Again on Point of View

This is a studio image shot on the lovely Brazilian model, Myraya, using Canon 1Ds III and EF 50/1.2 L. Many photographer do not consider the 50mm on full-frame camera is a portrait lens, I disagree, and in fact 50mm is one of my most used lens for portrait, in or out of studio. Of course I don't disagree that the traditional 85mm, or 105mm or 135mm are good portrait lenses, I think all the lenses can potentially be portrait lenses, and I often use as wide as 28mm (and on some rare occasions use even woder lenses) for portrait, in fact one of my favorite portrait made on my mentor Si Chi Ko - a worldly known Taiwanese photographer, was a shot using Carl Zeiss Distagon 28/2 on RTS III back in those days still shoot films. This is often that the closest focus of a lens is typically related to the focal lenth of the lens in use, for example a typical 35mm lens its closest focusing distance is approx. 35cm, 50mm lens approx. 50cm, 85mm lens approx. 85cm, 135mm lens approx. 135cm. A wider lens allows photographer to get closer, and with shorter distance, the photographer also bring the viewer get close to the subect, often it is more compelling, and more dramatic. Certainly, the longer length also has its use, this is subjective matter, which is why I often say all the lens is potential a protrait lens.

Back on this image, the normal 50mm allow me to get close while able to fill the frame with Myraya's lovely posed body, and right amount of depth of field. Here again I lower myself to level myself with the model, for this powerful image.