On 15/12/04, Mark Erickson, discombobulated, unleashed: >A question about portrait technique. I've done some portrait work recently >with my portrait lens (FA* 85mm F1.4) and I'm finding that I like the >results better with the aperture set one or maybe two stops down (i.e., at >F2 or maybe F2.8) as opposed to wide open. It seems like the blurred >background is somehow _too_ blurry at F1.4. > >Anyone else care to share experiences and preferences in this area?
Sure. I think that on the whole, the individual portrait will to some degree dictate how you set the aperture. I tend to be a bit of an extremist and have just the eyes sharp and everything else can go where it likes, but that doesn't always suit every subject. If in any doubt, simply shoot the same pic at differing apertures, choose later. I'm not one for artificially blurring later in PS, I much prefer to get it right at the taking stage. Having said that, both unsharp mask and gaussian blur both fall into that category I guess, so guilty as charged! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
