Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/11/22

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Subject: Re: [Leica] "Wide" Portraits
From: Christer Almqvist <christer@almqvist.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 11:37:11 +0100

>Tom Donovan wrote:
>
>>I've been reading John Loengard's "Pictures Under Discuss-
>>ion"

well if you read that book, then you are probably a b&w person, so why
don't you shoot vertical and decide later if you want to make the final
prints horizontal or vertical?


>
>Just remember, the wider the lens "the greater the distortion" if the
>subject is too close.

Yes I know what he means. But I think the statement has to be rephrased to
make the point more clear. Something like: The closer a person's face is to
the lens, the greater the distortion. But a 21 mm lens does not distort
more than a 90 mm lens given the lens to face distance is the same. It is
just that with a 21 mm lens you tend to get closer to the subject because
you want the face to take up a certain amount of the negative area
irrespective of the focal lens.

Keep reading, but then keep shooting too, and analyse your own pictures!