Meet Erica – another model we photographed during the Golden Hour Outdoor Photo Workshop!

When I first saw Erica, I wasn’t sure if she did modeling for a living or not. She was tall, lean, and beautiful. If I met her under different circumstances, I would probably believe she was a professional model. I was also quite surprised when I got to know her age. I can never guess how old people are, so maybe it wasn’t a surprise. As always, my thought on her age was wrong.

Maybe she was a bit nervous. She often had a serious face but then laughed carelessly.

The workshop definitely gave me opportunities to work with two completely different (wonderful!) ladies with such amazing personalities.

When you study photography, you hear that a 85mm lens is the best for doing portraits. I always remember that, but couldn’t see myself using 85mm or even longer lenses a couple of years ago. I was always in love with a wide angle lens. It’s a big shock to me as well, but I love using long lenses nowadays. The bokeh and cleanness of images can’t beat anything. With a blurry background, your subject stands out. By the way, I found it interesting that bokeh comes from Japanese language :)

I still use several lenses to have a variety of shots when I do portraits, but I decided to use only long lenses at the workshop.  Unless you are photographing kids, I think that wide angle lenses kind of intimidate your subject – literally you sometime get SO close to them that they feel you are photographing their nostril! I want to assure everyone that I’m not doing it though. When my camera is right up their faces, I’m shooting with wild angles which lets me photograph you and your surrounding.

Photographing subjects from a far distance also gives them some space. They can move around freely. I am not in their way nor being a distraction so that they feel they can show their personality.

There’s no right or wrong answer for your choice of lenses. It’s totally up to what you want to photograph and showcase the best of your subjects.

I’d like to point out one particular photo in this post. The second to last photo of Erica, there’s this gorgeous shadow on her face. I don’t know if everyone agrees with me, but I love the image. The shadow almost seems like a cool makeup effect.

It was definitely a fun day of shooting! Sincere thanks to both of our models, Cindy and Erica!

Location: HACC, Harrisburg PA.