Lovely Lady

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of working with a lovely lady, to expand both our portfolios and take advantage of spring in the Capitol.  We went down to the National Mall early to take advantage of the early morning light and avoid the crowds coming to see the cherry blossoms.  I used the garden behind the castle as the main location for the shoot, mostly because it was quiet and has several nice locations.  We also walked near the tidal basin and found a nice location just outside of the main area to take advantage of the cherry blossoms.  Thankfully that area was not crowded and we left the National Mall just as many of tourists were arriving. 

For the shoot I used my 18-200mm lens. I realize this is not a standard portrait lens but it allows me the most flexibility when shooting outdoor in a public place. It allows me to capture a variety of shots quickly without changing lens.  Though I think I would like to try to do an outdoor shoot just using a prime lens to challenge myself and creativity.  I had the camera set for at a 100 ISO and an f/9 aperture which is the sweet spot on my lens.  I varied the shutter speed based on the available light.  I then post processed the images through LightRoom.  You can see a few of my favorite shots below and additional ones here.