ENGLISH OR GERMAN PORTRAIT BOOK ABOUT LARGE FORMAT (or Video, Seminar)!

IUm looking for a specific book on Peoplephotography (Portrait) with Large Format Cameras, especially in the studio. I have already Peoplefotografie - Kreatives Grossformat - sinaredition - URS TILLMANNS. But this book does not answer many of my questions.

e.g.: How can I use all movements (tilts and swings, horizontal left and right, vertical up and town) to make people look better. Can all this movement help me to make wide faces look narrow, narrow faces look wider, large (long) noses look better, bad skin looks better (selective focus). I know that you can do a lot with lighting and camera position but I would like to know how can the movements of large format improve my portraits (besides larger negative and better retouching on the negative). What are the things to avoid with LF on Portrait, People Photography, not distort faces but make them look better. How can selective focus help on people photography. What are the easiest LF camera to use in the studio for people photography (4x5 (9x12cm) or 8x10). What are the preferred lenses, filters. What lighting is best for these lenses (soft or small light sources) on Head & Shoulders - 3/4 - full lengths poses, How do you vignette. What film do you use most often in color and B&W. Do you use a clothe over your head and camera or a mirror so you can see the image on the ground glass normal and not up side town.

Do you have a check list how to focus on head and shoulder, 3/4, Full Length. Do you move - tilt - swing prior to certain poses, so focusing becomes easier and quicker? Do you use more often the front or the rear standards to tilt or swing, move vertically or horizontally. Well, what I need is: The howUs and whyUs, not particularly to look at nice pictures. I herd there should be a nice book out there cthe studio portraiture of Phillip Stewart CharisR but it contains just nice pictures and does not explain how and why he did certain things.

Are there any other newsgroups which you could recommend, where subjects about Large Format and people Photography (Portrait in the studio) are discussed.

Thanks for the help, Kurt Bauernschmiedt from Austria - Vienna.

-- Kurt Bauernschmiedt (k.bauernschmiedt@netway.at), February 23, 1998

Answers

Kurt,

I am using one lens exclusively, it is a Fujinon SF 180/5.6. I think it is a excellent lens for portrait, even for head and shoulder shoot. It is not so expensive relative to its performance, but you can only find them in used market.

James

-- James Au (au@alumni.cuhk.edu.hk), March 01, 1998.

Take a look at Sinar's web site at www.sinar.ch They have a large format portrait book for about 50 Swiss francs. I have two of their other books and while they are, to some extent, a "commercial" for Sinar cameras I have found them to be good references for view camera techniques.

-- Tony Doucet (tdoucet@hydro.mb.ca), March 16, 1998.