Lens Notes

I was asked by one of the boy’s friend’s mother (do you follow?) to take his senior portrait. This beautiful lady is not his mother by the way. She is a my friend’s mother who just turned 80 years old last weekend. She’s beautiful yes? I love this photo, it reflects my oldest memories of her. Ever since I was a young girl, this is how I remember her, smiling and happy, good-natured and laid-back.

I want to capture LCAT Steven the same way. I want the photos to reflect who he really is; focused, kind-hearted, handsome, hard-working and mature.

I was once asked to shoot a friend’s wedding and declined because I was afraid to ruin her wedding. I said yes to this request. It’s a lot less pressure. After all, I can always redo the session, I can’t ask someone to redo their wedding.

Wouldn’t be prudent.

I was just researching portrait lenses and since this is my blog/ramblings/diary, I thought I’d write my notes here. You can tell me if I’m off base and I promise to take your inputs and happily so.

- If LCAT Steven was standing up, I would use a 50-70 mm lens. The AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens gets great reviews.

- If LCAT Steven was sitting down, I would use the 70-105mm. I think I like the 85mm f/1.8D but seems slightly out of my range right now.

- Here’s a surprise – makes sense from my experience. If I were to take a head and shoulder shot, I would use my 300mm and stand 15 feet away. I will definitely do this for his head shot.

There’s some great tips from the pros who know exactly what they are doing. I’m happy to be a student! I’ll post the photos of our handsome Steven once the session is over.