My Daughter

[rpcrowe]

[Shadowman]

Nice portrait, did you use one of your older lenses?

[rpcrowe]

Yes I did! Meyer Gorlitz Orestor 135mm f/2.8 wide open with a Kipon .7x Focal Reducer on my A6500...

Actually, the image is considerably sharper prior to retouching. In fact, the image was almost grossly sharp - which astounded me. The gals like this rendition better than the SOOC image. I have found that women generally like portraits with some blemishes removed over the SOOC images.

Here is a retouched image of our daughter's friend. They have been friends since primary school are now both in their forties.



The IBIS within the A6500 is quite handy when shooting with longer non-stabilized lenses. I did these at 1/60 second with the 135mm + Focal Reducer using ISO 320. Sure, I could have bumped up the ISO if shooting without IBIS but, the IBIS is handy as heck and I wish Sony had included it on the new A6400.

The party was quite busy and it was difficult to get the gal's attention and to get a decent shooting distance without someone else coming into the frame; either accidentally or deliberately... The Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens (with AF and Eye-AF) would have been a better choice but, I wanted to play with the Meyer Gorlitz lens and in that interest did not bring any other lenses. I tend to gravitate to lenses which are easiest to use

[Shadowman]

Image is exceptionally sharp but has enough OOF area to sense of style.

[rpcrowe]

I plan on doing some formal portraits of my daughter for her business website. When I bring lights and if she is wearing some makeup, less retouching will be needed.

[zen]

Nice shot, Richard. And whooeee, those eyes!

Thanks for sharing!

Zen

[1claire]

She look so gorgeous, you surely have a beautiful subject.
Great picture!

[rpcrowe]

My wife reminded me that our daughter is turning 48... I tend to clip five years or so off her age...

[mugge]

My wife reminded me tat our daughter is turning 48... I tend to clip five years or so off her age...

Wise move Richard.

[Jim A]

Marvellous catch-lights in her eyes, Richard. VG outcome!

[rpcrowe]

My daughter wants to use this portrait on her business website.

I'd love to say that the catch-lights were planned but, the shot was done with available light. Neat thing about a focal reducer is that you gain about a stop of light when using one. The Orestor lens is fairly fast at f/2.8 but, many of my vintage lenses have slower apertures and that extra stop of light really helps.

[shreds]

Not wishing to detract from your camera work, which is exceptionally good, but having an attractive model in the first place often results in a pleasing image.

You are very lucky to attain such commissions even if it is your daughter and her friend.

[rpcrowe]

I totally agree Ian...

Along those lines... How do you get wonderful wedding coverage? Well you start with a beautiful bride and a handsome groom! That's a good start basis. However, if push comes to shove, having a good looking bride is more important than having a handsome groom,

Just like the old saying goes that you can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear - you really cannot get beautiful wedding coverage if your bride looks like a buffarilla (Buffarila = a cross between a buffalo and a gorilla).

Having the bride dressed correctly is also a great help. Severely overweight ladies generally do not look good in off the shoulder dresses...

Another thing about a nice looking female - usually they are more comfortable in front of the camera... I have been shooting impromptu portraits of the young ladies who work at my vets office. Once they began to see my work, they were more willing to pose and more comfortable being shot!