RE: [Leica] "Wide" Portraits

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Tom - Go burn film and see what works for you/ Otherwise you limit your own
horizons simply because someone else limited theirs.

I shoot horizontally almost all the time, generally preferring it to
vertical composition. As to wide, a 35 can be terrific for taking
environmental portraits. A 50 can also do a good job.

But seriously, burn that film...It helps to know what someone like HCB used
for a particular photo, because that tells you something about the photo.
But what matters is what you find, though experimentation, best suits your
taste and style..

 B. D.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Thomas J.
> Donovan
> Sent: Sunday, November 21, 1999 9:10 PM
> To: INTERNET:leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] "Wide" Portraits
>
>
> Folks,
>
> Would some of you ( & there are many great photographers
> on board ) be willing to share your thoughts on the following
> puzzle ( for me ) .
>
> 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 visualizing which focal length to use;
> & I don't want to "burn" a lot of film to find out  Now, maybe
> that's the only answer; find out the hard way. However ;-)!
>
> Have any of you taken great portraits wide; & if so, what focal
> lengths have you used? Any extra details, surrounding a great
> "wide" portrait would also be appreciated.
>
> As an aside, it seems like HCB did a fair amount of portrait
> work. Were those all taken with that *legendary* 50 mm
> lens? It's hard to believe, on some of the HCB photos, that
> they were taken with a 50mm lens ;-)!
>
> Thanks,
> Tom D.
>
>
>
>
>