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Nifty Fifty and portraits

  • 07-03-2008 7:00pm
    #1
    PoleStar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 774 ✭✭✭


    Hi just wanna pick some brains on portraits.

    I have an eos400d and nifty fifty which I am trying to get the hang of for portrait shots.

    I tend to use a wide aperture, often at 1.8 for 2 reasons, as I am indoors usually when taking the shot it helps get adequate exposure and also to get the blurred background.

    I find I get a couple of problems. Firstly, I am finding hard to get the shots razor sharp. Is this because of the really narrow depth of field you think and also because lens is at widest aperture?
    Whats a good compromise for blurred background but to use the lens at its best and also to make it easy to get a good exposure.

    Do I just need to use longer exposure and use a tripod? Or is it recommended to get an off camera flash for this. Problem with me for tripod is trying to achieve spur of the moment shots with a moving baby and not wanting to have to use tripod!

    I find with the eos if I up the iso too much that it just results in too much noise.

    If anyone has any links on portrait photography (and also portraits without a studio setup!) it would be much appreciated!

    Thanks guys!!!


Comments

  • #2
    elderlemon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,014 ✭✭✭elderlemon


    Don't use this for portraits at 1.8. As you say the DOF is way too small (centimetres). Close it down to 2.8 or smaller - you will still get greatbackground blue and its probably even sharper than at 1.8.

    I alway use a tripod for portraits - it makes a big difference to the sharpness. For casual shots I don't tend to use the 50mm as without a zoom you're using your legs to get the right distance and indoors this tends to be a problem. I'm about to get the Canon 17-55 2.8 which should work well for these situations.


  • #3
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 50,895 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    i often shoot wide open on a 1.4 while doing casual portraits, but then i tend to use b&w anywhere between 400ASA and 3200ASA, which has a certain amount of forgiveness on focus; digital being so crisp, won't allow for that.

    try getting a portrait which is just slightly out of focus, and run it through a b&w and grain conversion, see if it improves it.


  • #4
    City-Exile
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,547 ✭✭✭City-Exile


    2.8 will still give you a nice shallow dof.
    Ensure that your subject isn't right on top of the background.
    Leave a bit of space behind them.
    If you want more than just their face in the shot, then you might want to go with an even narrower aperture.


  • #5
    sheesh
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,081 ✭✭✭sheesh


    What part of the face are you focusing on? I have been told that it should always be the eyes.


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