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 Christopher Nisperos "Making of" photos:
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... continued THE SHOOT
The 'bigness' of the
After composing, refining the pose and focusing --and
asking the subject to hold the pose-- I close the RESULT
For making the portrait, I stand at the front of the camera --near the lens-to-subject axis--, and direct or coax the desired expression from my subject and depress the cable release at the right moment. Sometimes, due to the long pose, the subject's eyes will widen, as they can move nothing else to show emotion. When I catch this, I ask the subject to close their eyes for a moment before I shoot, and re-open them. My exposures normally run from 1/2 second to several seconds. |
I cleaned and loaded several film holders with Ilford
HP5+ 8x10 sheet film. My exposure index for this film was the nominal
400 ISO. I have used this film for many years and find it very good for
this kind of portraiture (I also use it for natural light portraiture).
For loading, I use an extra-large film tent of my own design. My
lighting ratio having been previously established, I can now meter for
the exposure. I prefer incident readings for this type of portraiture.
with all the steps of making a photo with a view
camera all while trying to keep the subject at ease! Once my lens is
open, I want to compose without hassle, and in order to move around my
fifteen pound, one-yard long camera while it sits on a tripod or camera
stand, nothing beats a gearhead (in the old days, they called it a
crankhead). The gearhead lets me tilt forward, backward, and
side-to-side, and I highly recommend using one. 
After giving the model a "rough pose", I open my
Schneider lens, go to the back of the camera, throw a focus cloth over
my head and 'watch TV', as I call it. The f/8.4 opening of the
480mm gives plenty enough light for me to step back from the ground glass a
bit and compose comfortably, and, of course, focus! So far, I haven't
yet found the need to buy a brighter ground glass (but with age, this
will surely change!). 
aperture and make my
lens settings. Now it's time to insert your film holder, pull the dark
slide and wait a moment for all vibrations to dissipate. At this point
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PROTECT THE LENS FROM FLARE FROM THE
SURROUNDING SPOTLIGHTS. To obtain the best performance from your Iens,
I highly recommend the use of a good lens shade or compendium. 
