35mm Portraits: Natural Light Studio Shoot with Andrea

35mm portraits Sony a7riii natural light studio andrea

For this portrait shoot, I used only natural light and captured some beautiful 35mm portraits. Now I didn’t shoot film, but I did shoot with the Sony a7riii paired with the Sony 35mm f1.8 prime lens.

This combination allowed me to get some great close up shots in the studio with Andrea, but also allowed me to get more of the environment around her. Let’s deep dive more into the shoot.

35mm portraits sony a7riii pink calvins with ripped jeans
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only

Model Introduction

I had the chance to work with Andrea one other time previous to this shoot. The first was in downtown McKinney for an OCF portrait shoot. If you’re interested in seeing that shoot, make sure to check out the link below.

I put together a model call for this shoot and Andrea reached out over social media to let me know she was interested. I sent her the mood boards and we got everything scheduled for the session.

The concept was an indoor swimsuit and Calvins shoot. More of a lifestyle vibe since the hot Texas weather was making it hard to shoot outside.

Painted Lens Studio

I booked the Painted Lens Photography studio in Dallas for this session. It is perfect for natural light shoots with a lifestyle flare to the design. The studio features multiple small sets for getting exactly what I wanted.

Painted-Lens-studio

The west wall featured large windows that spanned nearly the entire space. This made for great soft lighting for the shoot. No reflectors or other lighting tools were used. I normally do carry a photography reflector with me, but I didn’t use it for this shoot.

Photography Equipment

As I said, I used my Sony 35mm F1.8 lens paired with my Sony a7riii mirrorless camera. This is one of two cameras I normally have with me for a majority of my portrait shoots.

Sony 35mm f1.8 Lens

Sony a7riii Mirrorless Camera

My main camera is the Sony a7iii and I had it paired with my Sony 55mm f1.8 Zeiss lens, but I didn’t end up shooting any portraits with that combination.

As with all my shoots, I also had my bluetooth speaker for music and photography reflector just in case. This pretty much made up all the equipment I had for the shoot. I relied on pretty much nothing but natural light and the great setting of the studio for the rest. Let’s check out below the final shots.

35mm portraits sony a7riii looking down on model pose pink calvins
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 160 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii stretch pose with pink calvins on bed
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii ripped jeans on chair in pink calvins
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 160 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii pink calvins two piece with jeans on bed
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii pink calvins sitting on chair
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 160 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii pink bikini sexy on chair
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 250 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii pink bikini on bed pose
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 250 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii model posing on wall
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/320 | ISO 250 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii model chair pose
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/200 | ISO 250 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii looking out window with calvins pink underwear
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii black one piece swimsuit
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/200 | ISO 400 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii fashion pose on wall
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/320 | ISO 250 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii close up portrait calvins
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 160 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii calvins underwear on bed with pants jeans
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/250 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii blue swimsuit andrea
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/200 | ISO 200 | Natural Light Only
35mm portraits sony a7riii black LOVE swimsuit lifestyle studio shot
Shot with Sony a7riii | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE Lens | 1/200 | ISO 400 | Natural Light Only

35mm Lens for Portraits

When using a 35mm lens for portraits you need to keep in mind a few tips. Do not stand too close to your subject and keep them away from the edge of the frame. The wide angle features of a 35mm will distort your subject when you are not at a proper length away. The outside from will also distort or stretch the subject and make them look disproportionate.

The Pros of Using a 35mm Lens for Portraits

  • Can be small and light weight depending on lens brand
  • Sharp and fast focusing since it is a prime lens
  • Capture the environment around the subject with limited space

The Cons of Using a 35mm Lens for Portraits

  • Distortion of subject if you get too close
  • Stretching when the subject is too close to the edge of the composition

What did I learn from this shoot

Using a 35mm for portraits is a personal choice and not many photographers us this focal length for portraits. My favorite portrait lenses are the Sony 55mm and the Sony 85mm GM lens. You can learn more about these lenses below.

I kept the model moving around the studio since I knew I was only using a single focal length. When using a prime lens you need to do alot more moving around to get some variety in your shots.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed shooting with a 35mm lens for this portrait shoot. I didn’t need much space and Andrea made it very easy to get some amazing shots in the studio.

Gear Mentioned In This Article

Sony 35mm f1.8 Lens

Sony 55mm f1.8 Zeiss Lens

Sony a7riii Mirrorless Camera

Sony a7iii Mirrorless Camera

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