After the Tamron 45mm f / 1.8 had recently proven itself very well on the Christmas market, I really also wanted to use it for theme shooting. The idea had haunted me for some time. The theme was "Little Red Riding Hood" and a matching outfit was found quickly after a short search found. The most important component was of course the red cape, combined with a white dress and a basket with bread, wine and apples.
It was more difficult to find suitable weather: The shooting should take place in the snow, so that the red cape really comes into its own in front of the white snow landscape. Unfortunately, as is known, winter was long in coming this year. In mid-January, the time finally arrived: snow!
The cape and the basket were packed quickly and off to the woods. I had of course forgotten a specially bought petrol storm lantern, which additionally should set an atmospheric light accent. No matter! With any even well-planned shooting, much turns out differently than you think. Flexibility is required here, which in particular also applies to the weather. We had longed for the snow, but it then it would not stop snowing in phases, which presented a real challenge.
The Tamron 45mm f1.8 could stand the test very well, as it is praised as weather-resistant and has also kept this promise in a thick flurry of snow.
The focal length of 45 mm at full frame also proved to be very flexible. Both full-length portraits with a surrounding winter landscape as well as the classic torso portrait could be realised easily. The large maximum aperture of f/1.8 still provides a pleasant background blur and thus a beautiful exposure of the motif, even with a slightly larger distance to the motif.
A real feature of the objective is also the very short focusing distance, with which real detailed shots, for which I normally used my well-loved 90mm macro objective, also succeed very well. Interesting details can e.g. be part of the outfit or the environment, in our case, the lace of the white dress or the contents of the basket.
Such detailed shots are already very beautiful on their own, but also ensure in the later compilation of the images that everything appears “rounded” and tells a little story. Therefore, you should not forget the details under any circumstances in the heat of shooting! Small breaks can often be used effectively for this, for example while the model checks her make-up or hair.
All in all, the Tamron 45mm f/1.8 has mastered the challenges of a portrait shooting in the snow with excellence and has proved to be very flexible thanks to the great combination of a large maximum aperture, a short focusing distance limit and optical image stabiliser despite a fixed focal length.
All in all, the Tamron 45mm f/1.8 has mastered the challenges of a portrait shooting in the snow with excellence and has proved to be very flexible thanks to the great combination of a large maximum aperture, a short focusing distance limit and optical image stabiliser despite a fixed focal length.
In her blog called "Nicest Things", Vera Wohlleben, who lives in Heidelberg, does not just blog about tasty recipes and attractive decor for your own home. She also regularly offers a glimpse behind the scenes and explains in detail how she creates her stunning photos. Suggested reading: http://www.nicestthings.com/2014/03/blogging-tips-and-tricks-behind-scenes.html
