How Focal Length Changes the Shape of the Face in Portraiture

12 Responses to “How Focal Length Changes the Shape of the Face in Portraiture” - Add Yours

1. 
   Chris Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 1:26 am

   Actually, focal length doesn’t change perspective at all! It changes magnification and forces you to move closer or away from the subject. *That* in turn changes perspective. You could just test this without a length at all by just moving in real close with your own head. I’m surprised so many people miss that distinction.

2. 
   Dr. Bob Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 4:24 am

   Lovely to see how a 50mm already starts to distort the face shape a little. Excellent video, albeit that photo’s pass by rather fast.

3. 
   Josh Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 8:43 am

   Focal length absolutely does NOT change the shape of the face. DISTANCE changes the shape of the face – and at the same distance from the subject, the geometry of the face will be the same, whether you photograph with a fisheye or a telephoto. Focal length will only change the size of the subject in the frame.

4. 
   Bryan Villamor Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 1:29 pm

   I have blog about this pls visit my site http://image-savvy.com/2012/05/08/what-is-the-best-lens-for-portraiture/

5. 
   Sachin Verma Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 4:52 pm

   My first portrait attempt

   http://www.photo-roll.com/2012/06/black-and-white-portrait/

6. 
   Jai Catalano Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 9:03 pm

   I love my 85 mm for headshots and in NYC, actors and composition are endless. Chris makes a very good point BTW

7. 
   Richard Taylor Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 11:17 pm

   Focal lenghth is not always the reasonb for appearance, there are other variables (easpecially shooting distance) in addition to those mentioned in the replies above

   The same subject appears roughly the same in these images of the same subject at approximately (acroos a small table) with different shooting distances (across a small table).
   (1) @ 6mm (with a P&S camera)

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/34094515@N00/5554835701/

   (2) @ 24mm with a full frame camera

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/34094515@N00/6301349707/

   @17mm with a 1.6 crop camera.

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/34094515@N00/2329933688/

   The above have not been shot for responese to this post.

   Possibly time to take a few test pics (reducing some of the variables).

8. 
   EnergizedAV Says:
   August 12th, 2012 at 11:39 pm

   Nice piece of work. This is important regarding the look of features such as adjusting the size of the ears and nose, slimming or widening the face etc. But all has to be done to give a flattering look. Thank you for this post.

9. 
   Thinkeye Says:
   August 13th, 2012 at 6:04 am

   I absolutely agree with Chris and Josh. The perspective change is a secondary effect to the fact that you always take same portrait crop. Only this assumption forces the change of distance when changing the focal length. If someone wants to put more negative space (background) into the picture, changing only the focal length and keeping the distance to the subject constant, the perspective would not be affected at all.

10. 
    lila Says:
    August 13th, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    fabulous, Darren! Thank you!

11. 
    PML Photo Says:
    August 14th, 2012 at 5:48 am

    Have a look at this:

    http://blog.cornicello.com/2012/07/seeing-ourselves-in-pictures.html

    All shot with a 24mm to show that it is ONLY camera-subject distance that impacts perspective, and focal length only impact the angle of view and hence the framing.

    Same in landscape shooting: first shoose where to stand to get the perspective you want, then choose your focal length to get the framing you want.

12. 
    shop inexpensive acheter wow gold Says:
    October 25th, 2012 at 4:22 pm

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