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Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
Notice that that camera was a gift to Avedon. He may never even have used it.Own Richard Avedon's one-of-a-kind Leica M6!
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Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
View attachment 410461
Who is the subject of the portrait?
Take note subject is sitting
Notice that the subject is elevated.
Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
View attachment 410461
With any question like this, start first with the photographer ...
Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
View attachment 410461
Who is the subject of the portrait? The model? Helmut? Or most probably, June? Group portrait, although they are all in separate planes, occupied with different things...?
Portraits come in all sorts of flavours.
Queen Elizabeth II according to Cecil Beaton:
View attachment 410484
And Pablo Casals according to Yousuf Karsh:
View attachment 410485
I'm curious @RezaLoghme - how much experience do you have using a TLR? Does any of that experience include photographs of people?
Oh dear here we go again! what camera is best? What format should the camera have? So on and so forth.
In my early days when I was at the bottom of the learning curve there was only one camera that was ever used for portraiture in the club I belonged to. Well one type of camera and that was a 120 film twin lens reflex of almost any make. Oh yes I remember there was one member who used a Bronica SLR which, when the shutter was tripped made the models jump with the noise. There was no use of a eye level prism just the standard waist-level finder and the camera was always on a tripod, and using a cable release. The 75mm - 80mm lens was ideal for natural perspective.
Most of the portraits were semi-classical in style with the subject on a seat or leaning against a support of some kind and the lighting was ALWAYS flood lighting. Flash as we know it now was not really an option because there was no sensor to control the exposure. The flood lighting also allowed the photographer to control the shadows and highlights before the actual shutter was tripped. There were hardly ever any failures!
When it came to competitions although some of the images were similar in style it was always tense to see who would come first - it was never certain.
The quality of the B&W printing had to be seen to be believed. Always on double-weight, fibre base, (resin coated came several decades later) Kodak Bromesco warm tone, and by golly it was warm unlike the what passes for the current Warm-Tone sold by manufacturers today.
What I am attempting to get over to others it is not the camera, lens, film, printing (wet or dry) it is the person behind the camera with the skill, and insight how to get the best out what they were using or photographing.
Portraits come in all sorts of flavours.
Queen Elizabeth II according to Cecil Beaton:
View attachment 410484
And Pablo Casals according to Yousuf Karsh:
View attachment 410485
I'm curious @RezaLoghme - how much experience do you have using a TLR? Does any of that experience include photographs of people?
This is what a TLR is capable of. In this case a Rolleiflex Automat. I personally prefer the perspective when the subject is seated.
Somewhere around 5.6, minimum focus distance and handheld.
Scan of darkroom print. View attachment 410490
TLR/SLR oder Waist Level Finder to prism?They're both sitting
And like you said, seated.
I'm sensing an overall theme to TLR portraits. Personally I live TLRs I have a bunch of them, no Rolleiflex yet but a bunch of other ones. It's a different mindset when shooting a TLR from an SLR. Not better, not worse but different. I've found that as an adult shooting my kids the TLR can be pretty handy. As long as they hold still.
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