Portraits with TLR

[choiliefan]

Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.

 

[Pieter12]

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Notice that that camera was a gift to Avedon. He may never even have used it.

 

[cliveh]

And what a wonderful composition. Look how the wrist forms a space above the rectangle and the woman onthe right gazes into the perspective of the image. The seperate legs so beautifully positioned. Tonal graduations. Need I go on?

 

[Pieter12]

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...?

 

[Don_ih]

Who is the subject of the portrait?

Definitely Newton. The butt comes second.

 

[GregY]

Take note subject is sitting



Notice that the subject is elevated.

As the saying goes "a poor workman blames his tools".......

 

[RezaLoghme]

Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
View attachment 410461

Wikipedia: A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant.

 

[MattKing]

Portraits come in all sorts of flavours.
Queen Elizabeth II according to Cecil Beaton:

And Pablo Casals according to Yousuf Karsh:

I'm curious @RezaLoghme - how much experience do you have using a TLR? Does any of that experience include photographs of people?

 

[Arthurwg]

With any question like this, start first with the photographer ...

"It's not the ships, It's the men in them."

 

[Arthurwg]

Helmut Newton was another Rolleiflex portraitist.
View attachment 410461

And he always wore a trench coat when shooting nudes.

 

[skahde]

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...?

Or the Paris exterior visible through the window? I think Newton is also ironically picking on some classic examples for studio-scenes here.

 

[RezaLoghme]

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?

Yes with a lowly Rolleiflex 3.5 (the very early one, let me check the model designation). Oh, and a Lubitel.

Rolleiflex Automat Model 3 - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

camera-wiki.org

I think it was this one.

And this one:

Lomography - Lomopedia: Lubitel 166 Universal

The last of the Lubitel series of cameras manufactured by LOMO, the Lubitel 166 Universal was introduced in 1980 and manufactured until 1993. Find out more about this classic Russian TLR in this installment of Lomopedia!

www.lomography.de

The pics you posted, were they taken with a MF TLR?

 

[BMbikerider]

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.

 

[Elmarc]

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.

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.

 

[Cholentpot]

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?

They're both sitting

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

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.

 

[RezaLoghme]

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.

TLR/SLR oder Waist Level Finder to prism?

 

[loccdor]

Although one place where TLRs can excel is in taking portraits in groups of people without being noticed. There's that old side-shooting trick that I've seen used effectively. Leaf shutter and no mirror slap helps too.