Got a cool camera? Remember to have fun...

An 85mm lens on an APS-C camera can seem a little long until you head outside the studio and move back from your subject. Then, at least for me, the perspective starts to look really, really good. My friend, Noellia, dropped by on Friday afternoon and it was the perfect opportunity to shoot more images with the Samsung Galaxy NX camera I've been testing. Fortunately the product manager sent along a selection of lenses I really like. Most manufacturers who send cameras out for review or test send along a standard kit lens. I get it. That's the way the vast majority of people will actually buy the camera. But if they sent along lenses that photographers really shoot with they'd get more interesting sample images.

In this instance my intention wasn't to shoot "sample" images but to shoot stuff that Noellia wanted for  her website and her acting portfolio. She started her acting career here in Austin at Zach Scott Theatre and then headed off to NYC. She's done work for Disney and she just finished up a four month run of the Broadway production of The Buddy Holly Story. She wanted some different images and since we were both in town she came on by.

Every photographer should have a group of friends who are actors, performers, models and natural beauties. It's mutually beneficial: You get someone fun and interesting to photograph and they get material to help them diversify their careers. My intention is to use some of the studio photographs Noellia and I did this week to illustrate an article I'm writing for Photo.net. Fortuitous.

For these two images we shot in the open shade of my back porch. I shot them both with the Galaxy NX camera and I used the 85mm 1.4 Samsung NX lens. I'm quite happy with the imaging power of the combination.

I processed the images in Aperture because I like the one click skin color correction.

Open shade is almost always your friend....