“A real professional wouldn’t shoot a portrait with a 35mm” 

Spoken like a true professional.

I’m really glad I found your channel, it’s becoming increasingly harder to find people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to photography 🙏🏼

I love 28mm portraits. I think they have a terrific look, whether an environmental/atmospheric portrait, documentary, or intimate. Same goes for 24, 35, 50, 100, and 135. In my experience, every lens is a portrait lens. I agree with what you say here. And lovely work at the end!

I recently found your channel and I'm a big fan! Mainly because you are a working professional photographer with a RU-vid channel. Not a RU-vidr with a channel about photography. Wow, what a difference that makes. It's very refreshing. Thank you.

The 35mm is my favorite lens, I enjoy showing the environment. I don't own an 85 right now, but I rarely use the 75-300mm that I have. Even when I do use it, I still include the environment in the shot.

I’m currently a beginner photographer and yes, the trend of the “if you have a human in your photo shoot it at 50mm or longer at the widest aperture to be a professional” was really stuck in my head. Recently I’ve been looking at these 35mm and 28mm focal lengths thanks to Harry Potter 3 and Children of Men, 2 movies by Alfonso Cuarón in which you get almost no bokeh and a loooot of depth. I was like “but how does he get everything in focus in such low light situations, I don’t think he is shooting at f/22. And to my surprise both movies were shot between 24mm and 33mm focal lengths. I would highly recommend for people who still believe bokeh is the only way to make your photos look professional to watch these movies and movies where Emanuel Lubezki is involved.

Made your point and backed it up with beautiful images. Love it! You earned a new subscriber.

I love portrait photography. It’s why I got into photography. I looked for years at different portraits that people took & I took note of the lenses used on the portraits I liked. The 2 lenses that I liked most were the 24 1.4 & the 100 2.8 STF. So, the only two primes I own & use for portraits are those two. It’s an easy setup to take with me, though I do need extra light for the 100, cuz the STF acts like a 5.6 but it produces the best backgrounds ever! Thanks for the video. This is the first video of yours I’ve seen. Well done. You got yourself a new sub. Best wishes!

I wanted to say thank you thank you and once again thank you. I was searching for portraits taken with the Leica Q2 ,the monochromatic one and my biggest concern was the 28 mm. You have Shown me not only can it be done but done well and almost in the portrait style that I’m used to. I have learned one thing at my age is that do stuff for yourself not for others. Bravo

Wow. I have been taking photos for a very long time but only recently tried my hand at portraits. This is THE best thought provoking video I have seen. Excellent stuff! You answered a lot of questions I have been asking myself. And your photos are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

So refreshing from another full time photographer without a RU-vid channel yet. You’re a good inspiration. Subscribed.

I love content like this, I wish you good health and joy on your journey. Please keep these videos coming as it brings so much value to our young gen. Your words of wisdom is true gem on this digital era, where it flooded with chart readers and "creamy bokeh" monki

Thank you, a million times over for saying what I needed to hear. I've been shooting (an artist) for over 30 years. I'm looking to trade in my Sony gear for a Leica q3. While I feel my creativity would be my greatest asset as it's always served me well. I was a little nervous going from my 85mm and other lenses to a fixed 27mm. Life is extremely short and I want to look forward to being more creative and taking more chances and giving more room for growth. Thank you, thank you and thank you.

Absolutely! I did one recently of my wife on Yashica ML 28mm f2.8 outdoors and I love it - brick behind her with an alley. Context. Right distance from subject means distortion isn’t problem. Heartily agree with you.

My thoughts exactly. Subject and content is really important and being able to express it into art is really essential. 85mm can direct focus to the subject but it is not the rule.

Love your approach - I am also over the dreamy bokeh thing - have done most of my recent work with a 28mm and love it - it looks timeless ! Speak out bro!!

Beautiful model with a nice classic look! I’m going to copy that led trick.

And those are portraits that anyone would be proud of. Well Done!

Amen brother. I’ve watched a few of your videos, but this one gave impetus to my subscription. Thanks for sharing this perspective.

Your grumpiness and irate tone earned you a sub from me. Please take that as a compliment. I personally detest the trend for “pro” look to be nothing in focus. My favourite lens is the 28mm Elmarit. I seen a guy at the Grand Canyon use an 85mm 1.2. He could have gotten the same shot in a carpet warehouse for all of the location you would have seen. Before the record I am just a hobbyist and have fallen into the trap of getting “bigger and better”. I honestly believe that my photos have improved vastly since limiting myself to an m8 and slower lenses. And what’s more, I enjoy using it a lot more. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more videos. Thank you

Great portraits! The distortion makes the pictures even more interesting and engaging. For those who still think that you can´t make portraits with wide angle lenses, I suggest leaving RU-vid and checking out the work of photographers like Jeanloup Sieff and Antonin Kratochvil, just to name a couple.

Hey great video. I really like when people show their process of shooting and the end result.

Great thoughts, fantastic content, genuinely loved the end results!

Great photographs … a man who clearly knows his craft 👏🏽

Really great portraits - it really emphasised your point - well done !

Love it! Standard is standard, extraordinary is extraordinary.

Thanks! That's why I love your videos! I shoot mostly portraiture and street and in my Canon days I used the 85mm and the 50mm most of the time just like anybody else. When I switched over to Fujifilm I started using the 35mm (23mm f2) most of the time, it became my favorite focal length and I realised I was much better off shooting at f2.8, f4 or even f5.6. The photographers I really look up to were shooting in the 30s, 40s and 50s, obviously with film and in black and white, and there was no such thing as 85mm f1 2 or 50mm f0.95 lenses back then. Their images included the environment and had texture, yet their portraits popped up anyway, but everything else in the background mattered too and made a difference. I don't mind creamy bokeh if that's what people like but I don't see the point of systematically blurring the background when it adds texture, context and perspective. Thanks again and have a great day!

Geeeez... That photos look great. Im really impressed by the light setting.

A little honesty goes a long way. In this case, many miles. Thanks for speaking up about and demonstrating the prospects of wide-angle portraiture.

You sir are a breath of fresh air.

Great advice and a beautiful model!!! Thanks

For the last year I have shot heavily with vintage 50mm film camera glass on my Sony A7. The bubble, column and cluster bokeh old glass produces is a lot of fun. I like creamy, too. But as you say...a distinct background is often complimentary.

Thanks for the insights, Sir. I concur. You can shot portraits with any lens. True sign of a professional photographer.

Briliant video and fantastic tips for us getting into photography. I was recently stunned by a portrait I shot w/ a 28mm lens (Leica Q). Dig your channel - Thank you!

Hit the nail right on the head bro, it's how you use it and how you express yourself through your art :) If everyone shot the same what a boring world we would live in. Haters will hate brother!

Nice to see your channel growing since I last visited 👍🏼

I know this is an old video but I appreciate your candor. "That doesn't matter" is a phrase that only a serious person can say, and is all too rare with RU-vid photog influencers. Also love the examples at the end

Loved this. Keep it up. You've got my support.

Wow ... without using a naughty word . . . These are best images I've seen in a vey long time . . . just Amazing . . . So So please I found your channel

Excellent images and a nice catch from the model.

I agree. You can do great work with most anything if you have training and are open to it. So many RU-vidrs create haphazardly with little training, insight, or even planning of their own presentation.

This is the best I've heard in a long time. You're spot on with everything. As a fulltime photographer for the last 15 years I totally agree with everything you said. RU-vid is becoming a place where influencers make up trends and then pushing it down our throats all the time, and I hate it. Keep it up :)

The results...incredible mate.

Thanks a lot for clearing the confusion!

I'm thrilled! Very cool! Thanks!

Stumbled upon your channel because I had been wondering if I could use my Q2 to shoot portraits. I really like your no nonsense approach and, like you, I'm also old so I don't give a s**t as well😂. Subbed 😊

I like the way you spoke straight forward respect and thank you

I have never understood the whole lens genre thing. I love shooting landscapes at 85-90mm. Great video.

Just to start I love shooting portraits with my Leica Q. I see you use the R2-T Flashpoint trigger. Since that trigger is camera specific which model to you use for the Q2? I have several Fuji cameras so all my Flashpoint/Godox are Fuji except for the AD-200 which is camera independent. Can you do both TTL and manual flash with the Q2. I'm guess whatever works for the Q2 would work for the Q.

I’m glad that I found your channel John.

Thanks for the video. When I saw the title, I was not sure if you were saying that a real professional would not shoot a portrait with a 35mm lens or a 35mm camera.

35mm is my favorite lens to use It’s the first lens I pick up every time I’m not sure if I’m missing out on anything but I don’t even use my 85mm I plan on using it more this year.

Beautiful black and white portrait

Love the shots you got here. Especially when you switched to led's. Completely valid what you say, I really enjoy shooting with Sigma 16mms 1.4...... And the 35, and the 85, and my Sony 90mms Macro. Earned yourself a sub... Thanks man, really enjoyed this.

This is fantastic! Thank you! Hoping you post more on the Leica Q2 as I am interested in buying one. The only thing holding me back (other than the price) is the AF. Is is any good? I've been spoiled by Sony AF since 2017, and just don't understand how everyone else hasn't caught up and made that the minimum standard..

My god. Someone actually made this video. Hats off. And don't forget: hire starting photographers soon, while they still know everything.

I just got home from a wedding. I started the day with a 28mm and ended the night with a 28mm. Once I finish the prep, i usually step down to f2 - f2.8 through the night. It's special great for group shots, but I love it for prep portrait shots. On eos r5, you also have room to crop, if necessary. I love my sigma 28mm 1.4, but everyone gets annoyed that I don't always shoot at f1.4.

I use a 28-70 f 2.8 does portraits fines, sometimes I use a 70-200 f2.8 too. Any lens used with good light, settings and composition will work. One of my best portraits was shot on an old Nikon D7100 with a 150-500 old sigma lens, outside on a sunny day and up there with the best.

You certainly can. Wide angle portraits are way more interesting. Nice work.loved the rant!

WoW, I love 💕💕 the pictures. I never used my Zeiss 28mm f2 so close to the model. So inspirational

Wow I see that you can shoot portraits with ANY lens!!!. Amazing job. My respect.

At that distance you must fix the geometric bulging of 28mm for the bulb effect to flatten the distortion. Do you use lens correction filter in Photoshop? I know q2 is amazing at correcting the lens already on it and it is a remarkable lens! I own a Q2 Monochrome right now and love it.

A real professional wouldn't say "“A real professional wouldn’t shoot a portrait with a 35mm”. Only amateurs and newbies say that.

I love it. I agree and I like environmental portraits with plenty of depth of field.

Great shots! Nice to see what my Q2 can do in better hands 🙌🏾

Great rant and portraits. 7:26 is stunning!

I recently did a portrait of a gentleman who was kind enough to allow me to make an image of him at a bar with a what I had at the moment, which was a 20 mm believe it or not , I was surprised just how well it came out . Looking at a 28mm as my next prime . Glad I came across this post !

Thank you for your video. I like to make portraits with 24 and 28 mm on a full frame body. And this is great.

I just stumbled across this video and got a good chuckle… I routinely shoot portraits and headshots at 5.6-11 and think that anybody who chronically shoots wide open is an amateur. There’s a time and a place for that, but if most of their face isn’t in focus, that’s kind of a problem.

Great point, I can shoot greart portraits with a cheap kit lens 3.5 -5.6 variable. I started shooting on film back in 1999 before digital era and RU-vid. I had to go out and shot and miss up a lot film and read a lot of books figure out my mistakes. Film was not cheap back then that's what made digital so attractive to professional photographer back in film days. All the old head professional photographers I knew back then only had 2 to 3 lens tops. They photographed wedding and portraits and everything in between.

I recently made portraits with even a 20mm f1.8 :) and they are some of my favorites from the shoot!

Great valid points focusing on both possibilities and limitations of the different focal lenghts! Some fashion photographers even shoot mostly at f/16. F/0.95 lenses are great at low light and that occasional ‘creamy bokeh’ situation, though your lens usually performs better at f/5.6-f/11-ish

Firstly - stunning images. You absolutely Nailed it, on all of your points. This so-called Bokeh revolution really magnifies the point that there aren't many true photographers out there. And don't get me started on the crowd that pushes the 'Rules' of photography.

Love this !! Platón did not follow the rules , he shot wide Angle , it’s what set him apart . It’s ok to deconstruct the learned and follow the creative process that flows within … 🙏🏻

Of course you can. And what a beautiful model here! 😊

I’ve just ordered the Q2, due any day now. Can you tell me how far away you was from the model, on the video it looks around a meter. Beauty of that Q2 is you can also do the digital crop in camera and get a 35mm / 50mm / 75mm perspective while retaking the 28mm RAW

wow I have a old 28mm 2.8 manual lens on my pentax that I normally reserve for astrophotography ! Im going to give it a go on some portraits !I love that shot at 7.26 your model is gorgeous !!

I agree with everything said here, and just wanted to add an idea: some ppls faces actually look better and/or more true to real life with a 35 or 28mm. Photographing my wife taught me this, when I first started I always made portraits of her with my 70-200, and it wasn’t u til I started noticing in my more casual snaps with the 35 or 28 that her face looked more true to life and pleasing. This doesn’t work for everyone (or many ppl honestly) but it is something else to consider. Experimenting is the best way to find what you like and prefer, stay away from the koolaid!

Thank you. I learned something today!

I always have my Ricoh GR with me even on a portrait shoot as well, where my only and one lens is a 50mm. The 28mm is the sweet spot of the wide perspective imo.

It is very interesting and very true that a good portrait can be taken with ANY lens ! RS. Canada

Well said that man ! "A real professional" is able to take good pictures with anything...

Terrific work! Did you use the autofocus function of the Q2? If so, how did you control where the camera selected focus; near or far? Really beautiful images!

If I did exactly what everyone else does, then I'd be just like everyone else. I don't want to be like everyone else.

Your model is gorgeous

Yeah! Great shots

Some cool shots you made there!

So much common sense there! A refreshing finding. Someone who talks about photography in the era of Bokeh Kingdom. You have a new sub.

WOW, the Godox X2T transmitter actuanlly works with Q2? That would be great!

Stunning portraits mate. I'm with you on the 28mm...you just need to know how to use it and have a purpose.

Stunning examples. Big 28mm fan here!

awesome magic shots 🔥🔥🔥♥️♥️♥️

Love 28 for environmental portraits. I’ve seen some amazing portraits with 24/25 and even 21. Obviously, not for headshots. Great shots nice set up.

What else would you use for an environmental portrait? Certainly with Leica cameras a 35mm lens is usual for this sort of thing.

Agreed. It is how you use the lens. I wouldn't get right up in someone's face with a wide angle lens as it distorts their features for sure. Take a few steps back.

You are completely right. I chant this prayer also for a long time now. Love your shots too What LED's are you using in the shots ???

Great video! I will try it 🙂

This vid (especially that shoot) made me very happy, 28mm is my absolute favorite.

Great video. The title of your video (from a youtube comment) is the ongoing problem that happens when a load of social media influencers start influencing on mass without really knowing what they're talking about. They stay rigid in their approach and really don't understand or grasp the free-flowing creative process. There are no hard set rules, only guidelines in the beginning to get one started. After that, explore what resonates with you because we all have our own niche, simple.

Loved this