Which film for portraits?

I am thinking either to get

ILFord PAN F PLUS ISO 50

or

ILFORD FP4 PLUS ISO 125

Film speed does not matter, since I have powerful flash guns which are doing pretty good job.

I've used both of the films you've mentioned and they are perfectly good for portraits. You may even like to try the Ilford Delta 100 which is also a very fine grain film, but if film speed isn't an issue for you, then I'd go for the Pan F.

hallo

i like acros 100

or really great efke films. but be carefull with the lightning
--
thomas

The best film for portraits is the one you're familiar with.

Be very careful with 50 iso for portraits , The problem is although your flashes may be powerful as you say , The lighting ratio versus ambient is the issue ,FP4, TMX 100/400 , Acros , or Delta 100, All fine plus some i havn't mentioned, These 4 i have used and they are all good for portraits , I must admit i prefer slightly faster films for portraits , Because i love using mainly natural lighting wherever possible ,Acros pushes very well , Hey What Thomas said try a few and get famiiar with one you like and that will be your best . Cheers gary

Of course, there isn't a "best" for portraits; you just have to try a few and see which you like best.

However, pan films (and extended pan or near-IR films) might give more pleasing tones for problematic complexions, especially if you red filter; films with more blue sensitivity tend to exaggerate skin issues. Also, wrinkles and character lines may look a bit more pronounced with the traditional grain films like fp4+, which have a certain contrast characteristic- you really might consider the deltas or tmax for that reason.

All told, if I were doing tight portraits with flash and controlled lighting, I think I'd go for tmax 100 or delta 100, or if you are aiming for better balance with natural/available light, you could use the 400 versions.

Plus-X.

At least for me.

I have to admit to being quite partial to Acros 100 when I was developing my own B&W.

As long as you have powerful flashes and can craft the light to combat the film's high contrast, I'd go with Pan F. I love the way it works for shooting people in the studio. I think it is a gorgeous, smooth, sharp, film with really "robust" tonality – my favorite if that is what I am going for. But as I mentioned, it can be tough to use without flash (due to slow shutter speeds), and without knowing how to control your light so that it does not get excessively contrasty.

The first thing I'd do is shoot a bracketed gray card and make a normal proofsheet, so you can see just how rapidly this film drops the shadows. Then light to fill them as necessary. In other words, you will need to fill the shadows more than with most other films in order to get texture there.

When I have less control of light (i.e. outside of the studio), I like to use a faster and less contrasty film with more latitude, such as FP4/Plus-X, or T-Max 100/400. When using hot lamps to shoot people, I "cheat" and use T-Max 400 most of the time. This is because the hot lamps I use are either 500 W or 1 KW, which are not that bright in the grand scheme of things. I'd love to get a set of 2K Mole-Richardsons some day instead of the 1K ones.