Books and Lens

[Eagle355]

I am a hobby photographer, I always liked to take a few shots of my girl friend posing at her room. Recently i got a Canon Rebel T1 camera and i have read a few books and online resources about composition, aperture /shutter speed/ flash, dof etc. So let's say i am familiar with the theory of composition.

I wanted to ask two questions if you can help me with as I am a beginner in SLR photography

1. I've seen a couple of books for portrait photography on amazon. Is there any good book that you can recommend me to buy about portrait photography? (one that can cover chapters such as indoor photography, poses, camera settings etc.)

2. I usually shoot full body photos of people, I know a 50mm lens would be great for shoulder-head photos but what about full body shots? Which lens can I use for best results?

[OsmosisStudios]

1: I dont use books: never have. I've always learnt from online and from trying.

2: 50mm is great for full-body shots, if you've got the room. If you dont, which is likely the case indoors in a small room, then you can do one of two things, though the first is easier.

Option A) shoot a wider angle lens. I've done portraits at 10mm. it takes practice, it's VERY stylized and it doesnt work for everything, but it's possible. Of course, you dont need to use 10mm, but even 35mm should be carefully studied to make sure you're not stretch/squishing features.

Option B) Shoot a horizontal panorama. Set the camera on a tripod and position it at one end of the model, point straight ahead. Take a shot, then move the ENTIRE APPARATUS over about a foot, and do the same. This way you end up with a collection of dead-on shots. It's great for horizontals (laying down) but can also be used for verticals: Just drop the tripod head.