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Cameras for Portraiture
There is a big difference in the way you photograph landscapes and the way you photograph people.
Mountains and lakes are not the least bit concerned if you spend thirty minutes consulting your manual, measuring exposure and adjusting focus. People do mind, especially your fourteen-year-old daughter! In portraits, your subject is the centre of attention, not you or your camera.
For portrait photography you need to be more confident and relaxed with the operations of your camera than for landscape work. Although it's a bit of a cliché your camera should become an extension of yourself.
With the list below check off those components that you (a) can identify and/or (b) are confident in operating
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Component |
(a) |
(b) |
Comment |
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1 |
Lens Focal Length |
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2 |
Distance Scale |
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3 |
Aperture Control (Manual) |
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4 |
Flash Cable Socket |
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5 |
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6 |
Film Speed Setting Control |
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7 |
Time Delay Control |
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8 |
Camera Body Serial Number |
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9 |
Viewfinder Type - TTL or RF |
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10 |
Lens Filter Size |
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11 |
Manual Focus Control |
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12 |
Maximum Aperture (big hole) |
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13 |
Slowest Shutter Speed |
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14 |
Tripod Bush |
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15 |
+ and - Exposure Control |
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16 |
Film Rewind Control |
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Using a wide-angle setting on your lens, practise shooting without actually looking through the viewfinder. Its good fun, gives you greater shooting versatility and produces some astonishing results. Try a hand-held self-portrait!
Avoid taking 10 or 20 shots of the same pose. With motor drives this can be a trap. For each pose you may take 2 or maybe three shots just in case the subject blinks or grimaces or whatever. Then ask for a change - it may be ever so slight, but it is a change.
APPA 2003