Portraits for an actor friend...

[DocFrankenstein]

I got dragged into this, and I don't know where to begin. Basically, he needs some pictures in different poses and with different facial expressions.

I don't know what he needs for the acting part, but he wants me to try.

How should I pose him?

How many "expressions" should I get from him?

Do I need to get a 50mm lens?

Anybody done this before?

[Ken Fong]

I've never done this either, but my guess is that his natural expressions would market him best (in addition to some carefully posed ones.) I would get a shutter release cable so that you can engage in various conversations with him to cover various emotions, then shoot away indiscreetly so that he is not reminded that there is a camera (mounted on tripod) there. With the cable, you will not need to talk to him through your lens, and he might feel more relaxed.

For posed shots, I used "The Portrait Photographer's Guide to Posing" by Bill Hurter...pretty classic stuff...nothing too wild.

The 50mm lens should do fine...the 85mm will do better for closeups; try different lighting (like natural window light).

[Andy_T]

The 50 mm should come in handy ... why don't you just go out and get it?

Of course, the 70-200/2.8 also should make a very nice portrait lens, but it might be a bit long. I don't think you also need the 85, as you have that length neatly covered.

One argument sometimes heard in favour of a prime for portraits is that all the photos will have about the same size of the object ... and can be used easily if you want to put a portfolio together. With a zoom lens, you might zoom in on one picture and out on the other ... and in the end the pictures won't fit together.

Best regards,
Andy