color project- best film for portaiture?

hey all,

I have a color portraiture assignment for my college lighting class. We have to re-create an portrait from art history, whether it was a master's painting or a master photographer's work. We are working with speedotron force 10 monolights. My question is this: This there a color film that works better for portraiture? that renders skin tone correctly?
The film is 120mm.
thanks,
Scott Hunnicutt

Kodak Portra 160NC or 400NC but it will not look like a recreation. The best skin tones you can get with todays modern film.
I am not familiar with your ligthing set-up so filters may be required but in natural light the new Portras are beautiful.


jan

Schunn99 said:

hey all,

I have a color portraiture assignment for my college lighting class. We have to re-create an portrait from art history, whether it was a master's painting or a master photographer's work. We are working with speedotron force 10 monolights. My question is this: This there a color film that works better for portraiture? that renders skin tone correctly?
The film is 120mm.
thanks,
Scott Hunnicutt

Click to expand...

what about one of the tungsten balanced ektachromes if those are tungsten bulbs?

Warhol reenactment using pushed chromes crossprocessed -- say any 2 e100's shot at ~600 - 800 and push processed 2-stops and then sandwich the negs. A classic Rembrandt like portrait shot with portra 160 or 400nc pulled two to three stops on exposure and 1 to 2 stops in development. Film shot straight won’t add much to the effect you create with lighting and posing. It simply is too real. To get the contrast and saturation of Warhol's silk-screens or the flatness of a classic oil painting you need to force the film a bit.


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