Portrait Ready

I never leave home without my Camera.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the XT1 or my Nikon D700. The most important aspect is my choice of Lens. My choice of Lens must cover all the areas of subjects I find most interesting.

I need a Wide Angle, Normal & Telephoto option in my tool box.

There is one Lens that meets all three - The XF18-55mm F2.8-4. The purpose of this Blog Post to draw attention to my love of Portraits.

I leave my home ready for any encounter that may lead to me creating a Portrait of someone interesting.

My Portraits are usually within the 18-55mm range.

With a Prime Lens, they would be taken with a 35mm or 50mm, the odd exception is the 85mm. The only reason for the 85mm is because I don’t go out exclusively to take Portraits of strangers or friends. I am simply Portrait ready; this means I am very responsive once I feel the moment is right.

The two images above were created with the XF35mm 1.4 - this is a beautiful Lens for creating a Portrait. On my Fuji X-T1, its field of view is 53mm so it has crossed over into telephoto territory, a mild telephoto. The compression and rendering at 1.4 or 2.8 is wonderful, not to mention the Bokeh.

Just being ready and confident is enough.

A Portrait with a 35mm will be different to a 50mm. All this means is my 35mm Frame will feature more information.

I actually enjoy creating 35mm Portraits; this would be my choice of Lens for a Lifestyle Shoot or Photo Essay about a particular individual.

A storytelling Lens communicates more ABOUT the individual and their environment. The 50mm can do this providing I have space to work the Scene and Frame.

Being Portrait ready is knowing that I can create a flattering and dignified image of a person and have them fall in love with themselves.

This is the magic of creating a Portrait; altering how a person sees themselves for the better.

“O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us”

Robbie Burns

Thanks for reading.