I am excited to announce that World Model Hunt Magazine selected a few of my images for a 2020 Model Calendar featuring Rosie Petal. Sadly the magazine used the wrong photographers name for the photo credit, but these are still my images. Rosie is trying to get selected for an upcoming issue of the magazine.
Best of 2019-Portraits
It’s time to feature the images I consider my best of 2019. The selection is made by only my own opinion.
Annaliese
Becca
Rosie
Alex Jade
Laura Tipon
Marissa
Bella
Leanna Sommer
Autumn
State Fair with Becca
I went with Model Becca to the state fair and captured some fun colorful shots.
Pioneer Park with Autumn Skye
My first shoot with new model Autumn Skye. This talented model brings endless poses. Shot in Pioneer Park in Nevada City.
Images shot using a Godox strobe with a large 48 inch softbox
Bear River 2019 Prom
I had a chance to shoot my nieces and friends for the 2019 prom photos. Below are a few, shot with the Fujifilm X-T3
Musician Kalyja Rain
I had a chance to take photos of the very talented Kalyja Rain the week after her Mile High single was released.
Pictures taken with the Fujifilm X-T3 with the 56mm f1.2 lens in Pioneer Park in Nevada City.
Shot with a Godox strobe and 48 inch octobox.
Old Sacramento Photowalk
I attended a photowalk in Old Sacramento this week and captured some pictures with a few of my favorite models. Shooting with the Fujifilm X-T3, 56mm lens and on camera flash.
Model Alex Jade
I had an opportunity to work with model Alex Jade in Nevada City recently. Below are a few of my favorites. Images shot with the Fujifilm X-T3 and the 56 f1.2 and 35mm f1.4 lenses. Some were shot with natural light plus a reflector and some were shot using a Godex on camera flash.
More with Annaliese Nobile
Teen model, Annaliese asked me to do a photoshoot with her in Nevada City this week. The 3 hour shoot included a visit to the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley before it was closed for renovation. We probably had the very last photoshoot in that hotel before the furniture was sold and the wallpaper removed.
We used natural light in the hotel, so that we would not bother the people running around the hallways purchasing every lamp, chair and bed in the building.
Shot through a coffee shop window in Nevada City
Model: Annaliese Nobile
I had a chance to work directly with teen model Annaliese Nobile on a snow photoshoot at the edge of Nevada City. The shoot took place the day after a heavy snowfall, which gave us a lot of fresh clean powder. Below are some of the results.
Old Sacramento Photowalk
I went on a photowalk with the “Chopstick Guys”. They always bring together a nice selection of models. The point of this shoot was to travel light and see what you can get with on camera flash, which I had never actually done before. I have always used off-camera lighting.
These are a few of my favorite images.
Senior Portraits
I shot the senior portraits for Layla at Empire Mine State Park using the Fujifilm X-T3. Below are a few of my favorites.
Pictures were shot with off camera flash in a softbox using High Speed Sync.
7 Portraits, 30 Minutes
I had the opportunity to shoot High School Prom photos in Auburn yesterday. After a long search for an ideal location, we settled on The Ridge golf course, which is surrounded by beautiful oak trees.
The biggest challenge for the night, beyond having only about 30 minutes to shoot 7 different kids, was the wind and cold. I think the temp was around 55 degrees. These are a few of the 30+ images I edited.
Model Kelsey Jackson
I had a chance to do some portrait work with the wonderful model Kelsey Jackson. Below are a few of my favorite images. If you ever want to shoot portraits with me, drop me an email.
Model Bridget Pelzman
I had a chance today to work with a 16 year old professional model Bridget Pelzman. For a a teen model, she really has very talented and made for a wonderful shooting experience. A few of my images from the shoot can be found in today's blog update.
The studio (located in a 2 car garage) using a black backdrop and 3 continues lights.
The outdoor images were shot with natural light in Folsom. I didn't have access to a flash or reflector, which I think would have really been great to help the eyes pop.
I really love getting the chance to do portrait photography. If you are ever interested in shooting portraits with me, shoot me an email.
Prime Lens Action Challenge
This weekend I attended an indoor action photography workshop featuring martial arts, acrobats and aerial artists. The workshop was attended by about 20 other photographers, shooting with Canon, Nikon and even a few Sony systems. I was the only photographer with a Fuji and the only one using just prime lenses.
Going into this workshop, I knew I had a few challenges to overcome. First, I had never been to this location, so I didn't know anything about the lighting or layout. The second big challenge was my available glass. I wanted to stick with my Fuji system, and that would mean I would basically have a choice between my 23mm and 35mm lenses. Not ideal when you are photographing people who are 20 feet above your head.
I also brought a Godex speedlight with a huge umbrella. Other photographers brought full size strobes and big softboxes. In the end, with the mixture of natural light and the unusual locations of the models, I decided against trying to use the flash. It's hard to position a bulky umbrella when someone is spinning above your head and I am constantly moving around the subject.
The skylights brought in great natural light, but shooting into them isn't ideal.
Overall, I was really impressed with how the Fuji X-T2 performed. For the first time, I had a chance to try some of the focus tracking modes in the camera, but in the end, I really prefer just using a single focus point. I found the focus tracking just kept missing the face and head. Maybe with more practice, I can find a focus mode that works best for moving subject, that I can be happy with. Either way, I found the camera focused really fast in this mixed natural light environment.
I did most of my shooting between continuous high and low burst rates. It is pretty amazing how fast the shutter is, making it super easy to freeze a subject and pick the exposure I liked the most.
Fog machine was used and filled the warehouse with a little too much smoke. Shutter speed was 1/1000th.
Overall I am pretty happy with the images I captured, but for future events with unpredictable movements of the subjects, I would prefer a zoom lens like the 18-55mm (or 16-55mm) offered by Fuji. The prime lenses are great for street work and portraits, but maybe not so much for action work. I probably would have been happy with a 56mm f1.2 lens to help capture details and blow out the background.
Even shooting at f2.0 and 2.8, it was almost impossible to blow out the background when using these wide angle prime lenses.
A video of the workshop highlights can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUWJuwGIrOY