composition for full-length portraits – step back instead of zooming wide

A comment in the article on a simple lighting setup for the family formal photos, asked why I recommended that a photographer should step back rather than zoom wide when photographing a group. The reason is that the perspective distortion that a wide-angle lens will give to your subject, is not all that flattering.

With this straight-forward portrait of Anelisa, I was shooting with the 24-70mm lens (on a full-frame camera), zoomed to 70mm. I wasn’t super-tight in my composition, so I was shooting at a distance where there is no distortion introduced on her face. (For example, a 50mm lens used as a close portrait lens on a full-frame camera, will bring unfortunate distortion to your subject’s face.)

It is a simple, pleasant portrait. Nothing complicated.

I was shooting at this distance from Anelisa for that portrait.

If I want to shoot a full-length portrait now, I have two options:
- I can zoom wider (and not move my position), or
- I can keep my lens to 70mm, and step back until I have her full-length in my frame.

Zooming wider and shooting from “above”, will give me this kind of bobble-head distortion, where her head is much larger, and her legs are much shorter. NOT flattering.

Stepping back forces a more pleasant perspective.

So when photographing someone, I fight the immediate urge to be lazy and just zoom. Instead, I keep to the longer focal length as much as I can, stepping back until I get the framing I want. Invariably, this is the more flattering perspective.

Only when I can’t safely or comfortably step back anymore, will I zoom wider. But my focal length then will still be more appropriate than if I had immediately racked my zoom as wide as it could.

And to give you an idea of the relative distances, I was standing this far from Anelisa when photographing the full-length portrait at 70mm.

Obviously there will be times when you want a more dynamic composition, or you may want to go for the crazy wide-angle shot. But for a representative portrait, it is always the better decision to step back rather than being lazy and just zooming wider.

The entire motif behind this article then, is to be aware of your own position in relation to your subject, and see how this will affect your composition … and how pleasantly this might render your subject. This is one of those things in photography where it is a good idea to just get a camera in your hand and start playing. See how zooming affects your angle of view, and how this might affect your own position if you recompose.

other articles on composition in photography

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photography composition – finding the other angles

At the same photo shoot-out that the stunning Film Noir Fight Scene came out of, I again worked with a model, Jill. Her hairstyle and dress were strongly reminiscent of the flapper era. It therefore just suited a more dramatic and sexy pose and styling. And of course, dramatic lighting.

For off-the-cuff / on-the-fly dramatic lighting, a video light is hard to beat.

The photo at the top is the angle that my friend Peter Salo found, while I was standing on a short ledge, shooting from above. The irony here is that the first time Peter and I met, was at another photo shoot-out, and I was insistent he find a different angle than just shooting from eye-height. I even pushed him down on the ground to convince him. And here we are, a few years later, with him finding the alternate angle that I didn’t immediately see.  Using the 85mm f1.4 lens wide open, gave that shallow depth-of-field.

The second image (the wide angle shot from above) is the photograph that was easy to envision. The pattern of the tiles in the lobby immediately drew my attention as a possible idea. In the final image, the way the tile pattern recedes helps draw your eye to our model, helped by the spot-light effect of the video light.

image details for 1st image:
1/500 @ f1.4 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3S  (B&H);  Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (B&H)

image details for 2nd image:
1/80 @ f5 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3S  (B&H);  Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H)

Both images here were lit with the Lowel ID-Light (B&H), held aloft by someone else. The position of the light should be discernible by how the light falls on her, and how the shadow pattern falls under her nose.

Knowing the theme of this photo shoot was Film Noir, I didn’t use flash at all, but decided on only using the video light. Since I knew I might want something stronger than my usual LED video light, I decided on the more flexible and powerful Lowel ID-light.

more articles on:
 - using video light for photography

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eliminate & simplify – the first steps in composing your photograph

These two images were taken from more or less the same spot.
All that changed was my vantage point, and my choice of lens.

This vibrant park in Manhattan seemed like an interesting place to photograph, but when photographing a couple, I really want the accent to be on them. The best way to do this is to frame them so that the background is as simple as possible, but still complements the final photograph. I had the couple sit on top of this grassy mound, and I lay down on the grass, and framed them tightly against the trees in the background.

Even though I was working with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens, I was shooting around 90mm in focal length. But this was enough, coupled with my low viewpoint, to eliminate any distracting elements from the frame. It is essential to look at the edges of the frame when you compose. And that is the key here in the composition – simplicity.

Working with a telephoto zoom such as the 70-200mm f2.8 makes this much easier of course.

Now, people also naturally have the tendency to stand with their backs against a wall or against something when they pose for a photograph. As photographers, there is the temptation when posing a couple to always pose them directly against a background of some kind.

A neat and effective trick is to have your subjects stand well clear of the background. This can allow you to move your own position, and get a varied background. For example, with these two photographs from a sequence, we used some artwork by painters as a background. But we stood well away from it on the edge of the sidewalk. (I was cautiously in the middle of the road!) This allowed me to move to either side, and get images which look quite different, even though the couple didn’t move much between the two images chosen out of this sequence.

Working with a longer lens makes it relatively easy to play with the background and with the composition like this.

The wide aperture is also very useful in blurring the background. Even though the jump in aperture from f2.8 to f4 is incremental in the change to the depth-of-field, it is noticeable.

For me, the 70-200mm f2.8 lens is essential and very much part of what defines the style that I shoot in. I wouldn’t want to be without it.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8G VR II

related articles:
- wedding day portraits – simplifying for effect
- wedding day portraits – bride & bridesmaids
- effective on-location portraits

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boudoir photography and the 50mm lens

With working space often times so tight for boudoir photo sessions, there is the temptation to use a 50mm lens for tighter headshots. (On a full-frame D-SLR.) Instead of stepping back a bit and using an 85mm lens or longer, a bit of visual laziness comes into play, and we rely on the 50mm lens too much. It really is too short a focal length for a tight portrait. I think many photographers are even too in love with their 50mm lenses, and use it without thought of how this would distort someone’s face when used too close to their subjects.

I totally understand the need for compromise. Quite often the angle we need to shoot from – whether because of the shape of the room, or the direction of the light – dictates a shorter-than-ideal focal length. This still doesn’t make the 50mm a default lens to work with, and still doesn’t mean the images we’re getting couldn’t have looked better with a longer focal length.

On a crop-sensor camera, the dangers of using a 50mm lens as a portrait lens is reduced. Because of the crop factor of the specific camera, it forces a different perspective, similar to that if a short telephoto lens had been used on a full-frame (FF) camera. So the rest of the discussion here relates more to how the 50mm lens behaves on a FF camera, but users of crop-sensor cameras will find this relevant.

Now, before we delve deeper into this, some disclaimers to head off a few obvious arguments:
- yes, a 50mm lens can be used effectively,
- yes, wider lenses provide interesting angles and perspective,
- and I’m even aware of Bill Brandt’s work,
- yes, I am all for individualistic style,
- and yes, I know Suicide Girls style of photography,
- yes, I know my favorite pin-up photographer, Robert Alvarado, mostly uses a 24-70

For all that, here is the basic problem in using the 50mm lens as a tight portrait lens – it is just too short for what is attempted.

My general advice for choice of lens for boudoir photography:
- fall out of love with your 50mm lens. Use it when it is appropriate.
- use a longer focal length. Start with an 85mm lens.
- even then, use the 85mm lens for a loose portrait, rather than a tight portrait.
- use a 100mm / 105mm macro lens.
- use a 70-200mm lens rather than a 24-70mm lens.
- when you do use a 24-70mm lens, try it at the longer focal lengths first.

As an example, the photo at the top was taken with a 50mm lens.

This is as close as I would come with a 50mm lens in terms of a portrait of some kind. For me, the 50mm really is more of an environmental portrait type lens, rather than a tight portrait lens.

So please, for the love of all that is good on this planet, fall out love with your 50mm lens and pull out some other lenses better suited for portraits and specifically, boudoir photography!

Regarding the lighting in that photo, it is described in the article on lighting for boudoir photography.

recommended lenses for boudoir photography (B&H affiliate links)

Cano 85mm f/1.2L II		Canon 50mm f1.2L		Canon 100mm f2.8L macro IS
Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S		Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-S		Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro VR

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photographic composition – finding and framing your best shot

Strolling through Green Park in London, I saw these rows of winter-barren trees. The way the snow clung to the trees and branches from the morning’s snow storm, white against dark brown, gave a posterized effect already – the crazy patterns of the branches starkly etched against the white snow.

I took several photographs, finally liking this photo above the most of all. Aside from resizing, it is straight out of camera … my iPhone 4. And therein was a lesson for me that I mulled over the rest of the day, while further exploring the urban landscapes of London …

When I first saw the rows of trees, I pulled out my Nikon D3 and 24-70mm f2.8 lens. I tried to encompass as much of the landscape as I could at first, shooting horizontally and vertically, and changing my viewpoint. But keeping to 24mm focal length, in an attempt to “get it all in”.

Here is a straight-out-of-camera version from the Nikon D3:

… and juiced up a bit with Nik’s latest HDR software they just released. I like this version:

After several frames with the D3, I decided to take a shot with my iPhone to upload to Facebook to show family and friends. However, the iPhone has a fixed little lens, and not as wide as the 24-70 lens is capable of portraying. So I had to more carefully frame my shot to make it meaningful. I couldn’t just rely on the expansive landscape to look impressive. My composition had to be more precise now. I then took the photo at the top with the iPhone, and liked it most of all.

And there-in was the lesson I relearned on this day. Not to let visual laziness and entropy over-take me. I shouldn’t just revert to the widest or tightest focal length that a zoom lens is capable of. Instead, I should *look* at the scene – the landscape – and *see* what it is that I want to portray. What are the essential elements that will hang together with a visual coherency?

Using the fixed focal length of the phone’s camera, forced me back into this mode of thinking. A little shocked at realizing how easy it is to slip into a lazier way of taking photographs, I undertook to approach photography during the rest of my trip with the same sparseness I was accustomed to when I shot slide film years ago. Barely being able to afford film and processing, I had to make every shot count. I would meter carefully, and frame carefully. I put thought into it. The 9 frames a second pro digital bodies have gradually changed how I shoot. Digital allows you to shoot multiple frames “for free”, so there is no apparent cost to taking many more photographs. (We tend to ignore the ‘cost’ of the extra time in front of the computer.)

So that was the lesson relearned – make every shot count by putting thought into the composition and timing. Look and consider. Breathe.

Exposure metering for snow scenes:

Exposure metering when you have a snowy landscape that is evenly lit with soft light, is dead easy.  It is a simple study of tonal placement. As such, the metering technique is closely aligned to how I use the histogram to get correct exposure for the brightest relevant tone.  In this case, I push the histogram to the very edge for the snowy landscape.  Sunshine with this snow landscape would be a touch more complicated, but on this overcast day, it is really a simple matter to get correct exposure.  There is also this earlier article where I explained how to achieve correct exposure, photographing a dog frolicking in the snow.

Even on the iPhone, you shouldn’t have to bear under-exposed images with a snow landscape.  If you touch the screen of the iPhone, you can tell the camera where to focus … but also what it should meter off. So you could pick a mid-tone … or as in this case, I touched the screen where there was a big snow-covered tree trunk in the foreground.  The dark and light tones averaged out, and I got pretty close to correct exposure for the iPhone photograph, in camera already.

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finding the perfect background for photographs

Photographers and clients alike regularly comment on this photograph in my portfolio, and the question invariably asked is whether this is a Photoshop effect.  Far from it – this image is straight out of the camera …

It is an image taken during one of the portrait sessions of Desha and Kyle when I was the photographer for their destination wedding in Aruba.  Their wedding consisted of two parts: The noon-time legal wedding ceremony at the Orangestad courthouse; and afterward later in the evening, the vows ceremony on the beach.   After the wedding ceremony at the courthouse was completed in the early afternoon, I spent some time with Desha and Kyle, photographing them around the colorful city center.  The old colonial buildings offered a beautiful setting for this first set of wedding day portraits.

As we finished up this noon-time session, Desha and Kyle and I agreed to meet again on the beach much later in the evening and we said our goodbyes.  We were walking through a shopping center on the way to the main street to grab taxis to take us to our respective lunchtime destinations … and then I called them back excitedly, and told them to stand in a certain spot in the middle of the shopping center and just snuggle in a bit.

They both looked a bit bemused at my request – after all, it was just a shopping center – but they indulged me.  I lay down on the ground and shot upwards against the neon-lit ceiling.  By throwing the multi-colored neon lights out of focus, I was able to isolate the couple against this background. With a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom, I was able to zoom in close and use a wide aperture, to do exactly that – isolate them against an out of focus background.

It’s a photo that I am quite proud of, since it is so striking looking … but also because it is difficult for anyone who wasn’t there to figure out the context.

recommended lenses for portrait photography

Again, the lens that is essential here, is a fast 70-200mm zoom.  It is my go-to lens to work at a wider aperture (f3.5 in this example at the top), and a long focal length to help separate your subject(s) from the background.  Both the Nikon and Canon lenses here are stellar.

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)

Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II (B&H)

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wedding day portraits – simplifying composition for effect

With this article I want to reinforce the idea from a few recent posts about being very specific about your composition. By simplifying the image, we have greater impact. We include only what we need to include in the frame to enhance it.  Just as important, is what we exclude:

That is the pull-back shot.  To my left were apartment buildings and the walkway along the Hudson river waterfront. To my right was the reception venue and chairs and the outdoor bar area. All visual clutter. If I had turned around, I would be facing the magnificent Manhattan skyline, but the sunlight was brutal at this time.  Harsh.  There would be no way to pose the bride, Jaime, and her bridesmaids without people squinting and being uncomfortable.

Foregoing the grand vista of New York as a backdrop, I was frantically looking for something – anything – to work as a simple background. Similar to this recent article, where I described how I shot tight with a longer lens, I decided to use the same approach here again. That pullback shot shows the wall and hilltop and buildings in the background.  By shooting tight with a longer lens, I could be specific about what I included in the frame.

Better yet, in exposing correctly for the bride, the background would blow out completely. She would be rim-lit by the sun behind her.  That creates separation from the already out-of-focus and over-exposed background.  Now the background actually works for us.  The light falling on her face now, is open shade.  Clean open light. Now all we need to do is direct our subject, whether a bride or a model or family member.

settings: 1/400 @ f4 @ 200 ISO
on-camera TTL fill-flash, as described in this previous article.

The point that I want to stress here, is that this approach simple but always an effective approach when photographing in bright sunlight.  If I’m in trouble like this in terms of finding a suitable background, and I’m working in harsh sunlight, then this method is always a good way to get solid results quickly.

recommended lenses for effective portraits

Again, the lens that is essential here, is a fast 70-200mm zoom.  It is my go-to lens to work at a wider aperture (f4 in this example at the top), and a long focal length to help separate your subject(s) from the background.  Both the Nikon and Canon lenses here are stellar.

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)

Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II (B&H)

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photographing the bride and bridesmaids – location and direction

One of the series of photographs that I like to “have in my pocket” are the individual photos of the bride with each bridesmaid.  This is the kind of photograph you can hammer out very quickly, one after the other. The bride with a bridesmaid, hugging each other.  I always make time for this. One stumbling block might be a lack of place to do this.  But there is usually somewhere to do this, by isolating your subject with a long lens against an out-of-focus background …

Still at the bride’s house, we had a few minutes before the limo had to leave. Inside the house there wasn’t really space to do this. So I looked outside.  It was the usual New Jersey suburban clutter – cars and utility poles and houses and just things!  Looking around me outside the house, I saw one direction I can shoot in that would give me a backlit image, with just out-of-focus trees in the background. Perfect!

Here is the pull-back shot to show what it looked like …

.. and with carefully selecting my background, I can get the typical effective on-location portrait.

By considering where I place my subject(s), and moving myself and my subject(s) in relation to the background .. and carefully framing with a long lens … I can get photographs where the viewer’s attention isn’t distracted by unnecessary elements within the frame.

This then is exactly the same approach as described in previous articles:
- effective on-location portraits;
- composition – finding your background;
- direction of light & choice of background;
- available light portrait.

With just a touch of fill-flash.

There is a repeatable method here that works every time! Even in a pinch.  Actually, especially when you’re in a pinch to get the job done quickly.

With these images here, there was no editing in Photoshop.  I just changed the WB slightly before processing to JPGs.  With wedding photography, a fast workflow becomes necessary.

recommended lenses for wedding portraits

The lens that is essential here, is a fast 70-200mm zoom. I can’t be without this lens.  Here it was my go-to lens to work at a wide-ish aperture (f4 in these examples), and a long focal length to help separate your subject(s) from the background.  Both the Nikon and Canon lenses here are outstanding.

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)

Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II (B&H)

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photographing people – available light portrait

While unloading lighting gear from the van to shoot a last few images for a certain section for my next book, I turned around and noticed the way the light fell on Anelisa.  Beautiful portrait light.  The (cropped) pull-back shot will show why ..

We were parked under a bridge.  The light now comes in from the side, but high up. This means the light isn’t top heavy, and you won’t get heavy shadows under the eyes.  So with slight positioning of our model, Anelisa, we have soft light that comes in from a perfect angle – from the side and above at around a 30 to 45 degree angle.

This is the kind of thing we can actively look for when photographing someone.  A few steps inside a doorway.  Or a few steps under a carport.  Or even a few steps between trees in a forest or park.  Just enough to hide the light coming from above on a cloudy day, or from the sun.

The photo was taken with the classic Canon 5D, and the Canon 85mm f1.8 (B&H)
Camera settings: 1/400 @ f2 @ 200 ISO; no flash, just available light.

photographic composition – looking at the background

In framing the portrait above, I moved a little until I liked the way Anelisa was framed against the out of focus high-lights in the background.  This relates directly to a previous post on how we frame our subject when shooting – we purposely look for at the background, and how we position our subject and ourselves in relation to the background.  In that sense again, the photo at the top, while it is an impromptu  portrait, it isn’t accidental in its composition.  The composition was done with purpose.

And to give you an even better idea of how ugly our surroundings were, click on the pull-back shot to see the entire area.  But in framing tight with a short telephoto lens; and using shallow depth of field; we’re able to eliminate everything that doesn’t add to the final image. That’s the essence of composition – the photographer includes what adds to the final image, and eliminates everything that doesn’t add something.

choice of lenses for available light portraits

A final comment about the lens – the Canon 85mm f1.8 (B&H) – it’s an exceptional lens for the image quality vs price.  Many aspiring photographers who are using the slow f5.6 zooms, might think that photographs where the use of shallow depth of field is out of their reach, should strongly consider an 85mm f1.8 lens.  It is quite affordable, and will give you access to this kind of simple portraits, where attention is placed entirely on the subject.  For the Nikon shooters, the Nikon 85mm f1.8 (B&H) is the equivalent.  Of course, the ‘big guns’ here are
the legendary Canon 85mm f1.2 (B&H), and the stellar Nikon 85mm f1.4D AF (B&H).

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improve your composition in photography – be specific about your background

The impact in this photo of Jessica relies equally on her looks and pose, the lighting, and the background. The background was very specifically chosen by how *I* position myself in relation to my subject. The background was out of focus neon lights in Times Square. I composed the photo very tightly with a 70-200mm lens, set to 200mm. With this, I can select exactly what I want to include in the image.

For comparison, here is the wider shot, so you can get an idea of the melange we had as a background …

[ click on the photo to see a larger image ]

By eliminating clutter, and eliminating everything that does not add to the photo, I simplified the composition. This is something I stress whenever I am invited to speak to or work with groups of newer photographers. I find that inexperienced photographers tend to point their camera at something, instead of framing their subject. You absolutely need to look at the edges of your frame to see what you include. This will also help you not chop off the top of people’s heads (or feet). Unless of course, that is your deliberate intention.

For me, the two most important guidelines in photographic composition are:

• be specific about your background
  Don’t just place your subject just anywhere. Either move your subject, or, better yet, change your own position. Crouch. Stretch. Lay down on the ground. Step to the side. Move around. Find your background in relation to your subject.

• look at the edges of your frame
  Don’t just aim your camera. Frame.
  Be specific about what you include. Be specific about what you exclude.

Settings for the photo at the top:
1/160 @ f3.2 @ 800 ISO;  TTL flash at -0.3 EV

Equipment used during this photo session:
Nikon D3;   Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S II (B&H);  Nikon SB-900 (B&H);
Lastolite EZYBOX 24×24 softbox (B&H);  Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Manfrotto 680B monopod (B&H);
brass stud to attach softbox to monopod (B&H)

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