We love taking portraits and are always looking for ways to refine our photography skills. This involves going out there for some personal creative time with our models and finding ways to take the best images. Posing our subjects and knowing their best angles is an important part of photo taking. Having a beautiful model in front of our lenses does not mean that we’re guaranteed a great picture. We still have the job of directing them to do what is needed for the look that we’re trying to achieve. This helps tremendously when it comes to directing our clients, who aren’t models, on their photoshoots.
Fine Art Photography
Fine art photography in Melbourne is something which we’re always aiming to produce consistently. Creating mood-filled images which evoke emotion is what excites us. Needless to say, when we discovered the Petzval Art Series lenses, we were super excited. These lenses were just what we needed to make our images that much more special. They’re not for everyone. Some photographers really dislike them. Sharpness is not a selling point for these lenses. They produce dreamy photos with amazing background radial blur.
Petzval lenses – Lomography
Our first purchase was the Petzval 85mm 2.2 lens. It’s a portrait lens, much cheaper than our 85mm 1.2 lens but it produces some special shots. For this shoot, I styled my model up in a gorgeous white (bridal-like) dress. We headed off to a spot at Ruffey Lake Park, which is close to where we are located. We’ve shot at this location a couple of times previously, but never in spring before. The place looked magical with all the white spring flowers around. Ideally, we would have liked some blossoms as a backdrop but the rain had ruined them that week. The white flowers (I think they’re from the Snow Drops variety) worked just fine.
Petzval 85mm 2.2 lens – Creative Melbourne Photographer
The Petzval 85mm 2.2 lens gives a much gentler radial blur compared to our new 58mm 1.9 lens. You do need very steady hands to get anything sharp with this lens and the right background is required and foreground is not necessary for the dreamy effect. I’ve used this lens in bright sunshine, in overcast weather and with the sunset behind my model. Bright sunshine is probably my least favourite light situation when it comes to using this lens. This Petzval 85mm produces amazing lens flare at sunset. The background swirl is lovely for an artistic portrait.
This photoshoot with is just divine. It’s a scene which we’d be happy to take a couple for a photoshoot who want something amongst nature. The rock face makes the scene seem like it’s somewhere in the wilderness but it’s actually very close to a densely populated area so it’s going to appeal to those who don’t want to travel far. There are so many other lovely spots surrounding this area if we were wanting a bit of variety.
Hope you enjoy these images as much as we do. Maybe they inspire you to get out there to get creative. Maybe you might want to contact us to discuss your own magical photo session with us.
Model: Emily Mitchell
Dress: Thurley