NPS or Portra for color portraits?

[clark_king1]

I'll shooting some environmental portraits in early jan. and need to

decide which film is best for this situation. I'll be using some

reflectors for fill but no controled lighting per say. The subjects

are caucasion and may be wearing red or blue (denim). Any thoughts

would really be appreciated,

 

Thank you very much

 

Clark King

[scott_walton2]

I would use the Portra. Lower contrast (a small amout) and more neutral colors. If you want to make your life easier still, get the Portra 400!

[clark_king1]

I was thinking about going with 160 because I can afford the slower film being outside, is that thinking correct. Besides I will be limit by the shutter speed available, on the 210mm.

 

 

thoughts,

clark king

[struan_gray]

I use Portra a lot in 6x6. All my lighting is, ahem, uncontrolled :-)

 

I prefer Portra to NPS because NPS gives caucasian skin a

blush that looks really bad on my very light skinned relatives.

Classic bone china redheads end up looking parboiled. The

only downside to Portra is that it goes cyan on overexposure, so

background highlights which are more than, say, four stops over

middle grey, can end up looking very blue. Indoors this can

dramatically enhance the colour casts if you shoot for tungsten

balance and leave background windows uncorrected. Outdoors

it's less of a problem, but can make dappled shade look a bit

odd, if the subject is in an area of full open shade.

 

The only way to tell for yourself is to test.

[scott_walton2]

Clark, Your thought process is good... to a point. To get a decent DOF with

your 210, f16 is a good starting point. With 160 in sun, your shutter is around

1/100 or better yet 1/60th providing the sun is hitting the subject as a main

light. If your using the sun as a "back light/hair light" your shutter speeds will

be in the 1/15-1/30. This is the reason why I suggested 400. This would kick

your shutter speeds to 1/125. Go outside and do a meter reading and see and

make a decision on this. I hope this helps.

[kevin_hundsnurscher]

I've gotten that blue skin cast in the outdoor shade from NPS as well, very funky. It looks ok for special effects but if I were looking for accurate skin tones, I'd filter it or try going with Portra.