Exploring Photography: Finding the Perfect Portrait Lens

Course details

The photographic gear that will most directly affect the way your portraits look? It's not the camera. It's the lens. Photographer, author, and educator Chris Orwig compares and contrasts wide-angle, "normal," and telephoto lenses, with the goal of helping you choose the right lens for both the subject of your portrait and the message you want to convey. Along the way, he shoots photos with different lenses, at different angles and different depths of field, and shares the results so you can actually see how these choices impact the final photographs. Plus, Chris shares his recommendations on finding the lens that's right for you, with a review of some common prime and zoom lenses.

Learning objectives
How sensor size affects focal length
Shooting with different focal lengths
Shooting at the best angle for your lens
Understanding how f-stop, focal length, and camera distance affect depth of field
Finding a great lens at an affordable price

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome

1. A Primer on Lens Focal Length

02 - Wide, normal, and telephoto focal lengths
03 - How sensor size affects focal length
04 - Focal length, distortion, and compression

2. Using Different Focal Lengths

05 - Using a wide-angle lens
06 - Shooting with a normal focal length
07 - Working with a telephoto lens

3. Changing Your Camera Angle

08 - Introducing camera angle
09 - Capturing a full-length portrait with a wide-angle lens
10 - Creating good portraits with a normal-focal-length lens
11 - Getting the up-close headshot with a telephoto lens

4. Introducing Depth of Field

12 - What is depth of field (DOF), and why does it matter
13 - The four factors that influence DOF

5. The Importance of Depth of Field

14 - Shallow Depth of Field in Low Light
15 - Depth of Field - F-Stop and Aperture Settings
16 - Depth of Field - Camera Angle and Focal Length
17 - Depth of Field - Distance from Subject
18 - Shallow Depth of Field - Remove Distractions
19 - Shallow Depth of Field - Open Shade

6. Finding the Right Lens

20 - Lens basics
21 - What's better - Prime or zoom
22 - Great lenses at affordable rates
23 - What's your favorite lens

7. Review and Assignments

24 - Reviewing focal length and camera angle
25 - Reviewing DOF

Conclusion

26 - Finding the perfect fit
27 - Next steps