Portraits with a 50mm 1.8 lens

I borrowed a Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens from my son Will a couple weeks ago to try as a portrait lens on my Nikon D300 camera body.  I’d seen some impressive portraits using a lens similar to this and I wanted a chance to see for myself.  I found some willing subjects at the Lake Waramaug Country Club and set up a background and some lights on the club house porch.  Then came the happy surprise.  The lights I had brought along were totally pointless because the natural light on that porch was terrific.  Here’s just one example.

The Hopkins Inn

The Hopkins Inn

I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve photographed at The Hopkins Inn in New Preston Connecticut but this last one gave me an unexpected gift.  I was photographing the bide and groom with their families by a field over looking the lake and I noticed a couple sitting in their camp chairs not too far form where we were shooting.  The idea of photographing the bride and groom in those chairs came to me immediately and I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind.  I approached the couple in the chairs, who as it turned out they were celebrating their 29 wedding anniversary, and they were more than happy to let their chairs be part of our celebration.  We all loved the result.

Photo Session

I had an opportunity to do a shooting session with the painter and illustrator Joel Spector.  He brought two of his sons and about six of their friends over to the studio and we had a blast.  Joel just wanted some reference shots for his paintings so there was absolutely no pressure.  No fashion sketches to match or ad guys to keep happy – it was fun.