Amazing Sunrise Portrait Session With Kayla

I got to work with Kayla during a photographer meetup at Kure Beach, North Carolina. For this session, I used the following gear:

* Sony A7II

* Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM (G Master) Lens

* Flashpoint R2 Transmitter for Sony

* Flashpoint Speedlight

* Godox AD-R6 7" Standard Mount Reflector

* Neewer S-Type Bracket Holder with Bowens Mount for Speedlight

* Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter

It was another beautiful North Carolina morning at the beach. Several photographers and models gathered for a photographer/model meetup. The event was organized in a photography Facebook group. Social Media is a great way for photographers and models to connect, network, and collaborate on photo shoots. One of the great things about attending photographer/model meetups is it gives aspiring models and photographers the opportunity to practice and learn from each other. When photographers and models are just starting out as artists, it can be challenging to find a photographer or model to work with. Meetups are a great resource to use in finding clients to work with.

I attended this meetup test out the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM lens. I had rented the lens for the purpose of testing out the glass to see if it was something I wanted to purchase in the future. The 85mm f/1.4 GM lens performed flawlessly with the Sony A7II. The lens is big, but felt really good in my hands. The user experience is very good with the lens. I would recommend this lens to any Sony photographer looking for a reliable portrait lens that has very sharp and fast focusing.

I used a one light setup with a Flashpoint speedlight with a 7" reflector. The light was setup on a lightstand that was off to the camera's right of the frame. To the left of the frame is the Atlantic ocean with the sun rising over the water, providing a nice rim light on rim light on the subject. I posed the subject adjacent to the tide of the water because I wanted include the environment within the portrait. Since I wanted to include the environment within the portrait, but allow Kayla to remain the focus of the photograph, I decided to shoot at a wide aperture in order to blur out the background. The bokeh produced by the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM lens is phenomenal. Shooting at a wide aperture allowed me to achieve the blurred background look that I was seeking out. Along with a wide aperture, I had to use HSS (High Speed Sync) with the speedlight in order to use a fast shutter speed to balance out the exposure of the photographs. HSS allows a photographer to use a shutter sync speed that is faster than the normal 1/200 second or 1/250 second speed that most cameras sync at with off camera flash or a strobe.

The value of attending meetups is it is a great opportunity meet new artists and potential clients, test out gear, and build up your portfolio with new content. One piece of advice I always share with photographers, is that clients don't pay you to experiment on them, they hire you to perform consistent results. In order to produce consistent properly exposed portraits, a photographer must practice the craft of photography as much as possible. Don't shy away from working in harsh sunlight or employing off camera flash in your photography work. Practice builds confidence and proficiency in how to employ your photography gear in various lighting situations. Don't rely solely on natural light. Having the ability to utilize flash within your work adds a dynamic tool that will allow you to shoot in environments that may not work with natural light.

Lastly, always remember to have a fun at the meetup events. Conduct yourself as a professional and be respectful to the photographers, clients, and make-up artist at the event. Make sure you exchange your contact information with your client (model) so that you can give them copies of the final edited photographs. Have your client complete a model release form as proof of consenting to be photographed.

More info: Instagram