Portrait - How close is too close?

[Ginger Pixie]

I am looking for opinions on whether this is too close as a portrait. It was one of many experimental shots using studio lighting for the first time. General feedback also appreciated.

Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 300 mm
ISO Speed 200

[RichardTaylor]

It's an artistic decision.
To me it is a little too close as you have chopped the bottom of her chin off.

[NicolaB]

Lovely lighting and skin tones.

I think it is a personal choice as Richard says, I don't mind the chin chop as it is balanced at the top with the head chop.

I think how close will vary from image to image dependant on what emotions, features etc you want to show? No one size fits all?

[autofocus]

...lovely, clear shot Beccy. I see you shot it at 300mm, what lens did you use?

[zona5101]

i don't think it is too close. Its intimate, upclose and personal. This was my favorite shot from your other post. Lighting, catchlights, big happy smile all make the image work. In fact if you had this pulled back I don't think all those things work as strongly together...

[Ginger Pixie]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

It's an artistic decision.
To me it is a little too close as you have chopped the bottom of her chin off.

Originally Posted by NicolaB

Lovely lighting and skin tones.

I think it is a personal choice as Richard says, I don't mind the chin chop as it is balanced at the top with the head chop.

I think how close will vary from image to image dependant on what emotions, features etc you want to show? No one size fits all?

Originally Posted by autofocus

...lovely, clear shot Beccy. I see you shot it at 300mm, what lens did you use?

Originally Posted by zona5101

i don't think it is too close. Its intimate, upclose and personal. This was my favorite shot from your other post. Lighting, catchlights, big happy smile all make the image work. In fact if you had this pulled back I don't think all those things work as strongly together...

Thanks for the feedback so far, it's good to hear other people's opinions.

Autofocus - I used my tamron 70-300mm lens, I find it shoots portraits quite well - considering it's a cheapie. Considerably better than the kit lens anyway!

zona - not sure what you mean by other post?! I have posted shots from the same session, but I only uploaded this today. Same girl though. I'm pleased you think it works though

Any more thoughts anyone? Thanks.

[katieglenn]

As far as what is too close....my opinion is that it depends on what you're using the photo for. In a grouping of photos I like to see a tightly cropped face shot in the collection. But if I'm just looking for one snap to blow up and frame, I prefer to see a scene. I really like this photo.

[autofocus]

@Autofocus - I used my tamron 70-300mm lens, I find it shoots portraits quite well - considering it's a cheapie. Considerably better than the kit lens anyway!

Impressive results for a "cheapie"
I like the shot very much, and have no problems with the crop. The only problem with tight crops like this is you'll find it difficult to enlarge to some of the standard sizes (8x10, 11x14, 16x20,etc) because of the 2x3 aspect ratio your camera produces...but there's always 8x12

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by Ginger Pixie

zona - not sure what you mean by other post?! I have posted shots from the same session, but I only uploaded this today. Same girl though. I'm pleased you think it works though .

Ya i was confused. I remember the girl and the lighting from this post First Portrait Experiments with Studio Lighting although not the same shot.... (that means i like 'em both!)

[th3gr1nd]

I really like the shot, but I think it could really benefit from a portrait orientation as opposed to landscape. I'm really new, so this could be completely inaccurate advice, but the dead space off to the left does nothing for me. If you were to rotate the camera 90 degrees, I think that you could cut down on the space and fill the frame with her. And maybe lose a little of the chin chop.