 Amber Mizer |
Best Film for Portaits - Portra vs. Reala? Ok, so I've heard conflicting recommendations about these two films and am wondering what you all recommend, personally... I am shooting with a Minolta Maxxum 300si and will be using a strobe flash. I'm shooting school portraits and will be sending the film to a pro lab. Kodak Portra 160 NC is what I've always been told in the past, and I know the lab I use recommends it and prints with Portra paper. What's the difference between portrait films, really? Thanks!!! Amber
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
If your lab prints on Portra paper then I would say stick with the Portra film. There isn't any significant difference between the two films. It's a matter of taste and experience. If you took a killer shot on the Portra you'd feel good about it and say it's the best of the two. It's more a matter of picking a film and sticking with it. Learn how it responds under different circumstances. Be the film, grasshopper.
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John A. Lind |
Amber, Portrait films are geared for both portraiture and wedding use with the principle subject being people. They are optimized for accurate skin tones, have very wide latitude to retain detail in both white wedding dresses and black tuxedoes, and restrained saturation to pick up subtle color gradation. They are also more forgiving of slight exposure errors. Films that fall into this class are Kodak's Portra NC and VC (slightly more saturation than NC), Fuji NPS 160 and NPH 400, and Agfa Portrait 160. The most popular among those I've talked to seems to be Portra NC, either 160 or 400, although some like a little more saturation which VC has. A local friend uses Agfa Portrait 160 and likes it. Which you choose is a matter of personal preference about the differences among them which are not all that great. Ultimately you may want to try a little of the Fuji NPS or NPH and Agfa Portrait just to see what they do. Fuji Reala is an excellent, extremely fine grained, general purpose film. It is more saturated with higher contrast (less latitude) than a portrait film while maintaining decent skin tones. This means somewhat less subtle color gradation and it's easier to lose detail in pure white and/or pure black clothing. You probably would not run into too much trouble with the school portraits unless there are children wearing pure white or pure black. I don't recommend it for a wedding though because of the narrower latitude. I've used both Portra and Reala. The color rendition of Portra is softer compared to Reala because of the difference in their saturation and contrast. -- John
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Ken Pang |
By the way, Fuji just released a new film called 160 NPC. As you might have guessed, it's a portrait film with a bit more contrast to it. I'm looking forward to using it.
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Mark A. Braxton |
Hey Amber, Glad to hear you have an interest in photography. I'm just a hobbyist much like yourself but, I'll try to pass on some professional advice. First of all, your reala is actually an early attempt at portrait film. It is mostly a professional general purpose print film with a fine grain. It might not be bad outdoors when your trying get the background in along with a subject to catch school events. But, just remember it has an iso of 100 meaning your shutter speed will be slightly slower than the portrait films at 160 and 400 iso. My cousin is an advanced amateur and he was used to using reala. I talked him into using NPS 160 for my wedding. He was impressed with the colors of the prints. I must say the grain was tight along with the colors. My real advice is try the Kodak and Fuji portrait films. Unless it's homecoming or some event where someone is dressing wild, I'd stay away from the VC and other heavily saturated films. If someone has on some clothing with wild colors you might be upset with how it brings those colors along with your subject. Remember these are going to be memories of teen years when impressions and peer pressure are their heaviest. Then too years down the road no one wants to be joked about the outfit they had on because the film helped exaggerate it. Good luck and happy shooting.
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Gilbert Chatillon |
Hi Amber, Personally I prefer Kodak Portra NC, or VC for that matter, over Reala for portraiture. I disagree with other reviewers describing the VC version as highly saturated. It is not. The difference between the two is in fact quite small for most subjects. Besides, people like accurate skintone rendition but they don't like bland, lifeless pictures. Only the students with darker complexions may come out a little too ruddy. So just to be on the safe side, I would go with Portra NC. If it can be of interest to you, here are my favorite portrait films from best to worst: Portra NC Portra VC Fuji NPC Fuji NPS Agfa Portrait
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Gilbert Chatillon |
Hi again Amber, I forgot to mention one thing in my answer to your question. It's that everybody is right when they say that it's a matter of personal preference. Do like I did, gather a few friends or family members and try a roll of each film, you'll know right away what you like. Have fun.
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