breaks. Never mind, the link works. I just hope Pia never finds it.

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 06, 2001.

http://www.alimoram.nu/referensutstallningar.html#

-- Thank you...friend (update@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

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