Last week I got a text from Emma Carter asking if I where free to come along on a shoot later on that afternoon. Needless to say I jumped at the chance, packed my gear and headed out.
We met Abi and her sister Molly at the location nearby and got shooting. I started out with the 17-55mm f2.8 zoom, which is a great all-round lens for portraiture, especially when you first start shooting and want to be able to vary your viewpoint and composition easily. We started out shooting natural light, which was nice and soft as we were in a shady patch of trees and the sun was just starting to go down (this was at about 6:30pm).
After a while I switched to the 50mm f1.8 prime lens, intending to shoot wide open and get a shallower depth of field and a more "organic" and "naturalistic" feel. I definitely think that you shoot differently with a fixed focal length lens than with a zoom.
Next we moved locations slightly and I got out the flash. We did use a shoot-through umbrella for a couple of shots, but the wind made it to uncontrollable so we ditched it and went for bare flash instead.
I'm a big fan of bare flash when used properly. It can create a really "punchy" powerful look, and that's what we were aiming for, and I think, got.
First off, using the trees and sunset as a backdrop;
Then with Molly posed on the steps;
I shot this laying on the ground with the 17-55mm f2.8 again, at 28mm equivalent, with the sky underexposed to saturate the colour, while Molly is lit with a bare flash.
Then I switched to a closer composition with the same flash set up;
I had a great time with Molly, Abi and Emma, and would love to shoot Molly again.
The rest of the photos from the shoot can be seen here.
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