Re: Best ****trait lens focal length

"Colyn" <jcg13@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:jcg13-2D82AB.11390411062007@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>I have several lens for my 4x5 view camera and was wondering what focal
> length is considered best for head and shoulders ****traits and which for
> full length ****traits?

I think you're asking the wrong question.  Instead, I think you should be 
asking how far you want the camera to be from the subject.  The point is 
that the camera-subject distance contributes greatly to the feeling of 
intimacy, or lack thereof, in the picture.  If you want the viewer to feel

like being part of a conversation with the subject, choose a
conversational 
distance -- 3 to 4 feet.  If you want things to be more formal and remote,
a 
greater distance might make more sense.  Usually, if you get closer than 
about three feet, the unusually close perspective looks distorted because 
people are not used to viewing people with whom they are not emotionally 
close from such an intimate perspective.

Once you know how far you want the camera to be from the subject, choosing

the lens is easy :-)