mihaiconstantineanu

The blur in this portrait of the Russian president is in no way obtained via a lens. It is a post-processing blur in Photoshop or similar.

Why do they shoot head portrait with 50 mm but not 135 mm or even 85 mm?

Here is the example:

Looking at some random covers of magazines I noticed that in those devoted to politics photographers more often use shorter focal lengths for portraits. That is, not proper lenses, not the right lenses.

Why do they shoot head portrait with 50 mm but not 135 mm or even 85 mm?

Here is the example:

I personally use a combination of clone tool, healing tool and noise removing software plus masks. Only try to maintain the original light tint and texture....