FYI: This Is The Gear Used To Take Obama’s New Official Portrait

[jp121]

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/01/this-is-the-gear-used-to-take-obamas-new-official-portrait/

Here is the breakdown:

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: 85mm f/1.2
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 200

 

[distant.star]

.
Thanks. This is FAR superior to the last one. In that, lint was visible on the jacket -- just looked like a rush job.

Nice to see he's got a 5D3 and fine portrait lens now.

 

[Rienzphotoz]

Nice shot and interesting post.
About a couple of months ago I saw a documentary (can't remember if it was Discovery or NatGeo or History channel) about the President's photographer ... apparently the photographer takes photos of the president all day long and he is not permitted to delete even a single photo, even if it is a crappy shot.

 

[Vivid Color]

Fun tidbits. Thanks for sharing. I generally love Pete Souza's work.

 

[Jesse]

85L at 7.1. What a waste!!!

 

[RS2021]

85L at 7.1. What a waste!!!

If he went down to f1.2 the background would be putty with zero possibility of seeing the flag etc... This is not an exercise in how to get the most bokeh...but to document the president with some national symbols in the background...With even f/7+ it is blurry but i guess he wanted the prez to stand out while still being able to get a sense of the flag and the background.

Any L lens portrait prime such as 85 or 50L or even cheapo non-L portrait primes wide open would have had the same issue...even stopped down to f/4. If he has to stop down, might as well use the best he has...after all he is photographing the president.

 

[Zlatko]

85L at 7.1. What a waste!!!

If he went down to f1.2 the background would be putty with zero possibility of seeing the flag etc... This is not an exercise in how to get the most bokeh...but to document the president with some national symbols in the background...With even f/7+ it is blurry but i guess he wanted the prez to stand out while still being able to get a sense of the flag and the background.

Any L lens portrait prime such as 85 or 50L or even cheapo non-L portrait primes wide open would have had the same issue...even stopped down to f/4. If he has to stop down, might as well use the best he has...after all he is photographing the president.

I agree. F/7.1 is an excellent choice here. Every aperture is useful. Which is right depends on how you want to draw the picture.

 

[Jesse]

Yeah, my point is he should have been using the 70-200 II.

 

[RS2021]

Yeah, my point is he should have been using the 70-200 II.

Still lost...why especially 70-200 II ? So he can poke everyone with the huge white barrel? This occasion doesn't call for a zoom...especially such a huge zoom...the president is not a telephoto subject moving around like a bird needing zooming or IS... it is a posed portrait.

He made the right choice with the stubby reliable prime.

 

[Vivid Color]

If he went down to f1.2 the background would be putty with zero possibility of seeing the flag etc... This is not an exercise in how to get the most bokeh...but to document the president with some national symbols in the background...With even f/7+ it is blurry but i guess he wanted the prez to stand out while still being able to get a sense of the flag and the background.

Exactly.

 

[Jesse]

I'm just jealous I can't afford the 85L, but can get the exact same shot with my 70-200 L f/4....

 

[Jesse]

And wouldn't have to worry about messing up focus on the president.

 

[tome223]

You think they would have taken the phone off the desk!? ;D

 

[distant.star]

You think they would have taken the phone off the desk!? ;D

It would have been cleaner and more balanced with that stuff off the desk. But maybe they wanted some imbalance, or to make a point. Who knows.

 

[studio1972]

White balance a bit cold I think.

 

[Robert Welch]

You think they would have taken the phone off the desk!? ;D

Well, they only allowed him 1/125th of a second to take the photo...no time to move the phone.

 

[Marsu42]

85L at 7.1. What a waste!!!

I never understood why portrait and extremely shallow dof seem to be synonymous for some - it's certainly nice to have the *option* for subject isolation and extreme background blur esp. if the bg is crappy, but if either the eye *or* the nose is in focus it's not necessarily the most pleasing look to me and probably non-photogs that don't get high when looking at a super-creamy bokeh (if they know the word) :-o

 

[Hobby Shooter]

I'm just jealous I can't afford the 85L, but can get the exact same shot with my 70-200 L f/4....

Maybe so, probably even with cheaper gear also.

In this case though you would never get that photo because they wouldn't let you in the oval office to take it

About the phone being there, I would guess nothing is in this picture back accident.

Nice shot and interesting post.
About a couple of months ago I saw a documentary (can't remember if it was Discovery or NatGeo or History channel) about the President's photographer ... apparently the photographer takes photos of the president all day long and he is not permitted to delete even a single photo, even if it is a crappy shot.

That's interesting facts. Do you think he's allowed to use the rate button so at least he can keep the post production to a minimum?

 

[RLPhoto]

85L @ 7.1 is stupendous sharp. It's pretty discreet but why when you have two strobes to light him?

 

[gmrza]

85L at 7.1. What a waste!!!

I never understood why portrait and extremely shallow dof seem to be synonymous for some - it's certainly nice to have the *option* for subject isolation and extreme background blur esp. if the bg is crappy, but if either the eye *or* the nose is in focus it's not necessarily the most pleasing look to me and probably non-photogs that don't get high when looking at a super-creamy bokeh (if they know the word) :-o

I think you mostly use f/1.2 when you first get the lens - because you can, and then you start to get real realise that in order to shoot portraits with both eyes in focus, you do need to stop the lens down.
The real justification for shooting this lens wide open is when you are just desperate for light, or when you have a subject where you want to isolate one small part, but not for normal portraits.