Portraiture

But there are times when we may choose not to use a traditional lens because we want to get a totally different effect. We may want to choose a much shorter lens, even shorter than normal, to add drama to the photo, to include important background, or perhaps to emphasize the foreground. Using short lenses to take portraits is very challenging, because instead of trying to eliminate distractions we’re usually working with many more elements in the scene. The plus side is that you can create a unique, attention-getting look that your client probably hasn’t seen before.

Rita	Cara
This image of my mother-in-law taken at a Catholic nursing home. She’s very religious and I wanted to tie that in with this portrait. Taken with a Fuji S2; a Tamron 28-75mm zoom lens at 28mm, about “normal” on this camera; ISO 400; daylight; f/3.3. © 2008, Steve Bedell, All Rights Reserved	This non-typical high school senior portrait was taken by Ashley Quinn of Kentucky who says she loves to use wide angle lenses for the extreme lines and angles she finds using them. This image was taken with a Nikon D200; a Nikon 17-35mm zoom lens; ISO 250; 1/80 at f/3.5. © 2008, Ashley Quinn, All Rights Reserved

Now it’s time to go to the photos! I put out a call in EPhoto, my online newsletter, and got some of the readers to send in some of their favorite shots to go along with mine, so enjoy!

Captain Jefferson	Carl Computing
This image by Rick Haithcox from Dallas, North Carolina. Great use of a wide angle lens to emphasize foreground! Taken with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II; a Canon 16-35mm 2.8L lens with lens set at 16mm; studio lighting with exposure of 125 seconds at f/8.0. © 2008, Rick Haithcox, All Rights Reserved	Taken by Flint Gennari, this stylish image, with a Nikon 16mm fisheye lens, shows wonderful use of color, space, and design. © 2008, Flint Gennari, All Rights Reserved

Steve Bedell has been a portrait photographer for over 25 years. To subscribe to EPhoto, a free e-mail newsletter with tips for photographers, contact Bedell at sb@stevebedell.com. Also ask about his lighting DVDs.