Jason Lanier Photography

*Sony 100mm STF G Master-

*Sony 70-200 G Master-

I really hope you enjoy the video and this complementary blog post. I invite you guys to subscribe to both my Youtube Channel and my blog and thank you for visiting today.

Adios!

Jason

17 Comments

Budget Batis- is the new Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens as good as the Zeiss Batis for half the price?

February 23, 2017

Recently I had the opportunity to get the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens on loan from Sony to be able to take out and test in the field. When my followers found out I had the lens one of the first things they asked me to do was to compare the new lens against the sought after Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8. Below is a video of the shoot took place doing this very comparison:

The Zeiss Batis was the first Auto Focus 85mm lens available to Sony Mirrorless users and I fell in love with the lens about two years ago. I must have done at least 20-30 videos on Youtube using this lens that I just loved.

Then Sony released the 85mm G Master f/1.4 lens and that thing is a BEAST. It is definitely a pro level top of the line lens and while the Batis is amazing, it can't keep up with the G Master. BUT, the G Master also comes at a premium price and due to that many Sony users still consider going for the Zeiss Batis because it's about $600 less than the G Master.

Then earlier this month Sony announced their own FE (Full Frame E Mount) 85mm f/1.8 lens. What made this a game changer for many is the fact that it's $600 less than the Zeiss Batis and over a $1000 less than the G Master. Hence, that's why I received so many requests to compare it to the Zeiss Batis. Because if it's even CLOSE to the Zeiss Batis it's definitely a lot more affordable.

So we went out to Salvation Mountain in the California desert and I did a straight apples to apples comparison between the two lenses. Both lenses were shot on a tripod using the Sony A7Rii with the exact same settings and lighting. All images were developed using Lightroom only using the exact same settings via Batch Processing. So the results are identical.

As you'll see in the video and or the images you are viewing below, I was pretty stunned on just how the shots look identical. If I didn't know any better I would swear they are the same lenses in different shells lol. Take a look below for yourself:

Set 1- Sony FE lens- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 100

Set 1- Zeiss Batis- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 100

Set 2- Sony FE- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 100

Set 2- Zeiss Batis- 85mm, f/1.87, 1/2500 sec, ISO 100

Set 3- Sony FE- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/2000 sec, ISO 100

Set 3- Zeiss Batis- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/2000 sec, ISO 100

Set 4- Sony FE- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 100

Set 4- Zeiss Batis- 85mm, f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 100

**Links to Gear:

*Sony FE 85mm f/1.8-

*Zeiss Batis 85mm-

*Lastolite 6x6 Diffuser-

Thanks for coming by and checking out this post. Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel and also this blog for future posts!!

Thanks,

Jason

17 Comments

Snow Queen- studio shoot using the Broncolor MobiLED, Rotolight Neo and the Westcott Eyelighter

January 13, 2017

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Home Studio of Swng Productions in Austin, Texas while I was in town for the Imaging USA conference for PPA being held in San Antonio just an hour south of Austin.

The shoot wasn't planned at all. The awesome guys over at Swng Productions follow me online and invited me to the studio to shoot. As such we quickly put together a shoot calling upon models that we could find in about 3 hours notice.

We found the lovely Ashlyn Simon to be my model. When she arrived I did what I normally do with my models and had her show me the wardrobe options she had available to her. She showed me a fur coat that she had with her and we decided to shoot with it and a pair of shiny pants.

I started posing her and once I told her to put her arms up above her head I saw what I wanted to create....a Snow Queen shoot. When she raised her arms above her head it gave her the appearance of wearing a headdress that was really neat.

So we set up the two Broncolor MobiLED lights with the Rotolight Neo and Westcott Eyelighter to create some truly unique images. Since it was a studio shoot I knew I'd have to add some Photoshop magic to it to create my overall look. Normally I'm an outdoor shooter and love using the location as my backdrop, but having the studio meant I had to create it in post.

Below are the shots taken during the shoot. I also included samples of the same shot:

*Straight out of the camera

*Developed in Lightroom

*Edited in Photoshop

*Enhanced and Finished in Photoshop

Below are the other shots taken during the shoot edited and finished in Photoshop:

**Links to Gear:

*Broncolor Strip Box-

*Rotolight Neo-

*Westcott Eyelighter-

Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel and this blog!!

Thanks,

Jason

2 Comments

Groom Getting Ready and Groom Portraits at a REAL Indian Wedding Workshop

January 2, 2017

Many times so much emphasis at a wedding is placed upon the Bride. While the Bride is certainly an extremely important person, we of course can't forget the groom right? This shoot comes from my REAL Indian Wedding Workshop in Cherryhill, New Jersey with Akshar and Arti Patel. In case you haven't seen Part 1 which includes my images taken of the bride Arti, you can find a link to them by clicking below:

http://www.jasonlanier.com/blog/real-indian-wedding-workshop-bride-getting-ready-at-the-crowne-plaza-cherry-hill-new-jersey

We went into the Groom's room and took the following shots that are included in the video as shown above. It's important to capture the groom in a dignified and flattering manner which you can do by blending a style of photojournalism with light yet deliberate posing methods. In other words, direct the shoot but don't overly pose the shoot. Below are images taken of the Getting Ready portion:

After the getting ready portion we prepared for the First Look. While waiting for the bride to arrive for the shoot I took a few minutes and did some groom portraits with Akshar as well. All of these images were taken with lighting from the Rotolight Neo. Below are the portraits of the groom taken at the ceremony site:

**Links to Gear:

Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel and my blog to get updated whenever we release new content!

Thanks,

Jason

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7 Comments

Real Indian Wedding Workshop- Bride Getting Ready at the Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill, New Jersey

December 31, 2016

For those that don't know, I've been doing REAL wedding workshops for years as a means to help photographers out there gain experience at great venues with wonderful clients. In July of 2016 I had the opportunity to do a real indian wedding and hold a workshop at the wedding.

Why would clients agree to let me hold a workshop (where I bring photographers to shoot the wedding)? The way the real wedding workshops work is that I give a discount to a wedding client in exchange for them allowing me to bring photographers along to shoot the wedding.

The photographers are allowed to use the images for their portfolio which is a huge boon for them to be able to bolster their portfolio at a great wedding that most of them would otherwise not be in a position to shoot.

The photographers have to obey rules set forth that makes sure the wedding goes off without a hitch including the way they act, the clothes they wear, even going as far as where they can stand during the wedding. So far it's been a win-win as both the wedding clients and workshop attendees have benefited from the experience.

So I had a beautiful wedding couple to shoot, Akshar and Arti. We first went to the bride's room where we did a shoot of Arti in her beautiful gown. She is just one of the most stunning bride's I've ever been able to shoot. The shots below were taken with the Sony A7Rii using the 16-35, 85mm G Master and the 35mm Sony Zeiss lens using the Rotolight Neo.

**Links to Gear:

*Sony 16-35mm Zeiss lens-

*Sony 85mm G Master-

*Sony Zeiss 35mm-

*Rotolight Neo-

Thanks and don't forget to subscribe to my blog!!

Jason

7 Comments

Wedding Bridals in Balboa Park

December 15, 2016

So in my career I've shot 250+ weddings all over the world. In recent years my wedding workload has diminished quite a bit due to picking up commercial work along with my teaching and speaking schedule. But when I got the opportunity to do a commercial shoot with Mia Bella Couture shooting wedding gowns, it took me right back to my roots as a wedding photographer.

We went down to Balboa Park in San Diego which is an absolutely beautiful location. Using a reflector and the Flashpoint Xplor 600 I started shooting with my Sony A7Rii and the Canon 200mm f/2.8.

My mail goal with this shoot was to create a very light, bright, romantic type of a shoot. The model was Daryl Rene and she did a truly fantastic job in helping me create these shots. The mood of the shoot was created by the combination of using the off camera flash with a beauty dish on it (the Westcott Rapid Box XL) and the reflector on the other side. It should be noted that this shoot took place at around 1pm on a day where the lighting was very harsh, so controlling the light by overpowering the sun was crucial.

Below are some of the shots created by using this lighting set up under a row or lattice work and columns in Balboa Park;

We then tried something new and I fired the Flashpoint through the Scrim Jim just to see what effect it would give. The thought was in essence to create a giant outdoor softbox. I thought the shots came out pretty cool and created some very soft light. You can see these shots below:

It was a really great shoot and I hope you take a moment to watch the video as well so you can see how these were created. A big thanks to Mia Bella Couture for hiring me to do the commercial shoot. If you'd like to get in contact with us for wedding or commercial photography please contact me at jason@jlpros.com.

**Links to Gear:

*Canon 200mm f/2.8 lens-

*Westcott Scrim Jim-

*Flashpoint Xplor 600-

Thanks!

Jason

Using Manual Focus for Fast Action Shots to get Amazing Results using the Sony A7Rii and Canon 200mm f/1.8

December 7, 2016

San Francisco- so my team and I drove up from So Cal up to the Bay area to do some shooting. We found ourselves at the ruins of the Sutro Baths where the waves crash into the rocks and ruins with some pretty dramatic results.

I had my Sony A7Rii and Canon 200mm f/1.8 lens with me and wanted to see just what we could capture with our model Kyli and the waves coming in. While I'm used to great auto focus from this combo of camera and lens, I'm also aware of the fact that shooting a solitary object like a model can be difficult to get consistent sharp focus on when things like waves and mist fly in front of her as it did in the shooting scenario we did here.

So using Focus Peaking (which I love by the way), I focused in on the model to get tack sharp focus. Since my camera and lens were on a tripod, and the model was in a set position, I was able to set the focus and make sure it was on her so no matter what flew in front of her, the focus wouldn't change.

Well the waves didn't disappoint. They rolled on in crashing on the rocks beneath her giving off some amazing spray as well as background. One particular set was so strong the splash of the wave completely filled the frame behind the model giving it a truly beautiful effect.

So if this kind of work is of interest to you, you might just want to try this technique so you can create some really cool shots of your own. I hope it helps! Below are the pics from the shoot. I truly hope it helps. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking below!

Thanks,

Jason

Shots taken at 1/6400 sec, f/1.8, ISO 50 at 200mm

5 Comments

What Pro Photographers Images Look Like Raw, Unedited or with Lightroom Edits Only

December 3, 2016

So I get asked a lot about my images and work. People wanna know how much of it is editing vs. what I capture in camera. While I'm not opposed to photographers editing their images, I do take great pride in what I'm able to capture and create in camera vs. relying on post processing wizardry. There's something so old school about creating it in camera. I personally feel it's more gratifying and is also a greater challenge.

Maybe I get this attitude due to the fact that my roots are based in being a landscape photographer. That's why I've always incorporated so much of nature into my work. So from time to time I'll create posts and videos where I not only show my finished work, but also my completely unedited raw and straight out of the camera work as well. Now for those wondering I won't be posting my raw files onto these posts. Why? Because I don't want other people taking my work and editing it for their use or pleasure.

Sometimes folks post raw shots for others to see. But those are for the viewer to get a look at how a lens or camera performs for example. Or the shot is posted so people can download it and try a certain photoshop technique. This isn't that kind of a post. This post is about showing how much I capture in camera vs. what I create afterwards and I hope it helps to shed some light on what I do.

To start off I pretty much use Lightroom for ALL of my work. This is largely in part to time. I'm not opposed to Photoshop in any way and kudos to those who choose to use it for their work. But with a full time photography company and full time Youtube Channel, I just need the streamlined workflow of Lightroom to get my work done quickly. The only times I would use Photoshop would perhaps be for images being submitted to a competition etc. The work you see on Youtube and on my website is all Lightroom only.

So I did this shoot with a beautiful model named Jazmen Parker in Oceanside, California. I used the Sony A7Rii with the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. I used the Flashpoint Xplor600 in High Speed Sync for off camera flash.

To be able to illustrate how my shots look in Raw I did screen captures of select images from the shoot while open in Lightroom. These shots are seen in the gallery below:

I then exported these same shots as shown in the screen captures as completely unedited (SOOC) jpegs. This gallery is below:

And here are my shots that were edited using Lightroom only

I truly hope this post helps to shed a little light on what images look like out of the camera for a professional photographer. Links to gear are included below:

**Links to Gear:

*Rokinon 14mm f/2.8-

*Flashpoint Xplor 600-

Jason

5 Comments

Commercial Photography Photo Shoot and Workshop for Mia Bella Couture by Jason Lanier

November 29, 2016

Recently I had the opportunity to do a commercial photo shoot for a beautiful gown company called Mia Bella Couture. When they first contacted me to do the shoot they knew that I sometimes allowed some of my followers to attend my shoots as part of a workshop and asked if I'd be interested in doing so with them. I thought it would work out well so we booked the shoot.

When we got to the shoot down in San Diego it was truly awesome. This is a shoot that you truly have to watch the video to see how we handled it. We started off the day at 11am and my clients wanted to shoot in a specific location that was beautiful, but given the time of the day it was not ideal for lighting. So we had to bring out a ton of diffusers and reflectors to make the lighting work.

This shoot was done using the Flasphpoint Xplor600 with a bunch of different gear that is showcased in the video. This is just Part 1 of the shoot as we crammed so much into one day that I needed to break up the videos to show it all.

A big thank you to the beautiful models Lauren Lebouef and Tiffany Brock as well as Daryl Rene for the amazing work with Hair and Make Up.

I hope you all enjoy the video and I can't wait to share the other parts of the shoot with you as well. Beautiful gowns, gorgeous models, and my team all came together to make it a tremendous shoot.

**Links to Gear:

*Canon 200mm f/2.8-

*Flashpoint Xplor600-

*Westcott 8x8 Scrim Jim-

Below are some images from the shoot taken with my Sony A7Rii and the Canon 200mm f/2.8 lens using the Metabones Mark 4 Adapter. Stay tuned for Part 2!!!

Metabones Mark 4 Adapter- Canon EF or EF-S glass to Sony E Mount Cameras

November 25, 2016

So as many of you know I REALLY love shooting with Sony because it gives me the opportunity to shoot with so many options that I never had before when shooting Nikon. I can shoot all my awesome Sony glass (and it's good stuff) as well as a bunch of everything else.

But when it comes to autofocus performance nothing compares to how Canon glass shoots on a Sony camera using the Metabones Mark 4 Adapter. Now back when I first started shooting Sony 2.5 years ago I said I wouldn't shoot a trash truck with the Metabones adapter that existed back then. The adapter back then (believe it was the Mark 3) simply sucked. It wasn't practical for any real world shooting application.

Metabones then released the Mark 4 adapter and WOW! It made a world of difference. One thing I really love about the adapter is that it has a USB port on the side which enables firmware updates to occur. Since I've owned the adapter (nearly a year now) I have applied the firmware updates to the adapter and they truly do make a difference in improving performance of the adapter with the camera. Updates have lead to enhanced auto focus performance as well as added features.

**Links to Gear:

*Canon 85mm f/1.2-

Now in regards to the performance of the Metabones Adapter keep a few VERY IMPORTANT things in mind. I really don't care what anyone else out there says. I shoot so much with the Metabones and the Canon glass I honestly feel very comfortable making these statements and stand by them.

Videography- DO NOT try and use the Metabones Mark 4 with Canon lenses and expect anything to work. It stinks in video mode. It tries to autofocus but it's miserable. Now most videographers prefer manually focusing anyways. But for those hoping to use Canon lenses on a Sony mirrorless body to record video in autofocus...it's a no go. If you want to roll video on a Sony mirrorless body, you need a native Sony FE or E mount lens.
Compatible bodies- you'll read out there that you can use all the Sony bodies with autofocus and the Metabones adapter. While that's true, it's also misleading. Why? Well because it really only works at an acceptable level with the Sony A7Rii, A6500, and the A6300. Everything else will try your patience. If you have all the time in the world to mess around with it then have fun. For me, I actually want to use something I can use at a professional level shoot and for me that strictly happens with the three bodies mentioned. Bodies that don't work well with the Metabones adapter include: A7R, A7S, A7Sii, A7ii, A6000. This will disappoint some people but I don't people out there buying this adapter thinking it works with these bodies when it doesn't.
Rounding f stops- on some very wide aperture lenses like my 85mm f/1.2 Canon L lens, the aperture doesn't read at f/1.2. According to the Metabones website this is due to a rounding error and it doesn't impact performance. From what I've been able to tell it doesn't impact performance at all but on my 85mm f/1.2 lens it will only read at f/1.3. It will not go down to f/1.2.

Below are images taken during the video where I reviewed the adapter. We have many more videos, pictures and reviews coming where I will show all the different lenses I use with this adapter. It's a game changer for me and I wholeheartedly recommend the Metabones Mark 4 Adapter as long as it's just for stills work with the camera bodies I mentioned (A7Rii, A6500, and A6300).

I hope it helps!!

Thanks,

Jason

6 Comments

The Holy Grail of Lenses- my first shoot ever with the Canon 200mm f/1.8 lens and the Sony A7Rii

November 17, 2016

WOW! I've heard about this lens. But as a longtime Nikon shooter that transitioned over to Sony two years ago, shooting Canon glass was just well...blasphemy.

But when Sony came out with the A7Rii, that changed everything (which will be covered in a separate blog post). That opened the door to shooting Canon lenses with near native autofocus capability on my Sony cameras!

So recently I had the opportunity to acquire this lens and when I did, I jumped on it. I chose the 200mm f/1.8 version over the 200mm f/2 version simply because the f/1.8 is a little wider and faster. Why didn't I choose the lens stabilized versions of the lens with the f/2 versions? Well, since 5 axis image stabilization is built into my camera, I simply didn't need it on the lens.

So I got my crew and a model together and went to Venice Beach to test this lens for the first time, and boy it didn't disappoint. While the lens is used, it performed like a champ! The autofocus was fast and it was unbelievably sharp. Anyone who knows me knows that I love shooting wide open and I did this entire shoot at f/1.8. All shots were edited using Lightroom only. Below is a video of the shoot and some images as well. I absolutely love this lens and can't wait to knock out some more shoots with it. I hope you enjoy it!

I adapted the Canon lens to the Sony A7Rii using the Metabones Mark 4 Adapter. It's simply the best adapter I've found for Canon lenses on Sony bodies.

**Links to Gear:

*Lastolite Large Rapid Kit-

*Flashpoint Xplor 600-