Canon® EOS-1Ds Mark III Digital Field Guide

Chapter 9. Photographing People

In This Chapter

• The 1Ds Mark III for Portraiture

• Portraits

• Lens choices

• Photographing people on location

• Photographing people in the studio

• Beauty and fashion

This chapter is not meant to be the final word on how to photograph people (there is none); rather, it's a series of examples of what's worked well for me when photographing people. The 1Ds Mark III along with Canon lenses is a good choice for people photography, due to the combination of operational speed and image quality. A great expression can occur in a fleeting moment, so it's important to have a camera, skill set, and the right attitude to capture it. Whether on location or in the studio, the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III excels in this area.

The 1Ds Mark III for Portraiture

It's worth taking a moment to think about some various systems for shooting portraits. After all, many of the greatest portraits were taken with view cameras and film. Where does the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III fit in?

No one camera is perfect for every situation. Here, as throughout this book, my opinion is that the EOS-1Ds Mark III remains generally the best option —not perfect for every situation, perhaps, but able to handle just about all portrait situations extremely well.

Portraits

Although there's a huge range of assignments and situations that involve photographing people, I tend to look at portraiture in terms of two main camps: formal and informal.

Figure 9.1. Suburban family. ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/5.

Of course, there are all ...