Originally posted by kerrowdown For sharpness or softness, it depends on if it's a male or female portrait your taking.
And now I'll retell the tale of shooting portraits whilst in the US Army. Much of that was standard new-guy-in-unit stuff, the well-dressed troop standing stiffly in front of a flag as I held a flash up with one hand and worked a Yashica 35 GSN (loaded with Kodacolor) with the other hand. But on my own time, I shot personal stuff, portraits. And almost always with an 80mm lens. Whether Nikon F (FF SLR), or Olympus Pen-FT (HF SLR), or Yashicamat 124G (MF TLR), 80/3.5 was the glass to use.
And those shots were of two types -- one or more troops, or a troop and their wife / GF / SO. Those shots with a dependent female were ALWAYS soft and romantic, shot wide-open with natural north light. Shots without females were sometimes soft, especially for younger, smoother troops. But they were more likely harsh, sharp, relentless -- stop down, use a Red or Green filter, use sharp side lights, do EVERYTHING to bring out every scar, pore, hair, crease, and other memorable detail. Blood and sweat and mud were sometimes evident. It's a macho thang, eh?
Of course, it's good to go against type, too. Shoot that he-man softly; shoot that sweating gal sharp and harsh; shoot that family in high-contrast; give that dog an aura; etc. Or maybe shoot ortho or copy film and/or use a violet or blue filter, for chroma renditions similar to the earliest B&W photo emulsions. The standards of portraiture are easily evaded.