Ricoh GR-1 & portraits ?
Paul Wasowicz
Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
pw
Mike NO UCE Schuster
Wayne Harrison <wa...@netmcr.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 26 Aug 1998 16:28:57 -0500, Paul Wasowicz <waso...@mcs.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Question:
>>
>> Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
>>
>>pw
>>
>with a 28mm, which comes with a gr-1; but you can bet your sweet ass
>they will be well exposed and display saturated color the equal of
>your average nikkor.
Not making a 35mm model was a fatal mistake, IMHO.
--
Mike Schuster | 70346.1745 at CompuServe dot COM
schuster at panix dot com | schuster at pol dot net
J Greely
>Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
Depends on what you mean by portrait. If you want to take a
full-length shot of someone vertically, or a waist-up shot of two or
three people sitting next to each other, yes, it will be fine, and
you'll get plenty of background to establish the setting. If you want
a nice vertical head-and-shoulders shot, no; you'll be so close to
them that their features will be unflatteringly distorted.
-j
Herb & Lee Kanner
"NO UCE" Schuster) wrote:
I agree in spades. The day a 35mm version comes out, I will buy one.
Herb
>
> Not making a 35mm model was a fatal mistake, IMHO.
>
>
>
> --
> Mike Schuster | 70346.1745 at CompuServe dot COM
> schuster at panix dot com | schuster at pol dot net
--
Herb and/or Lee Kanner
TravGlen
do? You'll need something in the range of 80mm - 135mm. For street and
candid shooting, 28mm is near ideal. Now I know you're thinking "candid?"
don't I need my 300mm for that? The great thing with a 28mm (and 35mm) is
that it forces you to interact with your subject. Also the 28mm lens acts to
lessen red-eye. Between 5 - 10 feet you'll get almost the perfect shot,
after all, a good portrait could also include the upper half of the human
body. Check out those supermodel and celebrity portraits on the front covers
of magazines at the checkout counter next time you go to the store. Most of
those are shot with the upper half of the body, and the hands, to convey a
since of character. I use a Nikon 28ti in conjunction with my N90/70mm-210.
Ricoh knew damn well what they were doing, and my hat's off to them for
producing a 90's "Classic." To bad you "don't get it!"
andre
Paul Chefurka wrote in message <35e6a11c...@news.magma.ca>...
>So, don't try a head shot
>with a 28mm lens.
>Paul
What?? Why the hell not? Why do you assume a head shot has to be
"flattering" and with a conventional perspective? You can often create
wonderful close ups of people with wide angles if you know what you are
trying to say. Try it one day.
Photographers shouldn't follow silly rules that stiffle creativity and limit
the options that are available to them .
AS
Wayne Harrison
wrote:
>Question:
>
> Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
>
>pw
>
well, now, you might get some really bizarre full face shots
with a 28mm, which comes with a gr-1; but you can bet your sweet ass
they will be well exposed and display saturated color the equal of
your average nikkor.
a. wayne harrison
Paul Chefurka
wrote:
>Question:
>
> Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
Sure, as long as you take a reasonably broad definition of "portrait"
- say, "a photograph of a person that communicates that person's
appearance, character, station in life or other salient
characteristic(s)".
You can take a good "portrait" with any camera, and the GR1 is beyond
doubt a good camera. The hard part is to match the message you want
to give to the equipment you want to use. So, don't try a head shot
with a 28mm lens, and don't shoot anything intended for enlargement to
30x40 inches on 35mm.
But, for environmental available-light portraits intended for
publication or enlargement to 8x10 or 11x14, the GR1 will do a fine
job.
Paul
Alan...@compuserve.com
> What?? Why the hell not? Why do you assume a head shot has to be
> "flattering" and with a conventional perspective? You can often create
> wonderful close ups of people with wide angles if you know what you are
> trying to say. Try it one day.
> Photographers shouldn't follow silly rules that stiffle creativity and limit
> the options that are available to them .
You are right about the fact that "portrait" is not limited to "short
telephoto head shots with blurred out background". And you are tight in
stating that nothing forbids you to use 28mm for a head shot. And you are
certainly right in stating that "silly rules" do not have to be followed.
I'll nevertheless point out that most people enjoy being photographed in a
nice, smooth and sharp, flattering way. And that a large number of
photographers try hard to provide just that, with a lot of attention on light
and shadows, on background rendition, on face features. Sometimes because
they lack imagination or hate taking risks, more often because this is what
the models and customers expect. If it is to that type of portraits the first
poster was refering to, then, no, the GR-1 is NOT the right tool.
Furthermore, in order to determine when a "rule" becomes "silly", it remains
useful to know and master that "rule". Taking advantage of a 28mm in close
range portraiture requires either a lot of luck or a lot of knowledge:
deciding that the arm in the foreground might look monstruous, that a few
degrees change in the orientation of the head radically changes perspectives,
that the background being within depth of focus is worth seeing in detail,
etc. It is easier to shoot a portrait that "works" if you follow the rules
(85-135mm f4-f5.6 and good diffused light)...
Alan
Brussels-Belgium
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Ye Chen
fuz...@zeus.jersey.net (TravGlen) wrote:
<<<<<<<<If you want to do a close head shot, then what good do you think
a 35mm will do? You'll need something in the range of 80mm - 135mm. For
street and candid shooting, 28mm is near ideal. Now I know you're
thinking "candid?" don't I need my 300mm for that? The great thing with
a 28mm (and 35mm) is that it forces you to interact with your subject.
>>>>>>>
What do you mean by "interact with your subject?" Take the candid
shot and then smile to them/he/she? :)
CY
NJFotomakr
>publication or enlargement to 8x10 or 11x14, the GR1 will do a fine
>job.
I agree. The key word here is "environmental",which includes alot/some
background info relating to the subject. Currently popular form of
portriature,especially in B&W,IMHO.
Makepeace Lake/Weymouth Furnace
Black and White Photography
Wai Lun Alan Chan
> Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
U can do certain portrait shots with a 28mm lens. However, if U are
looking for something more formal, this camera will not be for the
purpose.
********************************************************************
*** regards, Alan Chan ***
*** wl...@cs.rmit.edu.au ***
*** http://yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au/~wlac/ ***
*** ------------------------------------------------------------ ***
*** Appreciate your own life, and respect the others' ***
********************************************************************
Joe Berenbaum
>Question:
>
> Can you take good portraits with GR-1 ?
>
>pw
Answer:
If you can take good portraits with a 28mm lens then yes, if not, no.
Joe B. (Please remove ".gov" for email.)
TravGlen
>shot and then smile to them/he/she? :)
> CY
How about recognizing their and your humanity? If it's a smile, or a look,
or a few words, or a conversation, or giving them your telephone number so
they can contact you for a print, whatever it takes to be a human being, to
celebrate the joy of life and living. I remember once walking the streets of
New York and stopping to take a shot of an open air hot dog stand. I
remember one young gentleman stopped right in the middle of my composite and
just silently stood there, not looking at me, not speaking, offering me his
profile. I took the shot, and he just as quickly disapeared into the crowd.
After making the b&w print, I don't know how many people have asked me how I
got him into this shot. And funny thing is, after I explain how this shot
came to be, I always get accused of "staging it," or "it looks staged."
Camera for this shot was Pentax LX, with 40mm/f2.8, "pancake" lens, 85a
filter ( improved high contrast). Did we interact? Damn tooting!