55mm Portraits – Model Test Shoot In Studio with Kayla Marie in Dallas

If you’re interested in 55mm portraits then make sure to check out this shoot with Dallas model Kayla Marie.

Kayla is one of those models that I could not wait to work with. I’m so glad she reached out over social media so we could collaborate.

Shoot Style and Concept

This shoot was going to be a swimsuit shoot, but she reached out to make this more of a glamour style. I normally don’t do too much lingerie shoots, so we kept this classy and mature in nature.

I put together a mood board and got it over to Kayla. She put some items together and sent me some picks of her ideas.

This is a critical part of making a shoot go as smoothly as possible. I knew the styles and clothes she had in mind and I could plan ahead for the final looks in studio.

The Painted Lens Photography Studio

I booked the Painted lens photography studio in Dallas for this particular shoot. It was really hot outside and the middle of summer, so I knew I didn’t want to do anything outdoors.

The looks also were more glamour in nature so I wanted to do this with as much natural light indoors as possible. This studio was perfect for this style and concept.

Equipment For this Portrait Shoot

My main portrait shoot camera is the Sony a7iii mirrorless camera. I have other models of Sony cameras, but I lean into this one as my work horse.

Sony a7iii Mirrorless Camera Details

I paired the camera with my favorite lens the Sony 55mm f1.8 Zeiss. The lens is tac sharp and very easy to carry around in your bag.

It’s light weight and fast at focusing so I had no trouble getting some amazing shots of Kayla.

Sony 55mm f1.8 Zeiss Lens Details

If you’re interested in learning more about my favorite lenses, make sure to read more below.

• • Learn Photography
  • Lenses

Favorite Portrait Lenses: Sony 55mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.4 Lens

• ByJason The Creative
• July 23, 2020

55mm Portraits – Model Kayla Marie

This is a small set of the final images we took that day for this model test shoot. I loved the lifestyle aspect of this shoot and she loved the natural light form the studio.

55mm Portraits – Image review

The shots in this session came out tac sharp and the colors were great. The Sony 55mm always performs at a higher level than most of my other lenses for portraits.

The one draw back is the chromatic aberrations when shooting towards the light. In high contrast areas, this leaves small outlines in green or purple on your images.

This can easily be removed in post production, but just be aware of it moving into the shoot.

Learning from this portrait shoot

Overall, I loved shooting this session and the final images we produced. Looking back, I wish I had Kayla bring more color options for the shoot.

I really liked the red lace body suit and wish we could have shot with other styles like this.

The lighting was amazing in studio but it did get harsh in a few areas.

I moved Kayla away from the large windows but these were too dark in the end so they didn’t make the cut.

This could have been solved if I would have brought my reflector with me to the shoot. 5-in-1 reflectors are a great tool to have on hand for bounding light when you need to bring out the details in the shadows. It’s inexpensive and worth every penny.

If you’re also interested in some uncommon photographer gear, then check out this list of must haves. 

Conclusion

Getting to shoot with the 55mm lens for portrait shoots I know I’m going to get some sharp and colorful shots. I know Kayla loved the photos and I can’t wait to do another shoot with her in the near future.

Gear Mentioned in This Article

Sony 55mm f1.8 Zeiss Lens Details

Sony a7iii Mirrorless Camera Details