Achieving a similar look to some of Alec Soths 8 x 10 in portraits?

[andrew_keam]

Anyone have any idea how to get a similar drop off, in terms of depth of field as some of Alec Soths Portaits? I

know he uses an 8 x 10 in view camera and this is largely responsible for this drop off... Any thoughts on

achieving a similar look with 5 x 4in/medium format/35mm digital? So basically, what lenses might give you that

look at wide open? Thanks Andrew<br><b>Moderator: Attached image removed. Per the Photo.net Terms of Use, do not post images that are not yours.</b>

[dlakelan]

Doesn't look that hard, the depth of field is pretty much around 3 feet or so here, and the camera is focused about 6 inches in front of her feet? (judging by the pavement)

 

what have you tried already? What were the difficulties?

[duncanholmes]

control aperture, long(ish) lens, a little fill flash maybe to separate the foreground from the background without being obvious (flash down by 1 and half to 2 stops.)

[andrew_keam]

Thanks for the tip... Don't think he has used flash in this shot ( just by knowing his work ) but will be interesting to try.. I have tried with a 5 x 4 at wide open aperture and get a similar look but not quite the same drop as this... I think it is down to the format... Daniel, isnt the focus in this image on her face? That would make more sense than six inches in front of her? Thanks Andrew

[duncanholmes]

Depth of focus vs plane of focus. Plane will be on her if it is done right, the apparent depth of acceptable focus starts just infront of her and ends just after her. You'd need to play with a DOF calculator for your camera/lens combination to get the exact settings/fall off, there's some around on the web with tables and stuff but I don't have the link to hand.

 

Distance to subject will also have been an element in this photo.

 

i.e. Wide angle lens, close to subject, f2.8 =very shallow DOF (background appears further away from subject)

Long lens, distant from subject f2.8=very shallow DOF (background appears closer to subject)

The fall off depends on your lens and aperture. An F8 picture taken close the the subject will still have a significant fall off for distant objects.

Bear in mind that the subject in this photo is in a relatively open space, with the background someway behind, this accentuates the effects of DOF more than someone who might have a layered background behind them.

 

On a 5X4 camera you may also be able to tilt the plane of focus so that you are actually working in a 3 dimensional, angular plane of focus instead of a straight plane parallel to the camera. This would mean you could have the plane of focus six inches in front of the subject and also at the face depending on the tilt. This would then feed through into a slightly different Depth of Field at the lower and upper segments of the picture (same effective distance but the observer will view them as different as different parts of the image will be observable as in focus relative to each other).

 

At least that's my understanding. The big camera were always a bit mind bending when I played with them, too much maths involved.

[andrew_keam]

Hmmmm Duncan, sounds a little complex indeed.. Well, I guess thats what it takes sometimes to produce extraordinary images. Thanks all for your responses. Much appreciated Regards Andrew