Jewls, Fujifilm + Luminar Photo Walk – Austin, Texas
I mentioned how I made a mistake and brought the “wrong” lens for portraiture for the Fujifilm + Luminar Photo Walk. A moderately wide 24mm is not what you call a classic portrait lens. I would’ve brought a 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.4 instead if I knew better.
However, my mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A wider lens works better for environmental portraits, especially in the first photo, where the Austin skyline is the backdrop. A traditional portrait lens doesn’t capture the sweep of the city.
Jewls danced around with her flowing black dress I caught it in full-form in this action shot.
Jewls loved dynamic action, twirling and flinging her arms to animate her dress. I shot these portraits differently, taking advantage of the movement. I set the camera to 1/500 of a second with continuous face tracking. The Sony maintained reliable focus while stopping the action, as we see here. I like how the curve of her dress wraps around her face.
We crossed over the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and approached the downtown Seaholm complex. I noticed these concrete walls and the leading lines created by the narrow walkway and handrail. I asked Jewls to walk up the ramp using her animated style. I like the black-and-white contrast between the subject and the angular concrete walls.
I tried to make sure the subject was toward the center of the frame to minimize distortion, especially for pictures in the portrait orientation. That’s part of the downside of using a wider 24mm lens.
As night approached, I asked Jewls to hold steady as I used the light from the tree to illuminate.
While I initially doubted using the Sony 24mm f2.8 for portraiture, it worked better than expected. It also forced me to be more creative rather than relying on typical shallow depth-of-field portraits.
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