Brittany : Portfolio Work - Beauty, Fashion, Edgy

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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
Brittany is very diverse as a model and I really enjoyed working with her on this shoot. It was cold out and she was a real trooper without her coat.

The two tight shots were done with the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR and I just want to comment about that. While this lens does have its limitations and isn't known for having snappy auto focus, it happens to work beautifully for long lens portraiture.

If you're composing shots and are accurate with your AF point selection, placement and hand held technique, then this lens shines. It's definitely sharper as you stop down but I actually find a very pleasing quality when shooting between about 200-300mm and nearly wide open or even wide open. No, it's not razor sharp but it resolves very nicely and I've been impressed with some of the images. It's a lens I used to own and found that as I started working at a faster pace, it wasn't keeping up with me, but I'm very lucky to work with an assistant that has a nice selection of consumer lenses and from time to time I like to shoot with them just for the fun of it.

Camera & Lens:
Nikon D700 & [1] Nikon 35mm f/2, [2 &3] Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR

Settings:
[1] ISO 200, f/8, 1/160s
[2] ISO 200, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/50s
[3] ISO 200, 240mm, f/5.6, 1/80s

Lighting:
All images shot with one light.
53" Octa w/inner and outer diffusion [positioned to camera right]

[1] Edgy Lifestyle
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[2] Beauty
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[3] Fashion
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Rick M

Senior Member
Very nice shots Robert! Do you use the mirror up or quiet mode? Some say at slower shutter speeds (as you shot 2 and 3) it effects sharpness. I have not seen any difference.
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
Rick M said:
Very nice shots Robert! Do you use the mirror up or quiet mode? Some say at slower shutter speeds (as you shot 2 and 3) it effects sharpness. I have not seen any difference.
Click to expand...


Thanks, Rick.

Nope. Never use mirror up.
Keep in mind that 99% of my work is shot with strobes so the camera's shutter speed is only being used to record another stop or so of ambient light and the flash duration of the strobes becomes the effective shutter speed for the shot, which I believe is somewhere around 1/2000s.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
Robert Mitchell said:
Thanks, Rick.

Nope. Never use mirror up.
Keep in mind that 99% of my work is shot with strobes so the camera's shutter speed is only being used to record another stop or so of ambient light and the flash duration of the strobes becomes the effective shutter speed for the shot, which I believe is somewhere around 1/2000s.
Click to expand...

I understand the burst of the strobe is far faster than the shutter speed, but the shutter is still open for 1/50th in #2 correct?
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
Yes, it's open for 1/50s but as long as your subject isn't moving, it's a non-issue. I've opened up to 1/25s and as long as my technique is good or I'm on a tripod, it's not a problem at all. This is only true when the flash is the dominant light source.

For location work with strobes, the shutter speed is one of the best methods for controlling the amount of ambient light in the shot.
 
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Sambr

Senior Member
Very cool Robert :) and great captures! Say do you need an assistant, you might need help with all these great looking women :) :)
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
In most cases, there are a few extra people on set and there's almost always another woman. In the studio, when I work on nudes or boudoir, there's always another woman in the room.
 
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