Off the top of my head, an 80mm mild -tele is usually classed as being the
preferred size for portrait shots so I' recommend either a standard 50/1.8
if working up closer or the 100/2.8 - the latter would reduce the DOF more
and, with a tripod, would be ideal for portraits.
In a home setting a T32 (or the T20) will normally throw out ample light and
with a hotshoe 4 fitted to your OM2N you will be fine exposure wise. Blue
walls may be a tad awkward in that blue often reflects seemingly patches of
'white' light with direct flash. A simple diffuser may suffice here -
particularly if the walls are painted with a matt finish (less shiny than a
glossy or silk finish) - a polariser filiter on the camera could/would help
as well. Since blue is a primary colour, I'd suggest avoiding primary
colours. Lightish colours (assuming a fairly deep bue to the walls) - e.g.
white clothes will stand out more. Darker colours will tend to blend in to
some extent with a dark blue. If the walls are more of a Cyan, darker
colours will stand out a bit better than with a deeper blue. A 'polaroid'
pre-shot could help a lot there to check the colours, ambient lighting, etc.
It is possible that the blue walls could cast a bluish light on the skin (if
the subject is too close to the wall) so a warm filter might also be useful
- in fact, tends to be useful for skin tones almost anytime. As always, use
a fast shutter speed to miminise blurring. Avoid putting the subject in
shadows. Try and 'angle' the flash across the face a bit - rather than
straight on (straight on flash can wash out facial details and also cause
red-eye). White ceilings will help with bounce flash and again bounce flash
will miminise 'white' areas showing on the blue walls. With blue walls,
sunlight (through a window, say) will generally be a better (natural) source
of illumination than flash.
Allan
PS No trees were harmed in the sending of this message and a very large
number of electrons were asked their permission to be terribly
inconvenienced. (And threw a party for them afterwards for being really cool
about it).
Disrupting the unnatural balance that you, as a conscious human being and a
confused mass of energy, have created.
-Disturb the mind -
>From: Ian Lowman <ian@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [OM] Newbie portrait question
>Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 01:19:13 -0500
>
>Hi all,
>
>Me and my SO would like to take a 'holiday' photograph of ourselves to
>send to the relatives. Since I rarely take such pictures, I'm coming to
>the group with much humility for some advice. Here's the deal: we want
>to be together, in our home or other 'nice' setting, looking fairly
>normal (or as much as we can manage). I have OM-1N and OM-2N bodies,
>with lenses 28/2.8, 50/1.4/1.8, 100/2.8, 200/4. I also have a tripod and
>bounce grip 2, with two T32 flashes (and a T20 if that's any use).
>
>How would you do this?
>
>Our ceilings are white, but the walls are blue.
>
>Thanks,
>Ian
>
>
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