Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/11/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> > Tom Donovan wrote: > > >I've been reading John Loengard's "Pictures Under Discuss- > >ion" & on page 86, I quote; "It is natural to turn the camera > >to the vertical when taking pictures of people, but I rarely do > >it.......I decided to make my portraits wide instead of high". > > > >I'm having a tough time visualising which focal length to use;>>>> > If you think horizontal is difficult to imagine try shooting square. Seriously, some of my most interesting portraits are done horizontally with a loose upper-body framing to allow for environment. Generally, I'll compose the subjects face on one of the "thirds" so that the brighter skin areas act as compositional anchors. I've also enjoyed framing horizontals so tight that the subject's face "bleeds" off the frame. Thus, you might not even include the top of their head or one side of their face. By positioning them off-center you can use the negative space in the frame as a balance to the dominant amount of space the face is utilizing. Hope this helps. Experiment. - -- Carl Socolow http://members.tripod.com/SocPhoto/