People Advice for portraits?

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 12:03 AM

Photo taken at 40mm on my 18-135mm lens. There was a mistake in the shutter speed - it was actually taken at 1/60s (handheld).

Trying to get better with portraiture. This is one of my better portraits (my worse are not very good

). I'd like some advice, and critical feedback is good because I want to improve my style. I haven't been doing very many portraits but want to start doing it a little more.

I placed the children's play equipment in the background to try to convey a fatherly look.

Hope you like it.

Attached Images

j2photos · 02-03-2014, 12:11 AM

In my opinion the 18-135 is not the best portrait lens. It lacks the DOF and sharpness that a fast 50 or the FA 77 Limited will. If you are shooting handheld you would want to raise your ISO so you can achieve a faster shutter speed, at 1/60 you are still going to have minor blurring. I would not be scared of ISO 1600 with your camera.

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 12:43 AM

Originally posted by j2photos

In my opinion the 18-135 is not the best portrait lens. It lacks the DOF and sharpness that a fast 50 or the FA 77 Limited will. If you are shooting handheld you would want to raise your ISO so you can achieve a faster shutter speed, at 1/60 you are still going to have minor blurring. I would not be scared of ISO 1600 with your camera.

Thanks for the advice j2photos. The 18-135mm lens is my only lens for the moment (I only got my camera 3 months ago and am very low budget for now - hoping to get some more lenses in the nearish future though). Will try raising the ISO and shutter speed/taking photos with the tripod.

j2photos · 02-03-2014, 12:49 AM

I am not sure what your main use will be but if you do many portraits may I suggest picking up one of the M series 50mm lenses. The Pentax M 50 1.7 is a superb piece of glass if you dont mind shooting 100% manual and will dramatically change your portraits. You can normally snag a 50 1.7 for $50 USD so its a minor investment to give you another option for portraits.

wullemaha · 02-03-2014, 12:50 AM

Actually I think it's quite good from a sharpness/ISO/blur point of view.
The only thing I would do in this particular case is moving the person a tiny bit to the left, to
1.) not have him dead in the center
2.) get a little bit more of that play ground stuff into view

I just really don't like the object to be in the center, not even on portraits - rule-of-thirds-junky I am.

But that's just my opinion, and I don't think I could have gotten a nice shot as yours

Keep on!

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 12:53 AM

Originally posted by j2photos

I am not sure what your main use will be but if you do many portraits may I suggest picking up one of the M series 50mm lenses. The Pentax M 50 1.7 is a superb piece of glass if you dont mind shooting 100% manual and will dramatically change your portraits. You can normally snag a 50 1.7 for $50 USD so its a minor investment to give you another option for portraits.

Thanks for that advice. I really like that shot of yours. I will look into the 50 1.7 - do I need a special attachment since it's an M series lens? I already shoot full manual so manual is not at all a problem.

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 12:55 AM

Originally posted by wullemaha

Actually I think it's quite good from a sharpness/ISO/blur point of view.
The only thing I would do in this particular case is moving the person a tiny bit to the left, to
1.) not have him dead in the center
2.) get a little bit more of that play ground stuff into view

I just really don't like the object to be in the center, not even on portraits - rule-of-thirds-junky I am.

But that's just my opinion, and I don't think I could have gotten a nice shot as yours

Keep on!

Thanks so much, I like the rule of thirds look too and will keep it in mind next shoot. Being a newbie, I guess I just automatically put things dead centre unless I'm thinking extra hard.

wullemaha · 02-03-2014, 12:59 AM

About the manual lenses: Nope, that's the beauty about Pentax - all K-Mount lenses fit on a K-mount camera.
I had the M50 1.7, it is awesome, now I gave it to a friend of mine since I got the M50 1.4
They are both great lenses, and as mentioned, easy and cheap to get!

Here some shots taken with the M50's (i don't know which picture was which one):
500px / B&W film (in B&W) by wullemaha
500px / Petals by wullemaha
500px / Night time, Izakaya by wullemaha
500px / nightlife by wullemaha

Beautiful Bokeh, but I was mostly out of focus

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 01:02 AM

Those are some nice photos wullemaha. I will definitely consider getting one of those lenses.

j2photos · 02-03-2014, 01:03 AM

Originally posted by ausmoose

Thanks for that advice. I really like that shot of yours. I will look into the 50 1.7 - do I need a special attachment since it's an M series lens? I already shoot full manual so manual is not at all a problem.

No you need nothing special, it is K mount so it attaches like any other lens you would buy. When you turn your camera on it will ask you what focal length you are using. then just stick your camera on M, use the aperture ring to set what Aperture you want it to be at, you will see a button with a green dot on it, this will have the camera meter the light for you and apply the proper shutter speed for proper exposure.

Do not get me wrong I do not think that a new lens is the only way for you to get good portraits. I am assuming you are wanting the dramatic DOF effect that you see in a lot of portraits. If I assumed wrong I apologize. I do think for the 50-135 that is a very good shot. I agree with wullemaha when he says move the subject more to the left. The rule of thirds will make it better.

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 01:11 AM

Originally posted by j2photos

No you need nothing special, it is K mount so it attaches like any other lens you would buy. When you turn your camera on it will ask you what focal length you are using. then just stick your camera on M, use the aperture ring to set what Aperture you want it to be at, you will see a button with a green dot on it, this will have the camera meter the light for you and apply the proper shutter speed for proper exposure.

Do not get me wrong I do not think that a new lens is the only way for you to get good portraits. I am assuming you are wanting the dramatic DOF effect that you see in a lot of portraits. If I assumed wrong I apologize. I do think for the 50-135 that is a very good shot. I agree with wullemaha when he says move the subject more to the left. The rule of thirds will make it better.

j2photos - yeah I do like the dramatic DOF effect. I'll check on prices of these lenses and when one is available for a good price I will most likely buy it. Would like to get a few more lenses - and the 1.7 seems like a good and cheap start.

rrstuff · 02-03-2014, 02:22 AM

Portraits are by far my weakest department so all I could advice is to watch out for the blooming (white overexposed areas). Soft light will work better in many cases.
Another hint, although you might know it, that once you go into large apertures, you cannot focus in the center and recompose. It shifts the focal plane too much. You would be better off stepping back a little and cropping later, or focusing using one of the many AF points.

I am posting mainly with a lens suggestion though. The M 50mm is very good another one I would strongly recommend is 55mm SMC Takumar (F1.8). I got mine for $25, then paid around $40 for an M42 adapter. It is a bit longer than the 50 and M42 adapter can serve you for other excellent Taks.

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 02:27 AM

Originally posted by rrstuff

Portraits are by far my weakest department so all I could advice is to watch out for the blooming (white overexposed areas). Soft light will work better in many cases.
Another hint, although you might know it, that once you go into large apertures, you cannot focus in the center and recompose. It shifts the focal plane too much. You would be better off stepping back a little and cropping later, or focusing using one of the many AF points.

I am posting mainly with a lens suggestion though. The M 50mm is very good another one I would strongly recommend is 55mm SMC Takumar (F1.8). I got mine for $25, then paid around $40 for an M42 adapter. It is a bit longer than the 50 and M42 adapter can serve you for other excellent Taks.

Thanks for the advice and lens suggestion. Will look around for one of these lenses (50 or 55mm) and find something decently priced that suits my needs.

rrstuff · 02-03-2014, 02:30 AM

While they probably don't ship to australia, prices at KEH could give you a good idea of what you should pay at most on a used market. Their BGN grade lenses cost around as much as you can get on ebay auctions, at least here in the US.

ausmoose · 02-03-2014, 02:38 AM

Originally posted by rrstuff

While they probably don't ship to australia, prices at KEH could give you a good idea of what you should pay at most on a used market. Their BGN grade lenses cost around as much as you can get on ebay auctions, at least here in the US.

Thanks for that. I've been looking on eBay but we definitely do have less selection here in Australia. There are a couple auctions worth looking at though, and I'll just out the site you mentioned for good prices too.

02-03-2014, 12:03 AM	#1
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968	Advice for portraits? Lens: 18-135mm WR Camera: K-30 Photo Location: near Sydney ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/6s Aperture: F4.5 Photo taken at 40mm on my 18-135mm lens. There was a mistake in the shutter speed - it was actually taken at 1/60s (handheld). Trying to get better with portraiture. This is one of my better portraits (my worse are not very good ). I'd like some advice, and critical feedback is good because I want to improve my style. I haven't been doing very many portraits but want to start doing it a little more. I placed the children's play equipment in the background to try to convey a fatherly look. Hope you like it. Attached Images

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02-03-2014, 12:11 AM	#2
j2photos Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Manteca, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,653	In my opinion the 18-135 is not the best portrait lens. It lacks the DOF and sharpness that a fast 50 or the FA 77 Limited will. If you are shooting handheld you would want to raise your ISO so you can achieve a faster shutter speed, at 1/60 you are still going to have minor blurring. I would not be scared of ISO 1600 with your camera.

02-03-2014, 12:43 AM	#3
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by j2photos In my opinion the 18-135 is not the best portrait lens. It lacks the DOF and sharpness that a fast 50 or the FA 77 Limited will. If you are shooting handheld you would want to raise your ISO so you can achieve a faster shutter speed, at 1/60 you are still going to have minor blurring. I would not be scared of ISO 1600 with your camera. Thanks for the advice j2photos. The 18-135mm lens is my only lens for the moment (I only got my camera 3 months ago and am very low budget for now - hoping to get some more lenses in the nearish future though). Will try raising the ISO and shutter speed/taking photos with the tripod.

02-03-2014, 12:49 AM	#4
j2photos Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Manteca, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,653	I am not sure what your main use will be but if you do many portraits may I suggest picking up one of the M series 50mm lenses. The Pentax M 50 1.7 is a superb piece of glass if you dont mind shooting 100% manual and will dramatically change your portraits. You can normally snag a 50 1.7 for $50 USD so its a minor investment to give you another option for portraits.

02-03-2014, 12:50 AM	#5
wullemaha Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Tokyo Posts: 503	Actually I think it's quite good from a sharpness/ISO/blur point of view. The only thing I would do in this particular case is moving the person a tiny bit to the left, to 1.) not have him dead in the center 2.) get a little bit more of that play ground stuff into view I just really don't like the object to be in the center, not even on portraits - rule-of-thirds-junky I am. But that's just my opinion, and I don't think I could have gotten a nice shot as yours Keep on!

02-03-2014, 12:53 AM	#6
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by j2photos I am not sure what your main use will be but if you do many portraits may I suggest picking up one of the M series 50mm lenses. The Pentax M 50 1.7 is a superb piece of glass if you dont mind shooting 100% manual and will dramatically change your portraits. You can normally snag a 50 1.7 for $50 USD so its a minor investment to give you another option for portraits. Thanks for that advice. I really like that shot of yours. I will look into the 50 1.7 - do I need a special attachment since it's an M series lens? I already shoot full manual so manual is not at all a problem.

02-03-2014, 12:55 AM	#7
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by wullemaha Actually I think it's quite good from a sharpness/ISO/blur point of view. The only thing I would do in this particular case is moving the person a tiny bit to the left, to 1.) not have him dead in the center 2.) get a little bit more of that play ground stuff into view I just really don't like the object to be in the center, not even on portraits - rule-of-thirds-junky I am. But that's just my opinion, and I don't think I could have gotten a nice shot as yours Keep on! Thanks so much, I like the rule of thirds look too and will keep it in mind next shoot. Being a newbie, I guess I just automatically put things dead centre unless I'm thinking extra hard.

02-03-2014, 12:59 AM	#8
wullemaha Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Tokyo Posts: 503	About the manual lenses: Nope, that's the beauty about Pentax - all K-Mount lenses fit on a K-mount camera. I had the M50 1.7, it is awesome, now I gave it to a friend of mine since I got the M50 1.4 They are both great lenses, and as mentioned, easy and cheap to get! Here some shots taken with the M50's (i don't know which picture was which one): 500px / B&W film (in B&W) by wullemaha 500px / Petals by wullemaha 500px / Night time, Izakaya by wullemaha 500px / nightlife by wullemaha Beautiful Bokeh, but I was mostly out of focus

02-03-2014, 01:02 AM	#9
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Those are some nice photos wullemaha. I will definitely consider getting one of those lenses.

02-03-2014, 01:03 AM	#10
j2photos Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Manteca, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,653	Originally posted by ausmoose Thanks for that advice. I really like that shot of yours. I will look into the 50 1.7 - do I need a special attachment since it's an M series lens? I already shoot full manual so manual is not at all a problem. No you need nothing special, it is K mount so it attaches like any other lens you would buy. When you turn your camera on it will ask you what focal length you are using. then just stick your camera on M, use the aperture ring to set what Aperture you want it to be at, you will see a button with a green dot on it, this will have the camera meter the light for you and apply the proper shutter speed for proper exposure. Do not get me wrong I do not think that a new lens is the only way for you to get good portraits. I am assuming you are wanting the dramatic DOF effect that you see in a lot of portraits. If I assumed wrong I apologize. I do think for the 50-135 that is a very good shot. I agree with wullemaha when he says move the subject more to the left. The rule of thirds will make it better.

02-03-2014, 01:11 AM	#11
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by j2photos No you need nothing special, it is K mount so it attaches like any other lens you would buy. When you turn your camera on it will ask you what focal length you are using. then just stick your camera on M, use the aperture ring to set what Aperture you want it to be at, you will see a button with a green dot on it, this will have the camera meter the light for you and apply the proper shutter speed for proper exposure. Do not get me wrong I do not think that a new lens is the only way for you to get good portraits. I am assuming you are wanting the dramatic DOF effect that you see in a lot of portraits. If I assumed wrong I apologize. I do think for the 50-135 that is a very good shot. I agree with wullemaha when he says move the subject more to the left. The rule of thirds will make it better. j2photos - yeah I do like the dramatic DOF effect. I'll check on prices of these lenses and when one is available for a good price I will most likely buy it. Would like to get a few more lenses - and the 1.7 seems like a good and cheap start.

02-03-2014, 02:22 AM	#12
rrstuff Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Pasadena, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,126	Portraits are by far my weakest department so all I could advice is to watch out for the blooming (white overexposed areas). Soft light will work better in many cases. Another hint, although you might know it, that once you go into large apertures, you cannot focus in the center and recompose. It shifts the focal plane too much. You would be better off stepping back a little and cropping later, or focusing using one of the many AF points. I am posting mainly with a lens suggestion though. The M 50mm is very good another one I would strongly recommend is 55mm SMC Takumar (F1.8). I got mine for $25, then paid around $40 for an M42 adapter. It is a bit longer than the 50 and M42 adapter can serve you for other excellent Taks.

02-03-2014, 02:27 AM	#13
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by rrstuff Portraits are by far my weakest department so all I could advice is to watch out for the blooming (white overexposed areas). Soft light will work better in many cases. Another hint, although you might know it, that once you go into large apertures, you cannot focus in the center and recompose. It shifts the focal plane too much. You would be better off stepping back a little and cropping later, or focusing using one of the many AF points. I am posting mainly with a lens suggestion though. The M 50mm is very good another one I would strongly recommend is 55mm SMC Takumar (F1.8). I got mine for $25, then paid around $40 for an M42 adapter. It is a bit longer than the 50 and M42 adapter can serve you for other excellent Taks. Thanks for the advice and lens suggestion. Will look around for one of these lenses (50 or 55mm) and find something decently priced that suits my needs.

02-03-2014, 02:30 AM	#14
rrstuff Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Pasadena, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,126	While they probably don't ship to australia, prices at KEH could give you a good idea of what you should pay at most on a used market. Their BGN grade lenses cost around as much as you can get on ebay auctions, at least here in the US.

02-03-2014, 02:38 AM	#15
ausmoose Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Sydney, NSW Photos: Albums Posts: 968 Original Poster	Originally posted by rrstuff While they probably don't ship to australia, prices at KEH could give you a good idea of what you should pay at most on a used market. Their BGN grade lenses cost around as much as you can get on ebay auctions, at least here in the US. Thanks for that. I've been looking on eBay but we definitely do have less selection here in Australia. There are a couple auctions worth looking at though, and I'll just out the site you mentioned for good prices too.