[gsrokmix]

OK I see now. I don't know what the woman is supposed to look like (the 50 or 70 shots perhaps) but I like the way she looks @ 350 mm the best. That's kinda what I would like to achieve shooting my wife.

George

[m42man]

My guess would be that the most accurate representation of the woman's face would be given by a lens somewhere between 70mm and 100mm, which would imply that the 55mm to 58mm range of focal lengths might be about right for an APS-C camera.

Of course, there may be all sorts of reasons for choosing a different (or even widely different) focal length: the ability to get close enough to the subject, the desire to emphasise or play down the subject's features, or just personal taste - so use of a zoom lens such as the DA55-300 might be a good choice.

[Marc Sabatella]

Note the linked series is in FF focal lengths; divide those all by 1.5 to see the focal length that would produce the same FOV on APS-C.

[icywarm]

I did a bonus pic today for my 'Single in Sept'

I am using a 500mm lens and I thought I'd try some ports with it, one umbrella and a one camera flash. the two on the left are at 500mm. I think she was trying to point out that she could not see me across the house. I needed to have her sit in one corner of the house, than across the dinning room, down a small hall, and through the kitchen I could frame her hair to chin!! I tried to take 'just one more' at 75mm to show the difference... the results speak for themselves... next take at least one fewer picture... and don't change lens!!!


But there is some seriousness here... her face is much rounder at 500mm... I will find a more willing model and possible repost!

[Marc Sabatella]

One thing that has been touched on but deserves further mention: while shorter working distances / shorter focal lengths get more and more obviously distorted with every foot closer you get, there is a point with longer working distances / longer focal lengths where going even longer just doesn't matter much. So the difference between working distance of 4 feet and 5 feet might appear huge while a difference between 40 feet and 50 feet might barely be noticeable at all.

Another thing to think about is angle of face to camera. The examples posted previously all show the subject facing straight on. That's going to distort *differently* than if the subject is turned away a bit. And lighting can also change our perception of this. There's a real art to sorting through all this and coming up with flattering portraits, and I'll state categorically that I don't have it. I understand the concepts in principle, but I lack any real world experience in this area. So I have no insights into specific posing or lighting techniques for a given face shape and working distance. But at least I'd know what variables to play with as I went through a process of trial and error.