From one blogger muse to another, presenting a beauty editorial with the stunning Sara Donaldson of Harper and Harley renown. Snapped just this morning while we enjoyed a coffee and shopping hang out session, I'm very grateful to have the scored the time to lense one of my favourite Aussie beauties.
I guess here would be a nice opportunity to talk a little about my camera and the ideas I employ to shoot these images. As mentioned in my bio on the homepage of my blog - I use a Canon 5D Mk III and 90 percent of the time I'm using a magnificent 85mm 1.2 fixed lens. As I am self taught, I don't really have loads of experience using other equipment than my own. I only use fixed lenses, which has taught me to be nimble when shooting, to look through the view finder and move around to learn what makes a good photograph. In a great shot, everything you see in frame should contribute to the effect of the image. Often space around the subject can be very valuable in mood and ambience but do you really need those bins in the background to tell the story? For beauty I like to keep things simple - thus my passion for the 85mm lens, which is masterful for using the technique called bokeh. Bokeh is that dreamy blur in the background of these shots, highlighting the simple beauty of my subject (Sara). This lens is an absolute dream - especially in low light where it doesn't miss a detail. I feel a mistake a lot of photographers make is, focusing so much on finding light that they forget to utilise the beauty of the shadow. A good image should have depth, even a beauty shot, a lovely wrap of light around the skin to show the shape of the face. Nothing more plain than flat light! The other technique I've used here is employing movement to ensure my images are unposed and natural. I always ask my subjects to move like they are being filmed and snap thousands (yes that's right) of shots to ensure I capture that one perfect beautiful moment. Being that the 85mm is great in low light, I can always use a fast shutter speed when shooting so I don't miss a beat to the blur. So simple! And so effective. Hope this helped some of you! xxx