I love taking pictures in the Fall*, you just can’t beat the the romanticism, melancholy and beauty of fading autumn leaf. Sort of like the swan song of the current year before it departs. Totally poetic – totally doods!
* Update: Ok, so Jan isn’t technically Fall but in California, we only have 2 seasons: Fall and Summer. Don’t hate.
Purrty Colours
Just don't forget the reflector like I did
Every year I make sure to shoot something Fall-related. This year, I got a chance to test the 50mm f1.2L on the 5Dmk2 and I have to say, I do not like it! 50mm is a just too short for a flattering perspective: 85mm and above is the way to go.
Anyway, with a cloudy sky, a pretty model (and her mom) and maybe a reflector, you can get pretty interesting shots while keeping things simple.
A few Fall shoots throughout the years
(try to reload if this flash thing doesn’t show up)
I take exception to your “50mm is a just too short for a flattering perspective.” You forgot to qualify it with “for a portrait” or some such. There’s a reason 50 mm is the “normal” lens for a 35 mm or “full-frame” DSLR. I agree about headshots, portraits, head-and-shoulders – maybe OK for a full-length, but only maybe.
My biggest problem with normal and wider lenses is seeing what I’m shooting – composing for the whole frame, rather than just getting my main feature nicely arrayed but then lost in the entire field. Any advice, other than switch to an 85 or longer?
Er – by the way – lovely picture.
And “Fall and Summer.” … harumph!
Yes, you are right John, I do need to qualify that 50mm may not be the best choice for “headshots” which is what I do most of the time and as such, I do not have your problem of isolating the subject from the background. I get so close to the subject that anything else that isn’t the subject is relatively inconsequential. That said, I just bought a Leica 25mm (normal on m43) for video and obviously if you’re shooting videos, you can’t be shooting faces all the time so I need to learn to widen my perspective.http://endernygen.com/blog/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form