Whats your favourite focal length for Portraits?

Hi All!

 

Just wanted to know what your favourite portrait focal lengths are?

By portraits I mean SINGLE PERSON shots, NOT group or enviromental

portraits.

 

Please state the focal lengths, film format (135, 6x6, 6x7 ..etc) and

reasons why you like that focal length.

 

My fav is the 85/90 (135) mm focal length coz I feel it gives a

personal/intimate feel to the photos. Its angle of view is similar to

the way I see most of the world.

 

Example photos are most welcome.

 

Cheers... :-)

I use a Tamron 90mm f/2.5 SP on 35mm Film, and a Pentax 50mm f/1.4 (75mm Equivalent) on my digital (APS-C Size).

The 50mm lenses are great, relatively cheap options on digital frames, but I view a lot of the

world though the 75mm-esque crop.<div></div>

For 35mm I like 75mm and 90mm (I use rangefinders). Some think these are too wide and prefer 105mm or so for SLR. I used to have a 105 Nikkor that was useful but I felt it was too close and only gave decent head and shoulder shots. One could back up but it can get ridiculous.

Elderly Nikkor 85/1.8 non-AI with its matching HN-7 that cuts its slight tendency to flare--near perfect for me.

105mm f2.5 Nikkor, This is a great lens for portraits. I also like a 180mm 2.8 as well, to blow away the background.

50 mm on 35 mm film.

(on 35mm film):<br><br>

For head-shot/head-and-shoulder portraits, I like the 105mm FL: <br><br><center>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3158643-lg.jpg"></img></center>

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Otherwise 50mm:

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<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3235472-lg.jpg"></img>

<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3519208-lg.jpg"></img>

</center>

50mm on 35mm film and DSLR.

 

80mm on 6X6

 

Reasons: Cause that's what I got!

 

I haven't done much portrait work yet, but so far I've had good results with the lenses above. Maybe as I do more I'll realize I do need a longer lens, but so far so good with the boring cheap stuff.

 

Alan

150mm F2.8 for 645, it's nice and bright to focus and depth of field can be very shallow at

wide f stops. Mamiya 180 soft focus, it gives a nice glow to flesh tones and softens skin

imperfections.

135mm on 6X7. 105mm on 35mm if I have the room and light. Otherwise, I have a nice 85mm/f1.8 that does a good job.

Cheers

I usually use 35mm lenses with 35mm cameras, 25-40mm lenses with a digital camera, and 80mm lenses with 6x7. It really comes down to what you want your portraits to look like.<p>

 

<center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/images/aw1.jpg"><br><i>Portrait, Copyright 2000 Jeff Spirer</i></center>

My favorite has always been a nikkor 105/2.5 for 35mm and a 150mm on 6x6 camera. Even though I own a 85/1.4, my best portraits still have come from the 105.

I shoot Canon FD (F1s) and like either the 100mm/f2 or 85mm/f1.8. Sometimes I use the 135mm/f3.5.

On DSLR I use 50 and 100mm, sometimes 135mm for portraits from a distance, when the subject is occupied. Maybe Capa was right and I should get closer, but sometimes I believe I can't.

 

35mm film: sometimes the 90mm seems short. Grabing a zoom might be nice. 75-150 for friends, 70-210 strangers.

 

6x6: I love my pair of 135mm f4.5 and got a 120mm f2.8 for a SLR. The 250mms are not frequently in use. Maybe carrying a 2nd camera might help.

 

I haven't tried out the LF stuff yet.

I have found very good results with an 80 mm tessar copy lens on my 6x6 Yashica Mat 124. I have taken some great upper body and head shots at 1 to 2 metres from the subject and with narrow dof. I wonder whether this type of shot counts strictly as a portrait?

I like my 50mm f1.4 with the Minolta 7D. The 135mm f2.8 minolta lens is also excellent.

50mm f1.7 on Minolta Maxxum 70; film is Fuji NPH 400<div></div>

I like the less contrasy but super sharp old skool look of my 1954 Leitz Summicron on a Leica M3 B&W ...<div></div>