Ah, photographers and their gear. Whenever there's a problem, it can always be solved by purchasing more gear. The shinier and newer, the better. When listening to photographers talk, you might believe all they care about is the brand (theirs is better), the price (the more expensive the better the bragging rights), and how many items they own (too much? Huh?). For some, that certainly is the case. I've known photographers who purchase all new cameras when the new models come out, about every year and a half. For others, it's about their creative vision first, then finding the camera that best fulfills that vision.
For me, I have several reasons for owning the equipment I chose. In this blog, I'll tell you about a few of those items and how each one is essential to delivering the best images for my clients.
My "Model" for the Blog
I used my daughter's Rapunzal doll for the example photo. When you look at the doll, you might notice she's a bit tattered (war-worn might be a better term). Rapunzal is missing both feet, both hands, has a gash on her cheek, and even has a broken neck. Had the wind not died down, I would have taped her head to keep it in place. My daughter is about two years away from her black belt in Krav Maga. She loves gymnastics too, but had to choose one over the other. That didn't stop her from using Rapunzal as her partner for cartwheels across the lawn though. In fact, Rapunzal has pretty well performed every Olympic routine you can think of in our backyard, likely at greater heights than her human counterparts! By the way, my daughter read this description. She giggled a little in total approval.
To help make the differences more noticeable, I shot the photos in the bright sun, before noon. The images have not been retouched or adjusted. In photographer terms, they are straight-out-of-camera.
70-200mm Lens
This is my favorite lens. It is extremely sharp, creates stunning photos, and is extremely fast when reacting to moving objects. I use it whenever I can. Birds, racecars, people, events-- I reach for this lens first. Here, Rapunzal was photographed in bright sun at 70mm.
70-200mm Lens with Fill-Flash
In this photo, I added a fill-light. That's a term that simply means I added a flash. Take a look at the left-side of Rapunzal's face and the area under her neck. The shadows are no longer as dark as they were in the first photo.
70-200mm Lens with Fill-Flash and White Reflector
In addition to the flash, for this photo, I added a white reflector underneath her, to reduce the shadows even more. You can see a tiny hint of the reflector to the left of Rapunzal. Even though the camera and flash settings were kept the same, you can see her face isn't quite as bright, but it is more evenly lit. The addition of the reflector created a different "look" to the photo, thus giving me another tool to use when thinking of ways to approach the portrait.
70-200mm Lens with Fill-Flash and Silver Reflector
For this final photo at 70mm, I changed the white reflector to silver. Now she sparkles. Note how her face and clothing have a brighter look to them. You will often hear photographers say she really "pops".
For those example photos, you can see how I am using specific equipment primarily to eliminate extremely dark shadows on the doll's face. That same equipment also makes me more versatile and creative, by allowing me to create images in bright sun or create closer images or blur the background. Similar techniques can be employed on overcast days or in the shade.
70-200mm Lens, at 200mm
In these next two shots, I changed the focal length of the lens from 70mm to 200mm. Again, photographer "talk" for simply saying, I zoomed in. :) (Photographers love to talk the lingo.)
For this first shot, I turned off the flash. Without flash, this is considered a "Natural light" photograph. It was created using only the available light. Shooting natural light in bright sun can be difficult, but not impossible.
Take a look at the background in this photo. By zooming in, the background completely blurred, creating a beautiful separation between it and Rapunzal. This is one of the creative elements that can be employed by using certain lenses.
70-200mm Lens, at 200mm with Flash
The camera is set still set to the same settings as before, but I added the fill-flash in the same position as the first four photos. Note how Rapunzal is more evenly lit with much lighter shadows on her face and neck.
Just about all of my lenses use autofocus, which means the lens automatically focuses on the subject I am pointing towards. A manual focus lens is a little different in that I have to focus it by hand. I literally turn a focusing ring on the lens to bring the image into sharp focus. Let's look at an example below.
Manual 35mm Lens
Another of my absolute favorite lenses. This is a manual focus lens made by Zeiss. The lens is lightweight. It offers incredible sharpness. When used properly, it can create a slimming effect on subjects. I love photographing closeup portraits that highlight eyelashes with the Zeiss. Photos created with this lens will stand out from those shot with other lenses but at a slight cost. My subjects have to stay in one spot longer because I need time to focus the lens. If my subject moves, even slightly, I have to start over again. My daughter knows this and will often move around, just to keep me busy focusing. Sneaky daughter. Note in the example photo above, I am using it to show a much wider view compared to the 70-200mm zoom lens. Take a look at the background. You can see everything pretty clearly.
24-70 Zoom Lens at 50mm with Flash and Silver Reflector
Without moving my camera, I changed to another zoom lens, but set it to 50mm. 50mm has long been considered to produce an image that looks about how you would see it with your own eyes. Personally, 58mm reflects much better how I see the world. Note that objects aren't quite as clear as they were with the 35mm lens.
105mm Lens, with Flash
Here's Rapunzal photographed with a 105mm lens. Note the background blur, which is stronger than that from the 50mm. She appears closer (about twice as close) as with the 50mm setting on the zoom lens. The camera stayed in the same position for all of the photos. This is another lightweight lens that is easy on the arms when carrying it all day. It produces very sharp, colorful photos.
So what's in my camera bag? The items I feel necessary to create beautiful photos for my clients with a few that I get excited about using, that help my creative juices flow. Hopefully from the examples above, you are able to see how different lenses can be used to affect the image. Sometimes, I will see something that just "has" to be taken with a certain lens, so I will switch to it. Certain assignments are better suited to a particular lens. For example, the bridal party on a second-floor balcony is often better photographed using the 70-200 zoom lens than the 35mm wide angle lens.
In the end, it is all about using equipment that will provide my clients with images that will exceed their expectations. The equipment in my bag is the equipment I believe best suited to producing those images.
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