----- Original Message ----- From: Andre Langevin Subject: Re: SV: Prime portrait lenses - which one?
> > The A85/1.4 hood is monstrous also, but with a cooler shade, the lens > is not that frightening I think. A nice hood I found for it is the > one for the Hexanon 85-210/3.5. I can even reverse it on the lens. Non professional subjects tend to be intimidated by large equipment. The 6x7 with the 165mm or 200mm lens has a very different effect on a model than an LX and an 85mm f/2, and the 4x5 is even more off putting for amateur models. The last thing a photographer wants to do is scare the people he/she will be photographing in a few minutes. It makes for bad photos. This is not to say the 85mm f/1.4 isn't a good portrait lens, but it might not be the best choice for a general purpose portrait lens either, if it intimidates people. When I am training a new model, I start with 35mm and work through to medium format, and then large format over several sessions before I expect to get anything good from the larger film. William Robb

