Correct working distance?

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Hi,

Could somebody please confirm whats the normal working distance from a model when doing a portrait shoot?

Im buying all my stuff today (body and lenses) and dont want to buy a lens that turns out too short , but dont want to buy a lens that is so long i cant get wide enough.

I was thinking of getting a 70-200 f2.8 but think that i might struggle if i dont have alot of room behind me sometimes.

Any help really appreciated!
 
Personally I like to be far enough away to not invade personal space, which varies person to person, so its difficult to generalise. A full frame camera would require 80/135 for a head shot and something smaller for full length under 'normal' conditions. Anything wider and filling the frame will distort the resultant image. Longer, say 200 will probably result in you being too far away for full length. If you are going for a cropped body you should adjust lens focal length accordingly. For a controlled environment like a studio I'd go for prime lenses rather than a zoom, you'll get faster lenses, so can blur the background if needs be, good quality and lightweight, probably not so intimidating for the 'model' either as opposed to having that great white lump of glass pointing at them :)
Even if I bought a zoom (70/200) I'd still seriously consider getting a 50 1.8 they are so cheap and give such great shots for the money the extra £100 or so is money well spent and they give you a slightly wider option (without distortion) than the 70/200 will.

Are we looking at indoors (and therefore restricted back space) or outdoors for these shots.

Matt (the other one!)
 
depends.

If you want head shots with the 50mm, you need to get fairly close,

If you want full body portraits with the 70-200 then you'll need to be about a mile away :D

Something like a 24-70, or a couple of primes, 50mm and 85mm perhaps, or a 35mm on a crop body. Depends how you like working
 
There is no answer to this question, you're doing it the wrong way round. :thinking:

It depends what lens you are using, what composition you want, whether you're indoors, outdoors, using flash or ambient or both, if you are using flash how are you using it, and probably a million other factors I'm forgetting to mention.

Also there isn't a "Portrait" lens as such - or rather there are different focal lengths people use for portrait work (and this depends also on the body you're using, FF or crop etc). A 70-200mm is a good lens to use for portraits but then again you might want to use a 50mm prime, or an 85mm prime, Some swear on a 135mm prime. All this would determine where you stand in relation to the model. Are you doing just head shots, full length or a mix?

Or, to put it another way, how long is a piece of string?:shrug:

The best advice I think I could give you here is buy your basic kit and go from there. If you get a 70-200 and find you want to get a bit closer for some shots then get something a bit shorter. I think unless you know exactly what you want to achieve from the outset then it's not really possible to go out and buy exactly what you will need in one go, peoples kits tend to grow over time as their needs and experience grows.
 
Hi,

Its indoors and the room is 25ft deep x 15ft wide. Take into account the space for the model and the backdrops etc etc , i would say i can be maximum 17ft away(and that would be my back touching the wall)

Would you say a Sigma 50-150 f2.8 would be a good idea then as i would have a good range there?

Matt
 
Ste Manns said:
There is no answer to this question, you're doing it the wrong way round. :thinking:

It depends what lens you are using, what composition you want, whether you're indoors, outdoors, using flash or ambient or both, if you are using flash how are you using it, and probably a million other factors I'm forgetting to mention.

Also there isn't a "Portrait" lens as such - or rather there are different focal lengths people use for portrait work (and this depends also on the body you're using, FF or crop etc). A 70-200mm is a good lens to use for portraits but then again you might want to use a 50mm prime, or an 85mm prime, Some swear on a 135mm prime. All this would determine where you stand in relation to the model. Are you doing just head shots, full length or a mix?

Or, to put it another way, how long is a piece of string?:shrug:

The best advice I think I could give you here is buy your basic kit and go from there. If you get a 70-200 and find you want to get a bit closer for some shots then get something a bit shorter. I think unless you know exactly what you want to achieve from the outset then it's not really possible to go out and buy exactly what you will need in one go, peoples kits tend to grow over time as their needs and experience grows.
Click to expand...



Hi,

That makes sense. I was thinking of getting the Sigma EX 50-150 f2.8 lens but was worrying incase 50mm would not be wide enough?

Matt
 
Personally 50mm is about as wide as I'd go (on full frame that is) if you want a reasonably tight portrait. But it's the bit of string again, I'm favouring shooting a bit wider these days and including a bit more of the environment and only you know what's going on in your head in terms of visualisation of what you want from your space.

I think (from memory) that this one was shot on a 50mm on the 5D. That was from about 10ft away.

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50mm on a crop body at 17 feet or so is pretty tight IMVHO unless all you're after is a head and shoulders shot.

How about a 17-50 or 24-70mm (depending on APS-C or FF) and explaining to the model that because of the location you're going to be using a relatively wide lens and are therefore going to be a little closer than you'd normally be.
 
Hi,

Well... I could afford both a 17-50/18-50 f2.8 and a 50-150/70-200 f2.8 so would that be a better idea?

As if i were a bit close i could just swop lenses and vice versa.

Matt
 
Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned but my first reaction is usually to reach for a prime but what to reach for would depend upon the sensor size, the working distance and the position of the model.

The excellent full frame 50mm shot above at about 10 feet illustrates what is possible with a seated model but that distance would possibly be too tight for a full body shot.

Good luck.
 
I shoot a Nikon D700 with a 24/70 and a 70/200. Both are great but i prefer the 70/200 but i can only use it in studio space where room permits.

If you are going full frame 50mm is pretty much what you would see by looking at the model. So if you want a tight shoot you are going to have to stand that close.

With my 70/200 i can get a tight head shot from 5m away or zoom out to get a full body from the same place....

If you are photographing kids you need a bit of zoom because the little buggers do not stand still...! and may ruin the composition you are after by moving....

Mac
 
Just to add that if you are on a cropped sensor the 70/200 would be useless in this setup as you should only be able to get one eye at a time..!!!
 
Everyone will have a slightly different answer based on their own experiences and what they want to achieve. After twenty replies to this thread you might still not have a clue what to go for! I don't think there is a single correct answer to this, it's down to personal choice.

I thought I wanted a 70-200 f2.8 for portraiture but being a bit skint I've gone and got myself some old manual primes - a 135mm and a 58mm. On my crop 50D I'm really liking their equivalent focal lengths of 216mm and 92.8mm. I already had a nifty fifty 1.8 which on my body acts as a 80mm but I much prefer the 58(92.8) as it gives me slightly more room between me and the subject. The 135(216) is good if I want a tighter shot and also if I'm using lights. These lenses cost me £3 each, plus £2.49 for an adaptor - bargain! So glad I didn't spend £1500 on a 70-200 f2.8 L! However they aren't for everyone.

If money isn't an issue to an extent, certainly go out and buy everything you want but otherwise, start slower and build up your kit as your needs grow. Get the best body you can afford, one that suits you, and start with maybe one or two lenses and build on that.
 
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