100 mm lens - portrait

[john_hadsell1]

I am a very amature photographer. I recently bought a Bronica GS - 1 with a 100 mm PG lens. Is this lens suitable for portrait photos. If not recommendations.

Regards,

John Hadsell

[joachim]

Dear John, I am affraid a 100mm on a 6x7 is not a portrait lens, it is a standard lens, which is not the highest recommended for portraits.

You have experience in 35 mm? What is you favoured focal length there? Multiply this by 2 and you know which lens to choose for the Bronica.

Good luck.

[patrick_flasch]

John,

As answered by Joachim, while it is true that "technically speaking" the 100mm lens in the 6x7 format is considered to be a "normal lens", the lens has great value as a portrait lens when photographing several people, or photographing in an outdoor setting where you are purposely trying to get some of the environment in the portrait, or in someones home with limited space to photograph in... Some of the world's greatest photographers regularly used a "normal" lens for portraits!

I guess the short answer from me is that almost ANY lens could be defined as a portrait lens, given the look & feel that you are trying to capture. I've seen 50mm & 65mm lens used with great success in portraiture too! Great depth of field!!

On the other end of the spectrum, I have used 250mm and 500mm lens on my Hasselblad for portraits for that "Gary Berstein - Dean Collins fashion" look.

The only word of advice that I might give you is: when photographing people with a "normal or shorter" lens is to be careful of the subject plane. Try to have ALL of your subject more or less the same distance from the camera. If he/she extends their arm towards the lens, you would get an extended arm. If the subject is leaning into the lens, the head & face areas will have a widening effect... not too flattering! Just experiment a little before the day of the actual portrait & you'll do fine. - Patrick

[stephen_poe1]

I would have to agree with Patrick's philosophy above. I think too many of these definitions of what is a good lens for portraits and what is good for landscapes is invented by people who sell camera gear (you can't have your customer conviced that they can do all their photography with just one lens, can you?)

Traditionally, longer lenses have been used for portraiture in order to throw the background out of focus. But today, especially in annual reports and other photography in the commercial world, wider angles are being used.

I think standard methods of representation can have more to do with fashion than with optics.

[ivan_i._singer1]

John,

I have to agree with the last poster who said that the "portrait" lens is a misnomer, considering the many commercial applications that the standard 100mm lens has. I use a 100 and 180mm lens for my 6x9 camera and have used them both for "portrait"-type applications. Unlike 35mm, MF does not suffer the severe cropping limitations placed on the negative image area. What this means for you is: if you wanted to crop down to a 24mm x 36mm image area on your square format negative, you can just to get the 100mm short tele effect. On the other hand, by judicious use of camera angle, background, and tonal range, you can create any desired effect to yield a pleasing portrait with your 100 mm lens. If anything, you'll appreciate the extras your 100mm lens gives you over a 100mm lens for 35mm, namely, sharper image, greater depth of field (full frame), and less grain. In MF, can do more with less.

 

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-Ivan