Lady in Fur

Something I want to do is to share my experiences on certain shoots and just express how I feel and what I was thinking. Kind of give the picture a meaning behind it and let you dig into my mind a bit.

To start off, this shoot was this past Sunday April 15th, 2018. It was more of a photo-walk to be honest and a teaching workshop at the same time. We had two photographers, one I had been planning to collab with for quite some time now and a new photographer who we were guiding. We also had one model who unexpectedly showed up with a purple fur coat which blew my mind. But the pictures were amazing. 

This was one of my first pictures and it was more of a warmup. I really loved the red heels she wore so i wanted to get a picture of them. They really popped out so i didn't want an exciting background but I didn't want a white wall. Needless to say, the background wasn't the best but it worked perfectly fine.

This next photo was probably my favorite of the day. It's a closeup shot of her surrounded by her fur coat. It gave me the cold and moody vibe so I had her just stare right into the camera. In perfect fashion, she gave me the coldest stare but it brought out the color in her eyes. Contact lenses actually. I tend to love this closeup shots and particularly focusing on the eye. Editing them are such a joy and I can really dodge and burn the image to make it more dramatic. 

This last photo was taken at the top of the structure. We decided to have a 5-minute competition on what we can do with a model, 5-minutes, and a 50mm lens. I think given what we had, we all did a great job. 5-minutes isn't a really a long time to shoot and given that we could only use a 50mm really challenged my brain a bit. I haven't shot a 50mm in a really long time so seeing things through that focal length was definitely a challenge.

Overall, it was a great shoot. There was great energy surrounding us and our model did WORK. She walked all around Huntington Beach in those red heels and I give her props for that. 

I think I'll do these posts every 4th post just to change it up a bit. Thanks for reading! 

Why you need an 85mm lens

Before talking about the 85mm, I want to bring up some different focal lengths. Just to get us warmed up and give you a little backstory to why I love the 85mm so much. 

So most photographers probably started off with a 50mm, the nifty-fifty. Super cheap and affordable. Closely mimics what the human eye can actually see. So it's extremely natural. Me myself loved my 50mm. I had the nifty-fifty then moved onto the Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 for my Canon 5D mark ii. Definitely a hefty lens compared to the old one I had but oh lordy, the sharpness of it was awesome. Off topic a little sorry. But the 50 is a great focal length, not too wide, but in my opinion..a little too wide for portraits at times...

So now enter the 85mm. The 85mm produces a nice compressed background. What does that mean? I know it gets mixed up a bit and i was honestly a bit confused as well in the beginning but it made a lot more sense when i figured it out. Well in words, it means that for the same image, you get less background. It's more easier to explain it by picture.

This picture was shot with my 24-70 GM Lens at 50mm. I framed this plush cat right dead center of the picture. Now looking at the picture you can see that in the background, you see the whole guitar and part of the cat tree on the right. 

Now take a look at this picture. You can see that the cat is still sized the same (I moved back a little to make the cat the same size). But if you look at the background, the cat tree is completely out fo the frame and you can see only half the guitar. To demonstrate whats happening to the background using a longer focal length, take a look at the outlet next to the leg of the chair. You can see if being moved/stretched outwards. That's what longer focal lengths do and that's what the 85 does. 

So why do I love the 85mm lens? It's a fast prime lens that I can keep on my camera through a whole portrait shoot and do completely fine. It gives me the ability to get really tight headshots and portraits without the distractions of the background and really concentrate on the subject. Also most 85mm lenses are going to be at a wide aperture ( f1.8-f1.2 ) so you can really blur out the background and separate the object from the background which helps just as much. If you want my recommendation on a portrait lens. An 85mm will definitely be at the top of my list.

My Gear

So I've had a few people ask me. What kind of gear do I use? Well I decided I was just going to post it up here. I'm also going to include why I use what I use and what I would like to add to my bag.

Photo Credit: 35mmc.com

Body: The camera body that I decided to go with was the Sony A7Rii. The reason for this is because I was enticed by the 42MP and the fact that it had Eye-AF which is just about the only thing that I use to focus when it comes to portraits. It's such an amazing tool and it makes my life that much easier. Could I have gone with a cheaper camera? Yes. Would I have sold it in a few months and bought the A7Rii anyway? Most Definitely. So really I made a...strategic move. 

I don't see any reason to move onto an A7Riii EXCEPT for the dual card slots because my god. That would be so nice knowing that you have two cards to rely on. I just finished shooting a wedding the weekend before this post and I grabbed that card right after the wedding, put it in a plastic case, and rushed my butt back home and threw them on the computer. Just knowing something might go wrong with no backup is just terrible. 

Photo Credit: Sony

Lenses: Currently I have 2 lenses. I have the 85mm f1.8 FE and the 24-70 f2.8 GMaster. I absolutely love the 85mm and it is my absolute favorite lens I have EVER owned. For the Sony mirrorless system. It is so extremely light and it is sharp enough to keep up with my Sony A7Rii. It seriously is a match made in heaven. The 24-70 however isn't as great of a lens as I thought it would be. It is extremely heavy (2lbs) and not as sharp as I would have hoped, but seeing as though I mainly shoot portraits, it helps out a little with skin. 

Now, things that I want to add to my bag. I want to add the 70-200 f4 G, 90mm f2.8 Macro G, and 100mm f2.8 STF G Master. Starting the with 70-200, I just really need the distance and being able to get those tight shots would just be absolutely amazing. I don't want to be all up and close to get a shot and at times where I can't...well yeah you get my point. Also, for the f4 vs f2.8 conversation. I want the f4 just because it will be lighter. I've done big and heavy lenses before. having a light pack is definitely my priority. The 90mm lens is basically for my macro work as well as have the flexibility to be able to shoot portraits as well. The last lens that I want to add to my bag would be the 100mm STF. This thing creates the most perfect Bokeh balls I have ever seen. I can write a whole article about this lens, really. And even though it's big, clunky, and heavy. I think the results will be worth it. 

Photo Credit: Martin Cheung Photography

Lighting: As of now, I am using my go-to flash the Godox AD200 w/ R2 Trigger. Following my theme of having a light bag to carry, this little flash has enough power to light subjects in the sun and the power to size ratio is just great. For anyone looking into flash photography, I suggest this flash. It is also battery powered so there's no need for an external battery, and it is also a wireless trigger. So there's no need for extra triggers to attach, it's all built in. The trigger is great as well because of the fact that you are given the option to fire off multiple flashes at once using the same trigger, as long as they are compatible with the R2 Flash Trigger.

If I were to add another set of flashes to my bag, it wouldn't really be much of a bag, but I would probably add another AD200 and an AD600 for a 3 flash setup. The AD600 just in case I really do need the extra power. There are some times where I feel the AD200 just isn't cutting it, but that's because I'm shooting at f22...haha

So there it is! Here's my gear and if you have any questions for me, feel free to send me an e-mail or if there's something you want to see in next week's Blog, let me know! 

My thoughts on the Sony A7III

So they recently released the new A7III and my god, this camera looks amazing! Let's throw the specs out really quick:

• 24MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS Sensor
• BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
• 693-Point Hybrid AF System
• UHD 4K30p Video with HLG & S-Log3 Gammas
• 2.36m-Dot Tru-Finder OLED EVF
• 3.0" 922k-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
• 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
• ISO 204800 and 10 fps Shooting
• Built-In Wi-Fi and NFC, Dual SD Slots
• USB Type-C Port, Weather-Sealed Design

Let's just look at this and point out the things that aren't new to us. 
Okay, so it has 24Mp (great), 5-axis stabilization (cool), BIONZ processor (sweet), and wifi (dope).
Now, let me point out two key features that really make this camera stand out to me and why they're so amazing.

First up, this camera has an EVF. EVF's are amazing. If you don't know what an EVF is, let me explain. In traditional cameras, you'd be looking into the eye piece and you'd see the reflection of a mirror inside the camera. It would thus be showing you exactly what you're pointing at so you can line up and compose your shot. Then when you click the shutter button, the camera flips up and takes the picture. Look at the back of your screen and that's what you get. If you messed up your settings, then you're gonna have the adjust and take it again. 
Now with the EVF, when you look through the eye piece, you're actually looking at another mini screen. The benefit of that is that when you adjust your settings it will change and tell you exactly what your shot is gonna look like when you press the trigger. Which is incredible. Also a reason why I would recommend a Sony camera to anyone looking to getting into photography. And this EVF has 2.36 million dots. That's literally a screen that's going to show you everything you need to see. almost better than life. (but not really)

Next up, it has dual card slots. Something that I honestly wish I had. It would be fantastic to know that I have a backup in case one of my cards crash (knock on wood). But that's such a great feature to have. And if you don't care if you were to lose half the pictures you shoot, you can have it as an overflow. Now you don't have to switch out your memory cards and scramble around looking for one if you finished one card up. To be completely honest, Sony is stupid late to this. I have no clue why they didn't decide to put this in sooner. If they had, so many people would have jumped onto this camera system sooner. You have nooo idea. 

Lastly, this camera has 693 AF Points....you're kidding right? To put this into perspective, my first camera I bought, the Nikon D700, had 51-AF Points and my second camera, the Canon 5D Markii, had 9!!!!! So you can see why this BLOWS MY MIND!! Paired up with Eye-AF, my god. There's literally no reason to miss a shot. Unless lighting conditions suck of course. But man the AF points are so incredible. 

I haven't even gone through everything and there's honestly too much to talk about with this camera, but given what I have said, you must be thinking. Crap, this camera is expensive as s***. Well in a sense yes it is. But not as expensive as cameras with basically the same specs. This camera only costs $2000. Now for those who aren't into photography you must be saying "Screw you Curtis. $2000 is a lot."

Hear me out. 

I'm not telling you guys to buy this camera. You don't need this camera. I'm talking to those who are shooting with 5D Mark iii's, Nikon D750's, or anyone in or below that range that are making a living or side hustling photography. It's a immense value and it definitely should not be overlooked. Really look into it guys because even the Sony right now is the dark side. It's the best thing on the market right now. Up until Canon or Nikon decides to step it up. Then I'll be writing again.