Tips for Better PORTRAITS

In this video I share a few tips on Portrait photography

[@Larpy1933]

I am a huge fan of your videos. Letting us in on your years of study, experience and thinking is very generous of you. Thank-you. I’m grateful for this one especially.

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Thank you Larry! Welcome to the channel, hope you find inspiration here!

[@katiea1170]

OBSESSED with this video... the yellow walls the little birdie ... thank you , very informative!

[@sfenwick]

Very helpful and informative Nico. Thanks. I enjoy your demeanor and thoughtful analysis.

[@matthewjeffries4621]

Nicolas, I absolutely love your channel! I have watched every video (at least once) and was curious if there are any other channels you like or would recommend? Thank you for making all of these I have watched A LOT of photography videos on here and they pale in comparison.

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Thank you Matthew you are too kind! 😅 I have the script for the next two videos ready, so they should come soon. On KZbin I have enjoyed and revisited several times : “Wrong side of the lens” A talk by Sam Abell called “The Life of a photograph” (several versions are online, he has given that talk a few times over the years and the content evolves slightly) I follow the Louisiana Channel, it’s not only photography but the videos are well made and always inspire me in some way. I don’t follow any of the one-video-a-week photography guys, but I do watch Nick Carver and Bryan Birks on and off. “Walkie Talkie” is also a great series, but I don’t watch every video all the way through. You usually know within the first 5min if there’s something to learn or not. I try to be mindful of not spending too much time on KZbin, so I keep a sparse diet on purpose.

[@baxtermarrison5361]

I love both the studio portraits, your self portrait and that of your partner. Not only for the composition and light but for the way you have captured the budgie in both. Clearly the bird loves the camera and quite a character by the looks of it. A lot of really useful advice. These are all points that are often overlooked by photographers, particularly those who offer advice on KZbin, and all that can make or break an image. Thank you for putting this out there.

[@tor2919]

Great video, thank you. Would love to see a video on lighting and suitable flash systems for the Hasselblad.

[@Antnie]

That vacation photo in Mexico was absolutely perfect! Really informative video. Definitely make more videos likes this

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Thank you!

THANK YOU! Very helpful!

[@mathiash5000]

Great tips here, thanks a bunch!

[@hansolhwang-su3sc]

Hi thanks for good video. What’s your favorite lens when shooting portrait??

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Hi thanks! I just rewatched that video and I really want to strangle that bird! 😂 Thanks for sticking around. I have a couple favourite lenses, but before I get into that, let me say that a lot of times I simply choose the lens based on how much stuff I want to include in (or desperately keep out of) the frame. For example for the guy in his house with all the artifacts, I used the 35mm because I wanted all that stuff in the frame. When I take a portrait in an office or a room where I cannot control the furniture or what’s on the walls, I’ll use a 85mm or 100mm to minimise the amount of distracting things in the frame. For the picture where the light “cuts” across the face of the girl, I used a 180mm on Hasselblad because I had a very small black backdrop, and any wider lens would’ve shown the edges of the backdrop. Sadly that means that if you want the amount of control that I like to have, you can’t really use one lens for everything 😅 But I totally understand that some photographers can do it all with just one lens. You just accept that whatever is in your frame is here to stay, and you compose to the best of your ability to make it all make sense. 🤓 Anyway, favourite portrait lenses : On 135 : 85mm On 120 : 150mm On 4x5 : 210mm If I had to keep just one : the 4/150mm CFi on a Hasselblad.

[@Luudite]

"You're free to take bad portraits..." -Why did you look at me when you said that ??

[@toulcaz31]

Thanks for the new video. A bit more structure in the editing and a clip microphone might have been nice but the content is super solid. On the picture with the plant, don’t you think symmetrical arms give a dominating feeling to the subject (like she’s in control rather than in harmony with nature)? Maybe that’s what you wanted or I am over interpreting.

[@nicolaslevy2657]

The pose was inspired by pregnancy pictures, and the pot is where a baby would be... this + the bird, to me it was a half formed allegory of Mother Nature.

[@Luudite]

Well mother nature would be in control of nature, so same wavelength

[@nicolaslevy2657]

@@Luudite brings us to what Tarkovskij said about symbols VS metaphors... He was firmly against symbols because they imply a definitive meaning, make the work about something specific, while a metaphor is more open to interpretation, and makes the work more about the experience of looking at the work rather than a further meaning. I’m not taking sides in this. I sometimes use symbols, to me they are part of the “vocabulary” that makes photography a Language. But for other pictures I prefer to be more metaphorical and leave things wide open. Different moods!

[@smichaelpridgen]

which lenses would you reccomend for portraits for the 500C/M?

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Hi, I have used every lens from 40mm to 180mm for portraits. They can all work for different types of portraits. But I guess the basic kit would be the 80mm and 150mm.

[@smichaelpridgen]

@@nicolaslevy2657 thank you!

[@saullotzof]

Nico - I love your videos, and your birds, but I really think that their sounds distract from the content. I think you lose a lot of viewers if you keep them audible. Just my opinion. Thanks for providing such great content!

[@nicolaslevy2657]

Hi Saul, thank you for the feedback. I usually discard the takes where the bird makes too much sound (we’re down to one now) but I guess I’m a bit desensitised to chirping at this point. 😅 I’ll try to keep your comment in mind for future videos.