Zeiss 135mm f/2 Classic Lens Sample Pictures

When shooting tightly-framed portraits, it is best to use longer focal lengths to keep the camera far enough from the subject to get a nice perspective. A 135mm focal length works very well for head shot portraits on any DSLR camera.
 
Using a very wide f/2 aperture on this lens at this close focus distance means that depth of field will be very shallow. The good news is that the background becomes extremely blurred and that the viewer's eye is drawn to the in-focus areas of the image. The bad news is that keeping both eyes and the mouth in focus can be challenging. Here, I placed the plane of sharp focus so that it runs between the subject's eyes and across her mouth.
 
Lighting for this image was provided by large windows and a heavily clouded sky .

If you think she looks ready to go, you are probably right. I was shooting landscape images in the fresh snow and someone let the dog out. She of course thinks she must always be outside if someone else is, but ... I didn't want my snow tracked up before getting my shots. I instructed the golden retriever to sit and she obeyed. But then I decided to make her the subject.
 
With a mostly-white, monochromatic background, the golden retriever color stands out nicely. Of course, a background blurred by the 135mm focal length and f/2 aperture helps the subject to pop as well.

At head and shoulders framing distance (with a full frame lens), the 135mm lens with an f/2 aperture knocks out the background very nicely.

As I stood in the clearing looking out at the snow-covered trees delineated by the wind-cleared trees at the top of the ridgelines, I was challenged to find one ideal framing. I ended up shooting a panorama of the scene with the 135mm lens I was using. I later would decide the best framing with the aid of a large computer monitor. This is one of my final results.

To give your subjects a sharp jawline, have them shift (not tilt) their head directly toward the camera. This stretches the skin under the jaw just enough to sharpen the jawline.
 
Taking this tip to the next step, position your subject so that they are looking up toward the camera. Usually, you do not want to shoot upward toward a face, but if you are above the subject the angle remains good. Ideal is for the subject to lay down, which makes the tilted-back neck natural. And the tilted-back neck will stretch the skin below the jawline.

Getting a dog head shot portrait is harder than it may seem. Getting the dog to keep its head still is a big challenge – at least when shooting with shallow depth of field. Adding to the challenge is finding a background that will compliment the dog. And this is where the shallow depth of field comes back around to help make the portrait. Even with shallow depth of field, care must be taken to have the right colors and patterns behind the animal.

A benefit to shooting portraits in bright natural light is that the subject's pupils will remain small, allowing the eye color to dominate. The natural light sources reflecting in the subject's eyes may or may not be an asset.
 
When shooting tightly cropped portraits, I usually want the chin to remain completely in the photo until cropping extremely tightly.

The snow was piled on all branches, but the thick, low growth at the edge of the forest became much whiter than the vertical trunks behind it. The distant hillside was also white, further emphasizing the hardwood tree trunks.