Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Terry wrote: Can all who have a moment tell me which Leica lens they prefer for taking portraits? On the M side, I have the 90 APO but not the 75 1.4. On the R side, I have the 100 APO-Macro Elmarit but neither the discontinued 90mm Summicron. nor the 80mm 1.4 Summilux. Of course, your recommendations can be the aforementioned lenses I don't have, but please include reasons in all cases. In advance, THANKS! From your comment I would guess you're thinking about "head shots". If so, then something between 80 and 135 probably makes sense and most any Leica lens will do just fine. But, personally, that's not how I think about portraits. To me they're revealing images of a person/personality that can can include the person's body, with or without environment and background. I've used all sorts of lenses for portraits depending on circumstances and how much of the person's body or environment I wanted to get. I've used a 50mm for some of the most satisfying portraits I've done (often seated people) because it allowed me to include the person's posture and gestures in ways that caught his/her personality. I've also used a 135mm or longer for intimate shots without background detail. I did a sequence of a violinist with a 135mm which allowed me to focus just on his eyes, face, violin strings and fingers. No background. That's where the action was. Sometimes circumstances dictate focal length. With kids indoors I've often used a 50mm because that gave me a better opportunity to get a good shot in limited natural light and avoid setup shots. Sometimes I use a 75mm to get the right distance in a classroom. Off hand, I can't think of a focal length between 35-200mm that I would rule out as a portrait lens. - --Gib - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html