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Portraiture: Various Imaging Formats Visually Compared

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 04/24/2017
05/24/2017
1 Min read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm GFX 50S review product images
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If you were to look at the various imaging formats currently available on the market, would you be able to easily tell the difference between the bunch? We’re out to prove a point in today’s posts: most people most likely would not be able to tell if a photo was shot on Micro Four Thirds, Medium format, or full frame. Just take a look at this sample gallery we’ve put together.

Micro Four Thirds

Pen F with Voigtlande 17.5mm f0.95
Olympus Pen F and Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95

Model: Natalie Margiotta

APS-C

Pro Tip: Most modern lenses can handle backlighting with ease. Do it, it gives portrait subjects a beautiful glow.
Fujifilm 90mm f2

To make a man look more elegant, it’s not only all about the attire but it’s also about the specific pose. Have him shift his weight depending on which shoulder is the higher one. The lower shoulder should be bright forward more and the head should be tilted slightly.

35mm Full Frame

Fernando’s skin tone is associated with orange, his shirt is blue and the trees are green.

Fujifilm G Format

Atlantic, Portrait
California, Portrait
Alaska, Portrait

645 Digital

Model: Natalie Margiotta

645 Film

Pro Tip: This image was shot with Kodak Portra 400, which isn’t a slide film. But if you really want to start working with film, start shooting with your camera set to the daylight white balance so that you gain a familiarity with the various types of lighting scenarios and how they’ll affect your scene.
This image was shot with Kodak Portra 400 on a Bronica ETRS: which means that it was done in the 645 format.
Pro Tip: the latest emulsions of Kodak Portra were designed to be scanned. We recommend Portra 400 more than almost anything else out there.

6×7 Film

6×9 Film

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35mm full frame 645 aps-c film format imaging medium format micro four thirds portrait
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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