Portrait using a 55mm Prime and LED Lighting

I’m currently trying out a new portrait style for me using a different lens focal length than what I’ve used for a while now, and also adding in an additonal light to my usual one-light set up.

For some time I’ve used the Sony 85mm G Master lens with my Sony A7RIV and have and still do love it for the quality and sharpness of the files it produces. However I’m now going to be using a 55mm focal length … my Zeiss f/1.8 Prime Lens.

It’s hard to put into words what I’m really liking about the look the lens gives … it’s just different. Some would say that it gives a much more realistic ‘as the eyes see it’ look but I guess that also depends on how close to the subject you position yourself.

I also like how the focal length means you’re much closer to the subject, making the portraits much more intimate and revealing of the person being photographed ... if that makes sense.

I’m also, like I said, using an additional light with this new look I’m working on; both of which are LED Constant lights.

I’ve been using the 60W Westcott L60-B COB LED for a while now but a few days ago I received the new 120W L120-B COB LED; a slightly bigger unit with the advnatage that no adaptor is needed to fit any of my light modifiers.

So the portrait of my friend Anthony above, I took using one of the grey walls in my office as the background; here’s the set up showing the positon of the lights …

LIGHTING

Westcott L60-B COB LED fitted with a square Westcott Pocket Box Softbox rear and camera right and positioned so that it added both a bit of light onto the background but also a hint of light onto the camera right side of Anthony’s head.

Westcott L120-B COB LED fitted with the 24” Rapid Box Switch Softbox

Westcott 2-in-1 Reflector (silver and White) with silver side uppermost

*NOTE: If you’re looking to invest in Westcott Kit, then give me a shout and I’ll pass on a Discount Code

Westcott L120-B COB LED

Westcott 24” Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish

Westcott Pocket Box Speedlight Softbox Kit

camera settings

• Aperture: f/5.6

• Shutter Speed: 1/60sec

• ISO: 1250

When taking Anthony’s portrait I was experimenting with different apertures to see hat I prefered for this new look; f/2.0 , f,4.0 , f/5.6 and actually liked the look of f/40 as with the 55m lens it gave a great depth of field with the tip of the nose in foucs and then from the ears losing focus.

However, I mistakenly left the camera in f/5.6 so during the retouching in Lightroom I used the Lens Blur to convincingly fake the depth of the field.

retouching in lightroom

The portrait I retouched using only Lightroom and I’ve added it into my Lightroom Community Profile Page …

When you go to my Lightroom Community Profile Page, click on the portrait and this will then take you to where you can see all of the retouching steps I did to the ‘out of camera’ file. You can also save the settings as a preset to use on your own images and even click on Remix to get access to a Smart Preview of my original file and have a go at retouching it yourself.

Constant LED Light Portraits with Sony and iPhone

The more I use the LED Constant Light for Portraits, the more I fall in love with it.

I know I said it before in an earlier post but when you use it, the whole WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) not only makes setting up so much easier and quicker but also every time I use it, the people I photograph say how much more relaxing it is not having a flash go off in their face.

Just over a week ago I was recording some content for the iPhone Photography Conference and thought it would be an interesting comparison just to see how close I could get a photograph I took with my main camera, my Sony A7RIV Mirrorless and my iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Of course I went into this knowing that the iPhone image wouldn’t equal or surpass the quality of my Sony, but just thought it would be interesting to see how far the quality has moved on and do this with a lit Portrait using the constant light … the Westcott L60-B Bi-Colour LED.

THE SET UP

For the lighting. I had originally planned to use just one light, the L60-B, however I couldn’t resist the warm light emitting from the heater that Ian had turned on in the studio. I loved the way it cast a warm glow onto the wood panelling so this was carefully raised off the ground and then became the main light and the L60-B was positioned on the opposite side of Ian further forward and higher up.

The L60-B was given a warmer temperature using the iPhone app which works incredibly well.

As soon as I opened the app it connected to the light and I was able to dial in the power settings, change the temperature and I could even make it perform lighting special effects like lightning, TV and a faulty bulb … but these are obviously for use when doing video.

CAMERA SET UP 

So with my Sony A7RIV on my tripod I used my 55mm Zeiss f/4.0 lens and tethered this into CaptureOne on my iPad, which works an absolute treat!

It’s incredibly easy to set up; you literally plug one end of a USB-C cable into the camera, the other end into the iPad, and with the app open i’st connected and ready to go.

I’m using this all the time now when tethering and what I also love about it is that you can stop and start the monthly subscription whenever you want. The subscription is only £4.49 / month so I tend to look at what I have planned and just restart it for that period, then cancel it again.

The only thing I don’t like which might (I hope) be just down to a setting I’ve missed turning on, but the photographs you take are only stored on the iPad. I only discovered this after the first shoot I did using it. I disconnected the camera and went to check the images on the camera and nothing was there. Only once my heart re-started and I looked on my iPad did I realise where they were 😳

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CAMERA SETTINGS

The settings dialled into my camera were …

• f/4.0

• 1/60 sec

• 2000 ISO … which for modern day cameras is nothing
  

using the iphone

Having taken the portrait with my Sony I then swapped over to my iPhone which was placed on the tripod using the ULANZI ST-27 Phone Mount.

I also attached the 2x Telephoto lens from ReeFlex to the 1x lens on my iPhone using one of their cases that has threads in each of the lens apertures.

The 1x lens is the equivalent of 24mm and is the only lens on the iPhone capable of shooting in ApplePro Raw at 48MP … the highest resolution and largest file my iPhone 15 Pro Max can produce.

With the 2x Telephoto lens attached this made the 1x lens the equivalent of 48mm and did this optically rather than digitally, and so doing everything possible to create the best possible file; not quite 55mm but the closest I could get oto it optically.

iPHONE PRO CAMER APP

To take the photograph with my iPhone I used a Pro Camera App from ReeFlex and called ReeFlex.

This app like most other pro camera apps gives you control over extra settings like Shutter Speed and ISO but it also makes it very clear to see not only what file format you are in but also the resolution.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App usinfg 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP

However here’s the catch …

If when you’re using the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP you make changes to the shutter speed and / or ISO then the file size immediately drops from 48MP to 12MP.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App using 1x lens with Shutter Speed Adjusted

So because of this I opted to leave the iPhone in the AUTO settings which kept the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP, and these are the out of camera and out of phone results, with the Sony image on the left and the iPhone image on the right …

Now at this 100% magnification the iPhone file, although different to the Sony file, certainly looks to be holding up.

However, it’s when you zoom in on that iPhone file that things look VERY different …

Look how the file looks soft and slightly out of focus. Look how the file lacks texture and detail in Ian’s skin, his hair and the wood panelling.

Apple ProRaw

This softening appearance to the image is all because of shooting in the supposed highest resolution settings, AppleProRaw at 48MP and that’s because Apple ProRaw isn’t like a traditional Raw file as we know and understand them.

You see Apple ProRaw files do actually receive some processing such as Noise Reduction ( quite al lot ) and Smart HDR, so the file we end up with is also a blend of a number of images at different exposures taken and processed increibly quickly.

So not REALLY a Raw file as you would expect 🤷‍♂️

topaz sharpen ai

Running the file thorugh Topaz Sharpen AI does recover alot of that lost detail as you can see here …

However knowing what Apple ProRaw does to your files does arm you with a bit of knowledge so that you can make the decision to use it or not.

Depending on how serious you are about your iPhone photography you might want to consider shooting in 12MP Raw which Pro Camera apps like Moment and ReeFlex allow you to do …

Naturally we always want the highest resolution file possible but the noise reduction that Apple ProRaw does, might make you reconsider.

12MP Bayer raw files

Currently ALL Raw Long Exposure apps produce 12MP Bayer Raw files and that’s what all of my seascape images are and I’m more than happy with them.

Sure more resolution would be good but until that time, these 12MP Bayer Raw files are very acceptable …

So acceptable in fact that Digitalab even printed one of my iPhone seascapes at 72” on the longest side and it looked incredible …

final retouched portraits

Here though are the final retouched portraits with the Sony file on the left and the iPhone file on the right, and yeah the Sony file is definitely better and that’s to be expected, but looking at the iPhone file the future is going to be VERY interesting indeed!

wrapping up

So more testing to be done which will be interesting as new iOS updates come along and the iPhone 16 later this year.

In the mean time I’m going to carry on taking seascapes with my iPhone because I really enjoy doing them BUT I’ll also be taking them with my Sony too.

As for Portraits I’ll keep taking them with my iPhone but only as an extra bit of fun and experimentation when taking them with my Sony.

Catch you next time
Glyn

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Sony A7RV - I WAS WRONG !!! 😳 User Review + RECOMMENDED SETTINGS for BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY 🦅

This is my full user review of the Sony A7RV. Along with my thoughts on using the camera, I go through the settings I recommend for photographing birds, which made a big difference to my results. I also look at the features the camera finally brings, including focus bracketing, a screen that both flips and tilts, and its artificial intelligence, before answering the question of whether I'd actually buy it.

I’m doing a Portrait Workshop in Stoke

It’s VERY rare I do ‘in person’ Portrait Workshops, but I’ll be doing one for my friends at the The Guild Of Photographers over the 3rd and 4th February PLUS doing a talk on behalf of Sony UK at the PhotoHubs Event in Stoke.

Thoroughly enjoyed the last event of theirs I presented at and can’t wait for this next one 🙂

For more information and to grab a ticket, click on the button below or just use this link:

photoguild.co.uk/event/photohubs-stoke/

Sorry SONY but I tried the CANON R5 and LOVED IT ❤️

I've been shooting with Sony kit for a few years now, so this one's a bit different. Canon sent me some of their kit to try, including the Canon R5 and a bunch of RF lenses, simply to have a play with and see what I thought. This video shares my thoughts after using it, and as the title gives away, I came away really liking the R5, even as someone who's been shooting with a different system.

📷 I REALLY WISH my SONY camera had this ... but NIKON DOES!!! 🤷‍♂️

It's not often I find myself wishing my camera could do something it currently can't, but focus shift is high on my wish list for Sony. Here I explain what focus stacking is and why having something like Nikon's Focus Shift in my Sony camera would be so useful. I then show how to stack and blend the images together in Photoshop to end up with a tack sharp image.

Speaking for Sony at the London Camera Exchange (LCE) Photo Show in April

Really pleased to let you know that I’ll be speaking on behalf of Sony at the upcoming London Camera Exchange (LCE) Tradeshow being held in Bath on the 9th April 2022…

At 2pm, I’ll be going through a brand new presentation …

Title:

Lens Choice: There’s no RIGHT or WRONG but there is FOR FOR PURPOSE

Description:

With so much choice on offer, it can inevitably become a little overwhelming when it comes to choosing the right lens. But what exactly is the right lens? Should we always aim for the more expensive option? 

Join Professional Photographer & Sony Creator Glyn Dewis for this ‘real world’ session as he cuts through the confusion and explains HOW and WHY the lens choice shouldn’t necessarily be based solely on technical specifications but should be based on what is RIGHT FOR YOU and what is FIT FOR PURPOSE. 

Get this right and the results will follow!

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To come along is completely FREE

The Trade Show is being held in the incredible Roman Baths and runs from 10:15am to 4pm with manufacturers, retailers, demos and other talks going on throughout the day.

Hope to see you there,
Glyn

Hands on with the Sony A7IV: Would I buy it?

Sony invited me to get hands-on with the Sony A7IV, their 33 megapixel camera, and I spent a few days in Chepstow presenting for Sony at their roadshow showcasing it. After using it for a couple of days taking portraits and grabbing video content, would I buy it, and who is it for? This short video gives a look at what went on, along with my honest, unpaid opinion and my thoughts and feelings about the camera. Spoiler alert: it's a beast.

Touring with Sony and the NEW Sony A7IV

Soooo looking forward to this...

I'll be with Sony at the St Pierre Marriott Hotel in Chepstow for 2 days (12th and 13th November) showing the NEW Sony A7IV in use during a series of different photo shoots.

If you're around and fancy coming along to get a first look and hands-on, at the new camera, it's FREE and there's various time slots throughout both days as well as other dates at different locations throughout the month, including London, Chepstow, Manchester and Edinburgh

For dates, locations and more details click on the link below: