Hi Julia, Welcome to the list! You joined just as there was a brief flare up of politics and ranting, which to be fair doesn't happen that often here. It's a very friendly, international list with contributors from all over the world. Most subscribe normally, but some like me subscribe in digest form, which gives me about ten or so emails a day, with all the list emails on one continuous page so I can scroll through and read them at my leisure. The down side is that I can't filter the emails and have to scroll through every one - some of which I don't read ;-)
Lots have given you advice already on the sort of kit you might look towards, and Bob Walkden has mentioned the work of Jane Bown (excellent book: 'Faces' BTW), but I thought I would build on that by chucking in a few bits and bobs regarding portraiture. As Bob said, you definitely DON'T need a studio full of flash bang and wallop to get some really great portraits. I *love* portraiture, but like many, I don't use flash for it. The simplest set up is often the best. Give me a room with one window, some nice soft light drifting through, and it's amazing what can be achieved. I like my shots 'low key'. This means that the overall feel of the picture is of lots of shadows and low light levels, with only bits of more intense light falling on the edges of the subject. (Hence, a 'high key' image would be very bright - think Woody Allen dressed as a sperm <g>) The sitter's confidence in you will be the single most important factor in getting what you want. Be calm and confident. Don't faff: if you don't like the pose you just asked for, fire off a frame or two anyway, praise, and move on. Sudden changes of mind can be unnerving. Don't be afraid to demonstrate what you're after (if indeed you are after anything at all - some of the best portraits come out of the blue with no forward planning) - don't be afraid to assume the pose yourself, to show the sitter a good starting point for you to work from. I'm really enjoying minimal depth of field at the moment. This is where you use a lens at it's widest aperture, and so instead of the whole face being very sharp, just the opposite happens. Using the lens wide open, a lot of the face will be soft and lose detail, but this draws attention to those areas that are sharp, usually the eyes. Note that this effect increases with focal length. The effect will be more pronounced with a 135mm lens than with a 50 mm lens. Also, the effect is more pronounced the faster the lens is: an f/1.4 lens will be better at it than an f/2 lens, although not by much. It's one aspect of portraiture that I like currently. The golden rule is try and keep the eyes in focus, although all rules are there to be broken. Briefly, lenses. As lots have said, anything between 85mm and 135mm are best for portraiture, but this is only because traditionally these focal lengths have tended to flatten the face out, giving a more natural look. Features such as large noses are less exaggerated and so the image is more flattering. That said, obviously a portrait can be made with anything from a fish-eye to a 2000mm monster! If the shoe fits... The Pentax 85mms are pricey, thopugh the f/2 is not as bad as the f/1.4. If cost is a big issue, consider something like a used Tamron, Vivitar or Tokina. I have a Tokina 90mm 2.5 which is also a macro lens - something that can be readily used in portraiture. A 70-150 mm or thereabouts zoom may be more flexible, but the fastest apertures are only likely to be f/4. Anything faster will cost significantly more. Prime lenses are streets ahead in quality to zooms, usually. Certainly in your price range. If you are really keen on portraiture, you will adore a prime lens of 85mm. It will suddenly become your best friend and you will be so glad you didn't get a zoom instead. Another great investment is books. Go to the biggest and best bookstore in town with the largest selection of art and photography books. Spend half an hour searching through them for images that you like. Look just at the pictures: see what takes your fancy, what you don't like, what you adore, what you hate. Buy as many as you can of the ones you like. Study them later, at your leisure. If there is text, read up on what the photographer was trying to achieve and whether or not he/she thinks they did. Study technique. As Jane Bown shoots in natural light with one camera (one of my heroines), Arnold Newman shoots mostly with flash on medium format (one of my heroes). As Ansel Adams (hero) produced magnificent vistas on medium and large format, Jeanloup Sieff (my favourite of all time) shot stunning landscapes on his Leica. There are many ways to skin a cat (no flames-I'm a cat lover!!) and so only by seeing the work of the famous - and maybe even the not-so-famous will you come to appreciate the possibilities. And then of course, practise. Practise practise practise. Shoot as much as you can. If cost is an issue which it is with me, do what I do. I buy the cheapest film I can and don't worry about the quality or whether or not the skin tones are to within the nth degree of a match. Shoot more and often. Buy black and white film, it's perfect for portraits. When family and friends see some mono 10X8s hanging up, they'll be bowled over. Monochrome is seeing a real revival amongst the masses - to look at. Not to use though, sadly. Shoot shoot shoot! Shoot as much as you can. Be selective: three complete rolls of the same person in various poses might only yield 2 decent pictures! Well, it does with me. If I get one per roll I'm laughing! But then I'm very strict. If it's not perfect, nobody else sees it... I hope you don't think I'm being patronising - you say you are new to photography, but so am I: only started in 1978 and I'm still learning all the time. It's such great fun and the sense of achievement and fulfilment one gets from hearing the praise on showing a picture is second to none. It's like a drug, and I'm addicted. You will be too. Good luck, Cotty _______________________________________________________ Personal email traffic to [EMAIL PROTECTED] MacAds traffic to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Check out the UK Macintosh ads http://www.macads.co.uk - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. 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