50mm vs 85mm for portrait photography

3 Comments

50mm vs 85mm for portrait photography

In today’s photoshoot we are comparing the 50mm vs 85mm for portrait photography. Below are the photos I took on each of the lenses to test out a few factors that are important when photographing portraits such as the compression when it comes to full body, mid body and close up shots, any distortion in extreme closeups, lens flares, CA with backlighting and harsh sunlight.

Lenses

Canon 50mm f1.2

Canon 85mm f1.2 II

Body

Canon 5D mkiv for both lenses

model madeline

makeup lidija j

I have a whole series comparing prime lenses and focal lengths, you can check them all out here:

35mm vs 50mm

50mm vs 85mm

85mm vs 135mm

85mm vs 100mm vs 135mm

24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm on a full frame camera

24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135 on a crop frame camera

Crop frame vs Full frame

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :) And the gear links listed above are affiliate links, so they help me out as a creator and don’t cost you anything extra

Watch the video below to see the behind the scenes from our photoshoot as well as hearing my thoughts on both these lenses! Please subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already, I upload a new video every single Wednesday.

All photos edited with my San Francisco Lightroom Preset!

All photos edited with my San Francisco Lightroom Preset!

 

3 Comments

Zeiss 35mm f1.4 vs Canon 35mm f1.4 II

Comment

Zeiss 35mm f1.4 vs Canon 35mm f1.4 II

During today’s photoshoot I really wanted to compare the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 to the Canon 35mm f1.4 II. I’ve loved using both these lenses for portrait photoshoots in the past, but wanted to do a side by side comparison to see what the similarities and differences are. Watch the video below to hear my thoughts about it all and see lots of photo examples straight out of the camera + camera settings I used. Here are some of my fav photos from the photoshoot, edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset - which in case you didn’t hear is now a pack of 4 presets instead of just a single preset!

gear

Sony A7iii + Zeiss 35mm f1.4

Canon 5D mkiv + Canon 35mm f1.4 II

model @thekarinawhite

makeup @lidija.mua

video @danpodbierezki

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :)

Please subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already! I upload a new video every single Wednesday.

All photos were edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset!

 

Comment

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 + Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 on Canon 7Dmkii

2 Comments

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 + Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 on Canon 7Dmkii

The Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 is a lens my partner Dan uses to film our YouTube videos with on the Sony A7sII and A7sIII. During this photoshoot, I decided to try it out for portrait photography alongside the Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 lens. I love the colour rendition and quality of our raw YouTube video footage, and am excited to see what these lenses look like for photography!

Both the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 and Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 are crop frame lenses. Dan uses them adapted with a Metabones 4 to his Sony cameras. However, I hired the Canon 7D mk2 crop frame camera body to use them for this portrait photoshoot. I find that using native mount lenses helps with autofocus performance and accuracy. For video it's not a problem since Dan manual focuses. But for photography, part of a lens review is seeing how well a lens can autofocus.

Watch the behind the scenes video below to see my camera settings and how we took these images. I also share my review on how these 2 Sigma zoom lenses perform for portrait photography.

Below are my favourite photos I took on this day! I included before and after examples so you can see what the image looks like straight out of the camera. The photos in this blog post are edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack. You can watch the behind the scenes video to see all the SOOC photos.

Please subscribe to my channel, I upload new photography videos every single week!

model @mahaliaceleste

makeup @lidija.mua

All photos edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset!

All photos edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset!

If you enjoyed this blog post, you might want to check out this photoshoot on the one of a kind Sigma 35mm f1.2 on the Sony A7iii! Or if you are after more Canon photoshoots, in this photoshoot I compare crop frame vs full frame with the Canon 7Dmk2 and the Canon 5Dmkiv.

 

2 Comments

Crop Frame vs Full Frame | Canon 7Dmkii vs Canon 5Dmkiv

2 Comments

Crop Frame vs Full Frame | Canon 7Dmkii vs Canon 5Dmkiv

During this portrait photoshoot, we compare crop frame vs full frame to answer some commonly asked questions. Is crop frame enough for portrait photography? If you are thinking of getting a camera, should you settle for crop frame? Or take the plunge and upgrade to full frame? Do you have extra benefits by upgrading to full frame?

2 Comments

Portrait Photography with Animals: Kristina & Ollie

2 Comments

Portrait Photography with Animals: Kristina & Ollie

This was one of the most special portrait photoshoots I’ve ever done with Kristina and baby Ollie the goat. Ollie is absolutely so sweet and loves being around people so even though he was having so much fun running around and jumping on Kristina, we had the best time getting some photos of the two of them together. I started off the shoot on my Canon 50mm f1.2 for some classic looking portraits, then decided to jump on my 35mm f1.4 to have a little bit more reach as Ollie moved around very fast! Watch the behind the scenes of our photoshoot below!

All photos edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset.

All photos edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset.

 

2 Comments

birthday adventures

Comment

birthday adventures

Comment

Sony A7iii + Sony Zeiss 35mm f1.4

Comment

Sony A7iii + Sony Zeiss 35mm f1.4

A natural light portrait photoshoot with the Sony A7III + Zeiss 35mm f1.4. I finally got my hands on my very own 35mm lens for my Sony A7III! I was so excited to be using it for the first time at a portrait photoshoot.

From the moment I bought this lens, I took it out with me every day to shoot and take daily photos. So it was a great experience taking it for an actual portrait photoshoot in this beautiful location. Our shoot with the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 was during golden hour turned to blue hour in a gorgeous, overgrown location.

In this behind the scenes video I share my SOOC Zeiss 35mm f1.4 photos so you can see the quality and sharpness of this lens. We test autofocus performance while capturing movement shots and utilising different lighting situations.

Since this photoshoot, the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 has become my workhorse lens on the Sony A7III. I use it to photograph my client work alongside my Zeiss 50mm f1.4 and Sony GM 85mm 1.4. I also use it heavily for wedding photography, it's my most used lens on a wedding day!

The Sony GM 35mm f1.4 was announced in 2021 and you can watch my real world review video about it here. The Zeiss 35mm f1.4 is a fantastic lens with beautiful image quality, sharpness and autofocus performance. It served me very well for over a year shooting heavily with it. However, Sony have improved many features the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 was missing in the new GM 35mm f1.4.

I decided to pre-order it the minute I finished my review video on the GM 35 - that's how quickly I fell in love with it! You can see an updated what's in my camera bag video here. The Zeiss 35mm f1.4 was my first native Sony lens and coincidentally, the first of my Sony lenses to be replaced.

model Madeline

hair + makeup Lidija

Watch the behind the scenes of our photoshoot below to hear all my thoughts about the Zeiss 35! And please subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already, I upload a new video every single Wednesday.

All photos edited with my new Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack!

All photos edited with my new Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack!

If you enjoyed this set of photos, you might want to check out my natural light portrait photography on the new GM 35mm f1.4!

 

Comment

Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 + Sony A7iii | shipwrecked

Comment

Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 + Sony A7iii | shipwrecked

The Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 is a kit lens I will be using for portrait photography on the Sony A7iii. Since the Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 doesn't have a wide aperture, I can't rely on bokeh or depth of field to help make my subject stand out. I utilised different textures in our location, colours, as well as composition tips to do this instead.

Comment

24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm

12 Comments

24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm

The 24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm are common prime lenses for portrait photographers. During this photoshoot, we are comparing ALL my prime lenses side by side. I am using the Canon 5D mkiv, a full frame camera body for this test. The exact lenses we have include:

Sigma 24mm f1.4

Canon 35mm f1.4 mkII

Canon 50mm f1.2

Canon 85mm f1.2 mkII

Canon 135mm f2

on the Canon 5D mark iv

If you’ve ever felt stuck or unsure on what should be your next prime lens, then this comparison of all my prime lenses is just for you! I will be taking photos with each lens: 24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm in a few different scenarios.

The first comparison will be with the model and I standing in one spot. You will be able to see the difference each focal length makes when it comes to background compression, bokeh, distortion and how it changes the look of someone's face and body.

During the next comparisons, I will be moving around to frame each focal length to look as similar as possible. First we will shoot a landscape, mid length portrait with each lens. Finally, we have a closeup headshot focal length comparison. Here, the difference in background compression is extremely noticeable. Not only that, but it's interesting to see how each focal length changes the shape of someone's face!

Focal length choice with prime lenses can either be a stylistic or technical choice. An 85mm is classified as the perfect portrait lens, as it's flattering for closeup portraits and has great background to foreground separation. I personally like to use a more “unconventional” lens for my portraits - a 35mm. I love the distortion it creates and how you can see more of the location that we’re shooting in. In this case, using a 35mm for portrait photography is a stylistic choice.

If you were to choose a prime lens for a technical reason there are 2 (among many other) simple reasons you could choose one lens over the other. I used to work as a retoucher and photographer at a headshot studio. I learnt from the photographer who owns the studio that people have different face shapes and features - well, duh! But depending on their features, can be a reason to choose a particular focal length.

For example, if someone has a wider face, I would opt for taking portraits on a wider angle prime lens like a 50mm. I personally have a wider face and always find I prefer portraits of myself taken on a 35mm or 50mm rather than an 85mm. If someone has a smaller face with features closer together, I would choose to use a telephoto prime such as the 85 or 135. Having a longer lens compresses the photo and flattens out a face more in a photo.

Another easy reason to choose a focal length is your location. If you have an amazing location you want to incorporate into your photo, then a wide lens like the 35mm could be a good choice. If you are in a busy location, then a lens with more compression such as the 135mm could come in more handy. A telephoto lens will throw the background out of focus and help your subject stand out in your portrait.

Watch the video below to hear my thoughts on each of these focal lengths! I share each of the comparisons side by side throughout the video to help you decide which prime lens is right for you.

I also have a more detailed series of photos + videos where I compare only 2 focal lengths together so you can see even more examples with different portrait and location combinations. You can see those all here:

35mm vs 50mm

50mm vs 85mm

85mm vs 135mm

85mm vs 100mm vs 135mm

24mm vs 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm vs 135mm on a crop frame camera

Crop frame vs Full frame

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel, I upload a new video every week.

All photos are edited with my Aspen Lightroom Preset!

To make it easier to compare what each focal length looks like, please select which 2 lenses you want to compare below.

Photographer + model standing in one spot:

Full body with photographer moving around to fill the frame:

Mid length portrait with photographer moving around to fill the frame:

Close up portrait with photographer moving around to fill the frame:

Let me know what you think of the lenses in the comments of the video, would love to know which ones you guys prefer, what you like to use the most, etc!

All photos edited with my Aspen Lightroom Preset to give the photos a natural look so they are easier to compare when they are all colour graded the same.

if you enjoyed this video, I have also compared all my prime lenses on a crop frame camera!

 

12 Comments

Creative Couples Photography Ideas: Tamar & Matt | Edinburgh, Scotland

Comment

Creative Couples Photography Ideas: Tamar & Matt | Edinburgh, Scotland

While visiting Edinburgh, Scotland I had the chance to meet up and photograph photographer-videographer couple Tamar & Matt (please check out their Instagrams that I linked, they are absolutely amazing at what they do!)! We wandered around the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and I was obsessed with all the beautiful backdrops we had to work with such as the greenhouse and the field of Daffodils which is almost impossible to come across in Australia.

We also filmed our portrait session, so if you want to watch the behind the scenes of our afternoon, it’s down below! I’ve also included some before and after images so you can see what my shots look like straight out of the camera and also edited! I edited all of these with my New York Lightroom Preset as I wanted a warm, vintage look to the photos.

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel below, I upload new videos every single Wednesday!

All photos edited with my New York Lightroom Preset

 

Comment

thailand instagram diary

2 Comments

thailand instagram diary

2 Comments

Travel Photography Ideas: Phi Phi + Phuket | Thailand

Comment

Travel Photography Ideas: Phi Phi + Phuket | Thailand

After visiting Krabi, Dan and I split off from our group of friends and decided to stay a couple of nights on Phi Phi rather than just making a day trip like they had already done. We took the ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi and when we arrived to the island, we were able to walk to our accommodation - I didn’t realise how tiny this island really was! Our time on Phi Phi was exactly what I needed to clear my mind and feel refreshed. We spent our days swimming in the ocean, we hired a kayak one day and made our way to Monkey Beach to snorkel which was really fun and went on little walks to explore the island.

On Phi Phi was the ONE time I took out my Canon 35mm f1.4 with me to take a few portraits at the beach right in front of our hotel - which are the photos in the maxi dress just down below. The rest of the trip and time I only took photos with the Sony 28mm f2.

After Phi Phi, we took the ferry to Phuket where we reunited with our friends. Phuket is such a busy city and not really what I personally prefer when travelling - I would much rather be on a quieter and calmed island such as Phi Phi or Krabi. Regardless, we spent a couple of days at the beach soaking in the sun (with lots of sunscreen!) and swimming in the almost wave-less ocean. Unfortunately on our second day in Phuket I came down with food poisoning so the rest of my time in Thailand is a bit of a blur and a bore trying to get some rest to feel better. I’m not sure what I got sick from, but at one point or another everyone from our group of 7 fell sick to something expect for 2 people - Dan and Anetta (lucky them!).

Phuket was too busy and loud for Dan and I’s taste, so we decided to move hotels further up north to a quieter part of the Phuket area called Bangtao. I was too sick to even move, so Dan was very sweet and packed up my suitcases (which everything was strewn around our hotel room lol) and with shaky legs, we got into a cab and spent the last few days hanging out at a beautiful beach where we took some of my favourite portraits of the trip with the sunset.

You can watch the video of my time in Thailand below which includes behind the scenes of how I took some of the photos in this blog post. And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you haven’t already! I upload new photography related videos every single Wednesday.

All photos edited with my Aspen Lightroom Preset + Florence Lightroom Preset!

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :)

All photos edited with my Aspen Lightroom Preset + Florence Lightroom Preset!

 

Comment

Thailand Travel Photography, Krabi

Comment

Thailand Travel Photography, Krabi

From Chiang Mai, we took a flight to Bangkok and then a flight down to Krabi. Dan and I have been working extremely hard this first half of the year, we had a lot of weddings to capture, lots of YouTube videos to make and just lots of editing, meetings, working in general which has been pretty stressful! So I was really excited to finally make it down to the beach where we could split our time between exploring and relaxing, soaking up the bright sun by the clear water.

We spent our first afternoon lazing around on Ao Nang with our group, we had some Changs in the ocean and watched the sun set over the water. It was a very calm afternoon and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. The next day, we took a long-tail boat to some beaches, the first stop was Railay where the cliffs and rocks hanging over the water were absolutely beautiful! Luckily we had a big group of 7, so we were able to take the long-tails whenever we wanted instead of having to wait for other people to have a big enough group for the locals to want to take us to another location. I only took a handful of photos this day as I was swimming and didn’t want to get my Sony A7III too wet or sandy by taking it out of my bag every few minutes!

The next day, we booked a private long-tail boat to take us to Hong Island where we visited the pristine lagoon and went snorkelling on Hong Bay, it was amazing! When we first arrived to the island it was absolutely packed - there wasn’t a spare spot to swim or lay on the beach. But as the day went on, everyone started leaving on the ferries and we were left with the whole beach practically to ourselves! Luckily we had a private driver for the day so we were able to leave whenever we wanted. He took us to one last beach before heading back to Krabi which again was an unbelievable deserted island at this time in the afternoon with palm trees intertwined in the landscape of cliffs over the clear ocean.

You can watch the video of my time in Thailand below which includes behind the scenes of how I took some of the photos in this blog post. And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you haven’t already! I upload new photography related videos every single Wednesday.

All photos edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset + Florence Lightroom Preset!

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :)

All photos edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset + Florence Lightroom Preset!

 

Comment

scotland instagram diary

Comment

scotland instagram diary

Follow me on my instagram accounts:

main account  @julia trotti

personal account  @juls.trotti

 Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel as I upload a new photography video every week!

Comment

Travel Photography Ideas in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Comment

Travel Photography Ideas in Chiang Mai, Thailand

After spending 2 days in Bangkok, the next stop of our Thailand trip is Chiang Mai. I think Chiang Mai was one of my favourite parts of this whole trip, its a quiet city nestled within the mountains and forests, so there is lots of green around. There are also so many different places to visit and things to do!

We found a driver who took around to all the sights throughout the 2 days we were in this city. Everything is about a 1 - 2 hour drive from the city centre of Chiang Mai, so we tried to squeeze in seeing as much as we possibly could! We went to the top of Doi Suthep Temple and visited some temples and viewpoints along the way up the mountain, explored the local markets, visited and ethical elephant sanctuary (where you don’t ride the elephants, only feed them and walk WITH them), explored the sticky waterfalls and climbed many steps to get to Muang On Cave. I can’t forget I also practically ate my weight in Papaya and Longang - the fruit is absolutely delicious and so cheap too!

You can watch the video of my time in Thailand below which includes behind the scenes of how I took some of the photos in this blog post. And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you haven’t already! I upload new photography related videos every single Wednesday.

All photos are edited with:

Disposable Film Lightroom Preset (to accentuate those beautiful greens!)
Aspen Lightroom Preset! (for a more natural, clean edit)
Florence Lightroom Preset (for those few street photos!)

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :)

All photos are edited with:

Disposable Film Lightroom Preset (to accentuate those beautiful greens!)
Aspen Lightroom Preset! (for a more natural, clean edit)
Florence Lightroom Preset (for those few street photos!)

 

Comment

Sony A7iii Travel Photography in Bangkok, Thailand

2 Comments

Sony A7iii Travel Photography in Bangkok, Thailand

I am currently in Gdansk, Poland and in true fashion - catching up on my blog posts from our trip to Thailand this February! There will be 4 total blog posts from our time in Thailand, starting with our first stop of the trip, Bangkok. Dan and I flew in at 4 in the morning, got to our hotel and crashed. The next day our friends from Poland arrived, we met up with them and started our exploring - there were 7 of us travelling together. 

I took a break from my camera on the first day we were there, I had just come from photographing 4 weddings the weekends before the trip so I wanted to have a day off from taking photos. Since Thailand was a holiday, the only camera I brought with me was the Sony A7III - as it’s great for vlogging/filming and taking photos as well. The Sony 28mm f2 lens (all the photos in this blog post are taken with that lens) and the Canon 35mm f1.4 + metabones adaptor which to be completely honest only came out of my bag ONCE in the 3 weeks we were in Thailand. 

Bangkok is absolutely wild, there is so much going on absolutely ALL the time. Even though I normally stray towards nature and greenery when I travel as it makes me feel more comfortable, it was a great city to experience. Watch my video below from our time in Thailand and please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you haven’t already! I upload new photography related videos every single Wednesday.

All photos edited with my Amalfi Lightroom Preset and Aspen Lightroom Preset!

This blog was put together with Narrative. I love using Narrative as part of my photoshoot culling process to see which images from a shoot I should edit and I also use it to easily & quickly be able to put together these blog posts with different layouts of images side by side. I’m really excited to say I’ve teamed up with Narrative and have a 15% discount code for you guys using the code julia15 or just clicking this link! You can download a free trial to test it out for 7 days too :)

All photos edited with my Amalfi Lightroom Preset and Aspen Lightroom Preset!

 

2 Comments

Natural Posing Portrait Photography | Ever After

Comment

Natural Posing Portrait Photography | Ever After

Comment

Creative Bali Travel Photography Ideas

1 Comment

Creative Bali Travel Photography Ideas

1 Comment

Natural Light Beach Portrait Photography | Abi

1 Comment

Natural Light Beach Portrait Photography | Abi

1 Comment