The Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 is a kit lens I will be using for portrait photography on the Sony A7iii. I like to utilities lenses with wide apertures for my portrait photography. I love isolating my subjects and making the background melt away. My two favourite portrait lenses include the Sony GM 35mm f1.4 and the Sony GM 85mm f1.4. Shooting at wide apertures of f1.4 with lenses like these helps create soft, dreamy looking photos with lots of bokeh.

You always hear the common phrase that "gear doesn't matter". Gear does help in some aspects, it can help you capture a shot easier and more efficiently. Having a better camera body can help you shoot faster, give you more dynamic range and better low light capabilities among other features. Having a higher end lens can render sharper results when shooting wide open and can help with better autofocus performance and AF accuracy.

In saying that, I do agree that you don't NEED an expensive lens or camera to take good photos. While "better" cameras can make your job easier, there are still a number of other factors that make a good image that doesn't rely on gear. This is why I decided to use a kit lens for portrait photography in this behind the scenes video.

Since the Sony FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 doesn't have a wide aperture, I can't rely on bokeh or depth of field to help make my subject stand out. I utilised different textures in our location, colours, as well as composition tips to do this instead. Lighting plays a huge part in portrait photography as well. With a smaller aperture, I used a combination of back light and direct light to capture a variety of portraits.

Watch my behind the scenes video below to see my camera settings and how I shot these images. You can also hear my thoughts of what it was like using a kit lens for the first time in 10 years! The last kit lens I used was with my first DSLR camera, the Pentax K100D. I also share tips on how to take better photos if you are using a kit lens for your work as well.

A big thank you to our amazing team, I’ve credited them below + their Instagram handles are in the video. These photos are edited with my new Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack which includes 4 brand new presets which I’ve been obsessed with lately! Only the first image (above) - the closeup with the water behind Karina was edited with Aspen. I wanted a lighter and more airy look to that photo.

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model Karina

makeup Lidija

video Dan

All photos edited with my NEW Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack!