I still remember the first time I brought a twin lens reflex camera to a portrait session. Until that point, I had mostly been shooting with my trusty 35mm SLR and a digital mirrorless body. I was used to the routine: hold the camera up to my eye, hide my face behind the body, and click away while firing off directions to the person standing in front of me.

Then I bought a beat-up twin lens reflex (or TLR for short) and decided to test it out on a friend. The shift in the entire vibe of the photoshoot was immediate. Everything felt slower, more intentional, and surprisingly intimate. When I got the film back from the lab, the portraits had a completely different energy to them. They didn't just look like photos of my friend; they looked like moments we had genuinely shared.

If you have never shot with a TLR before, you might just see them as those funky, old-school boxes with two stacked lenses that look great on a bookshelf. But for portrait photography, they are genuinely magical. Here is why I think shooting portraits with a twin lens reflex camera is an experience every photographer should try.

You Stop Hiding Behind the Camera

This is honestly the biggest game-changer. Think about how you usually take a picture: you raise a big metal or plastic brick to your face. You cover your eyes. To the person you are photographing, you literally become a cyclops. It can feel intimidating, especially for people who are already uncomfortable having their photo taken.

With a TLR, you shoot using a waist-level viewfinder. You hold the camera down by your stomach or chest and look down into the top of the camera to frame your shot. Because the camera is down there, your face is completely exposed. You can actually make eye contact with your subject while you talk to them. You look down to check your focus, and then you look right back up into their eyes before you press the shutter.

The camera transforms from a barrier between you and the subject into a shared object sitting between the two of you. People naturally drop their guard. They relax their shoulders. The expressions you capture end up being so much more sincere and unguarded just because you are treating them like a human being instead of a target.

The Magic of the Ground Glass

Looking through a twin lens reflex camera for the first time will ruin normal viewfinders for you. Instead of squinting through a tiny dark peephole, you are looking at a brilliant piece of ground glass that acts like a tiny glowing television screen. Seeing your subject pop into focus on a piece of glass that size is honestly mesmerizing.

Because you have two lenses—the top one for viewing and the bottom one for actually taking the picture—the image in the viewfinder never blacks out when you take the shot. You see exactly what is happening the entire time. There is a learning curve, though. The image on the viewing screen is reversed left-to-right. When your subject moves to the left, they appear to move right on the glass. It completely scrambles your brain for the first couple of rolls, but once you get the hang of pulling the camera the opposite way you think you should, it becomes second nature.

The 6x6 Square Format Changes Everything

Most cameras force you to make a choice right away: are we shooting horizontal or vertical? With a standard TLR shooting 120 medium format film, you don't make that choice. The negatives are 6x6 centimeters, perfectly square.

Shooting square format forces you to compose differently. You can't rely on the usual rule of thirds the same way you do with a rectangular frame. Instead, dead-center compositions look incredibly striking. Portraits shot in 6x6 have a very classic, almost sculptural feel to them. It forces you to pay closer attention to the negative space around your subject's head and shoulders. Every shot naturally feels a bit like an album cover.

Medium Format Rendering and Depth of Field

The physical size of the film matters. A 6x6 medium format negative is massive compared to a standard 35mm negative. Because the film is so big, the amount of detail, tonal range, and smoothness you get out of the scan or print is breathtaking.

When you shoot black and white film through a TLR, the transition from shadows to highlights is incredibly smooth. Skin tones look lush and lifelike. Beyond just the resolution, there is the depth of field. A standard lens on a TLR is usually a 75mm or 80mm. Even shooting at relatively modest apertures like f/3.5 or f/4, the background melts away smoothly without completely isolating the subject from their environment. It creates a three-dimensional pop that is very hard to fake with digital sensors or smaller film formats.

Slowing Down Brings Out the Best in People

When you shoot with a twin lens reflex, you usually only get 12 shots per roll of 120 film. You have to meter the light manually, set the shutter speed and aperture, wind the film, flip out the magnifier to nail your focus, and finally take the shot. It is a wildly tactile, completely mechanical process.

You can't rush it, and your subject realizes that. When you are shooting digital or even an automated 35mm setup, people tend to change their pose every second because they hear the rapid clicks. With a TLR, they hear the quiet, satisfying snick of the leaf shutter, and then they watch you manually crank the film to the next frame. The slow pace signals to them that this is an intentional process. They hold still. They settle into themselves. The slow pace of the camera forces everyone to take a breath, and that quiet patience shines through in the final portraits.

Ready to Try It Yourself?

If you love shooting portraits and want to get out of a creative rut, I cannot recommend picking up a TLR enough. You don't need to drop thousands of dollars immediately, either. While Rolleiflexes are the famous industry standard, there are incredible cameras out there that take stunning portraits without the premium price tag. Look into Yashica Mats, Minolta Autocords, Mamiya C-series cameras, or the fantastic line of Rolleicords.

• Take a look at the current selection of these incredible cameras by running a quick search for twin lens reflex models at Old Cams by Jens.
• TLRs usually don't have built-in electronics, so I highly recommend picking up a reliable external light meter to nail your exposures. You can easily find a vintage light meter here to keep your whole setup era-accurate.
• Since TLRs don't use standard neck lugs, make sure you also browse for a sturdy vintage camera strap with scissor clips or alligator clips to comfortably carry your new waist-level companion.

Shooting with a twin lens reflex takes a little bit of practice, a lot of patience, and a willingness to look down rather than straight ahead. But the moment you pull that first spool of perfectly square, beautifully exposed portraits out of your developing tank, you will instantly understand why these cameras are so beloved. Grab a roll of 120 film, find a friend, and go see for yourself.