Neil November 7th, 2007

Neil’s portrait below win’s second place in the Sigma “Summer Dreams” photo contest.

This image was shot with one of my favorite lenses the Sigma 24 1.8EX

Let me try to put this in non-photographic terms……switching brainwaves and vocabulary….

The visual quality of this lens, where it is most commonly mounted on my Canon 1Ds MarkII camera is one of allowing me to see more of an area I am pointing it, which in photography terms is ‘wide angle’. It allows me to see to the right and left about %50 more on each side than our eyes generally allow us to focus on. There are several other features of this lens that give it a unique visual fingerprint, and I employ in my compositions and captures. It really is one of my favorite lenses, as seen in the recent shoot in NYC, where the first 6 shots are all using this lens.

Here I was able to capture the whole scene from a very close viewpoint, that is the advantage of a wide angle lens. I can use the extra space to convey the sense of place and the activity that is occuring in that place - here you see the bridesmaid exiting the Glen Iris Inn for the ceremony with a unique aerial perspective I achieved by holding the camera above my head to include the lamp and unique stained glass. A shot that didn’t include those environmental traits tells less story of what is going on and is thereby less successful or creative IMHO.

The second great trait of this lens is the size of the opening that lets light in. It’s very large!! 1.8 is the number (the smaller the number the bigger it is). The large aperture has two unique visual effects - shown above the texture of the bride’s veil is accentuated while the texture of her skin is not. Described in photographic parlance we say ’small depth of field’ meaning it’s not sharp very far. But with the accuracy of today’s cameras, I have the upper hand in controlling where that sharpness is applied. When it is applied cleverly (like in this picture) you begin to notice only what I intend for you to notice - the light as it passes through the bride’s veil!

In the colloquial language of photographers, we say this lens is “fast” which means essentially that the lens allows a lot of light in. A fast lens allows me to capture the action without blur, but from a psychological perspective it allows two advantages:

1. A fast lens allows me to capture the action without the visual intrusion of a flash and so psychologically distract my subjects. If my prersonal presence were to flash a bright light at a girl while she were dressing, or perfuming with her friends - she would feel self-conscious, so I try not to, and get more genuine photos for it.
2. A fast lens allows me to portray the lighting in the most natural way.

So I hope you see in this photo how I was able to use only the existing light of the reception to capture the real glow and feel of the end of the evening’s celebration. If any of my clients care to read about any more of my thoughts on photography and art, you can see them posted at www.MakeLightReal.com - where I share what I am learning and thinking about photographically.