The last blog entry I wrote was about gear – you can find it here. It was a dilemma and a tough one. New camera, new technology – we’ve had to consider the workflow, the price, the need vs. want, the advantages vs. disadvantages, etc etc. After nearly a month of putting Nikon Z 6 through our typical work day/weekend, it passed the tests and we decided to keep it. It also meant that the current purchase is counteracted by the liquidating of other equipment. Like many photographers, I look at gear as what it represented during its use, for example: the Nikon D90 was the camera we purchased when opened the studio in 2010. It was the primary camera for the next year and a half capturing every possible wedding, and portrait session. It was only after we purchased Nikon D300s, that did D90 got a little break and breathing room. Nikon Df, in my opinion, was the best photography camera ever came out. The looks, the feels, the image quality… it wasn’t a camera I would take to photograph a sporting event though, but it was my first choice for any event or portrait assignment. It would be the vacation camera and it was also a gift from Angela at our wedding anniversary. It was sad to let go of these camera bodies because of the fond memories they served. I’ve also had to let go of Nikkor 105mm 2.8 Macro lens, a small light lens that doubled as a portrait lens, I sold 28mm f/2.8, 28-105 3.5-4.5 lens. The last one 28-105 had particular memories as it was the lens that captured my portraits at my wedding by my mentor – I purchased it after he passed away. Every piece of gear that I’ve ever owned had/has some sort of sentimental value and letting go of is a tough decision, a business decision.
However, at the end of the day, the gear is only as good as the person using it, paired with preparation and post-production, we were able to deliver our product fast and efficiently.
Bella, she was 4 years old, came to us with mommy and grandparents. At first, she was a bit shy but loosened up very fast. Bella was phenomenal, followed the prompts, did everything her mom and we planned to do. Together we were able to produce a pleasant gallery of images. A big part of the success from this session was the camera. Yes, I could have done the same with the older camera but little quirks, made it that much simpler.
The first image is of Bella looking at the side. It could have been captured with any camera brand, any lens. Frankly, I love the 2/3 lighting pattern on her and love her childish look, if nothing at all and only this shot, I would have been very happy. But its Bella, and she delivered MORE 🙂 
Mommy bought her this gorgeous gorgeous dress. Having a background in wedding photography, seeing certain scenes, props, clothes, and creative juices start flowing allows us to create multiple results from similar setups. This dress was perfect for our Winter Wonderland Setup. It is one of the toughest setups not by difficulty but rather by complexity and time. Here, we Bella, looking at the camera, slightly facing away from the light. In the perfect world, I would have had her turn her face a bit more to the light, to capture the classical 2/3 view of the face. But where we lacked in perfect pose, we gained in perfect expression. Kids typically cannot fake emotions. Their expressions are genuine and to me, are more valuable, than perfect photography technique.
As mentioned earlier, Bella is 4 years old. Although she was phenomenal through the shoot, she is still a little kid who gets easily tired and modeling for photography session is a tiring activity. One of the advantages of mirrorless technology is the power of LCD/eVF (electronic viewfinder) – what you see in one, you see in the other. Thus having the light set and knowing my exposure won’t change, all I had to do was flip the lcd down and raise the camera. We ended up with this shot. It was quick and painless
Next shot, was among the favorites from the session. The light was place Camera Left, camera right is the wall. For those who know me, I’m not a small guy so getting into an area of 2-3 feet width isn’t easy. However, I flipped the screen, extended my hands, held the camera vertically and was able, in seconds, to capture the next shot.
My Nikon D750, has lcd screen that can flip, ALL of my digital cameras have a Live View option that allows me to view LCD screen and perform photography (and videography) operations; however, autofocus speed with dSLR live view is slower then a 100-year-old turtle. Maybe not at that slow, but slow enough to rarely be used. A mirrorless camera doesn’t have that issue. Barabim, baraboom – D O N E. What really impressed me using Nikon Z 6, was the ability for to switch my perspective without really moving a lot. On a different session, I’ll demonstrate the power of tilting screen and explain ease of capturing during the session.
Mirrorless cameras aren’t replacements for dSLRs, at least not yet in my opinion. However, in my studio, with work that we do, Nikon Z6 is an asset to my sessions, making sessions go smoother and easier shooting.
All of the images were downsized for web purposes. This whole session was captured with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 with FTZ adapter.  If you are interested in learning more about child photography services provided by Picture Perfect NY, contact us today for more information!
