Choosing the Correct Lens for Nude Photography
Some photographers like to have a huge range of lenses covering every focal length imaginable from extreme wide angle to long telephoto. In practice though, this is more often a sign of gadget mania rather than real necessity and most will find that working with just a few excellent quality lenses is a far better strategy.
When photographing a nude model, most photographers will aim to produce an image that is aesthetically pleasing without distortion or unflattering effects. With a distant scene such as a nude figure in the landscape it is perfectly possible to use a wide angle lens, but as you move closer that same lens is likely to cause unwanted distortion and this is particularly prevalent with cheaper lenses. When working in the studio using a full frame 35mm camera, I tend to shoot with lenses no wider than 35mm at most and even that is not ideal most of the time.
Perhaps surprisingly to some, one of the best lenses available for photographing a nude body is the often discarded standard 50mm lens, which is generally the cheapest option in every camera maker's lens range, but invariably of excellent optical quality, suffering from almost zero distortion or chromatic aberrations.
When photographed in relative proximity the female nude will often appear slightly more curvaceous than in reality with a 50mm lens but not in an ugly or exaggerated fashion and the same rule would apply equally to glamour photography. This is roughly equivalent to the 80mm lens on the medium format Hasselblad, which is my first choice when photographing nudes, since I tend to prefer to the less elongated proportions of medium format.
Another alternative lens would be the 85mm, though often considered more as a portrait lens all the main camera makers such as Canon and Nikon etc. produce an optically excellent version and this can be used in just about any situation to good effect. Much like the 50mm lens it also generally has a fast maximum aperture allowing the photographer to easily blur the background if desired.
One alternative option that should not be overlooked is a good quality zoom lens, such as the Canon 24-105L for example, which covers all the necessary focal lengths for most requirements while removing the necessity to change lens every 30 seconds during a shoot. There was a time when zoom lenses were not really an option for high quality professional usage but nowadays the better lenses are very good indeed and extremely convenient. Lenses with built in image stabilisation are also useful for hand held photography in low light conditions. To find out more visit http://www.nudephotopro.com/
Questions and Answers
Article Tags:
nude photography
,photography
,nude photography professional
,professional photographer
nude photography and portrait photography are two of the most challenging, rewarding and meaningful photographic pursuits in existence. Technical skill and composition will only get you so far, let your instincts guide you.
Are you enthusiastic about taking images? If you would like to discover far more about superior photography, like nude photography and portrait photography, this write-up can serve like a manual for starters. Find out the fundamentals.
We, living on this planet have evolved over the years, keeping in mind the changes that have taken place all over these years. There has to be something that can reveal things from the past. We have seen the world ages ago and how it looked thanks to the wall...
Learn what to look for and what you gain when joining a photography social group.
In the early 20th century there were a number of successful female photographers creating sensual and artistic female nudes to equal many of the iconic photographs that were being produced by their male contemporaries. Here is the third article with another selection of four female photographers worthy of note and their female nudes.
When the phrase boudoir photography comes up a few may believe it entails photographs of a bed room for interior decorating purposes.
Three well known superheroes. Have you ever desired to defend the earth from all types of atrocities? Super heroes do it every day. They come to life on the big and small screens and in addition in comic books. While fictional, it's so very simple to fall under their spell when they can all perform acts of an awesome nature by using their super powers to help the terrorised and downtrodden people of planet earth.
The most difficult mission in the world is to make certain that your children are kept occupied with either after school activities or activity books for children in the home. Because of the summer break looming parents might want to have a few activity proposals up their sleeve in an effort to provide themselves with some respite from their over-active kids.
A good display of fireworks might just be what is needed to help people who are battling it out in the corporate world to relax. Fireworks have the ability to bring people together as they take in the magnificence of the moment. Fireworks can be appropriate in a host of functions; the bigger the better. Obviously the only time they can be enjoyed is during the night.
With the buy one get one free SuperEnalotto you have a better chance of winning.
If it is time to search for entertaining facilities for kids, you must take a look at the range of inflatable rentals. The little ones would love the new level of entertainment which they usually would attain only from an amusement park.
There are many places where you can find a suitable nude model to photograph, whether for commercial glamour, beauty or fine art nudes. The first and most obvious place to look will be an established model agency, where you are likely to find experienced and professional models that are well adapted to your particular job requirements. This is my preferred choice most of the time and the way that most professional photographers work.
It is especially important when photographing a nude model that the photographer ensures perfect exposures through accurate light readings. Unwanted burned out highlights on skin, banding through the shadow transitions and indeed completely lost shadow detail can all result from incorrect exposures, while often leading to higher noise levels and poor overall image quality.
I write in much greater detail about this subject in my photography eBook "How To Photograph Nudes Like A Professional", however you will find a very condensed number of points here below to consider when approaching an agency to organise a model casting, whether it be for nudes, beauty, glamour or fashion.
Ringflash; otherwise known as a ringlight is a circular shaped flash that fits around the lens of your camera and while it is often thought of purely as a flash for closeup macro photography it has also been a favourite choice of professional photographers shooting models for many years due to the unique and very particular lighting effect it produces.
Discuss this Article
