The need for speed.....!

by Vicky Matthers

Matt and I were really lucky to be able to work together last month (it doesn't happen very often) on a shoot for Mercedes in Weybridge, Surrey.

We were commissioned to photograph one of their drivers, Elliott Cole, at the race track at Mercedes Benz World. What an amazing place, full of memorabilia, the coffee wasn't bad either!

We were lucky with the weather, it was the only decent day in May, really atmospheric clouds which made for some dramatic skies behind the subject. Elliott took us for a spin round the track, luckily that was at the end of the shoot as I have to be honest I did feel rather sick after!

The great thing about working with someone else is that you can use each other as portable lighting stands!  In this case it was Matt who was holding the beauty dish directed at the subject camera left and a light in the background to give more detail to the car, as you can see from my free hand diagram....I know, I can't draw...!!!

Prime lenses

by Vicky Matthers

I am a fairly recent convert to prime lenses mainly due to the fact that I couldn't afford them but also due to the fact that I thought that all I needed in my bag was my 16-35mm f2.8 and my 70-200mm f2.8!  I have spent quite a few years as a press and editorial photographer rushing from one job to the next and those two lenses were my stallwarts.

A while ago I decided that I needed an alternative lens (basically something not quite as heavy as the 70-200mm!).  I was doing a few more environmental portraits and wanted something that would give me a bit of variety.  Thanks to my friends at the Flash Centre in Leeds I decided to go for the very affordable 50mm f1.4 it didn't break the bank and I certainly haven't been disappointed!

Finally my eyes have been opened to the advantages of shooting wide open, the very shallow depth of field and the fall off that I get in my pictures means that an ordinary looking building or area can become extraordinary.  It certainly makes the subject stand out of the picture and is a real help when shooting, as we do at Icon, in really low light situations:

It may not surprise you to learn that I have since sold my 70-200mm, I was finding it too heavy and when you are shooting at speeds of less than 60/second it becomes critical to keep the camera and lens stable!  I still have in my bag my 16-35mm as it is a superb lens and one that I couldn't be without, I have just added a few extras:

50mm f1.4
85mm f1.8
135mm f2.0

I think my favourite has to be the 85mm f1.8 and is my most used lens, the one that I put on the camera first and is probably on the camera at the end of the shoot.  I already have my eye on the Canon 35mm f2 or the 28mm f1.8....what do you think?