Sony Artisan Monica Sigmon is a children and family photographer based out of Williamsburg, Virginia. Her high-end, frameworthy portraits demand the best gear, and in the video below she shares the high-megapixel Alpha camera and G Master lenses she always has for a studio portrait session. Make sure you watch until the end, as she also shares some of her pro tips for portrait lighting.
Shop This Kit:
Camera: Alpha 7R V
Lenses: 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II, 85mm f/1.4 G Master
Accessories: VG-C4EM Vertical Grip, NP-FZ100 Batteries
Camera
Alpha 7R V (Buy Now): Why the Alpha 7R V? For me, it’s a no-brainer. It’s the most fun I’ve had shooting in 25 years. I need the resolution. We sell large wall portraits for families and children, so I need to be able to get these large scale. I can also crop in on that final frame. So if I’m shooting at 24mm but I want a tighter crop for the wall, I’m not losing information. I’m not sacrificing quality. And the speed with which this camera moves, and being able to track my subjects, track the children – running around, twirling, whatever I need. It’s all right here and just very, very intuitive. So it's really a joy to shoot.
Photo by Monica Sigmon. Alpha 7R V. 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/80-sec., f/4, ISO 500
Lenses
24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II (Buy Now): Oftentimes photographers are surprised that this is the lens that I choose, but honestly in the studio it has the perfect versatility. So for me, I’m photographing families, children, groups – sometimes they’re little wiggle worms. And so I don’t have a lot of time to change out lenses or change gear. So I like to have the 24-70mm. I also shoot with it on a camera stand because it allows me that opportunity to quickly shoot a full length portrait, and then just quickly zoom in for half length. And then added with the camera stand I can roll in and roll out. So I get the most versatility with this lens and I would say this is what’s on my body probably 95% of my work.
Photo by Monica Sigmon. Alpha 7R V. 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/160-sec., f/8, ISO 160
85mm f/1.4 G Master (Buy Now): The background just falls off, it’s so beautiful. This lens to me, just forces me to think about what’s really important. With the 24-70mm, I can cheat a little bit, right? I can shoot wide, I can crop in later in post. But with the 85mm, it forces me to think in that crop, in that perspective, and to share what the reason is for the portrait that I’m taking. So really thinking about all four corners of the frame, what story is it that I’m trying to tell, and capturing all of that in one shot.
Photo by Monica Sigmon. Alpha 7R V. 85mm f/1.4 G Master.
Accessories
VG-C4EM Vertical Grip (Buy Now) + NP-FZ100 Batteries (Buy Now): The other piece of gear that I never, ever shoot without is this vertical group. And many photographers think, “Well that just adds weight to the back mirrorless camera – what’s the point?” But for me, I just have never been able to shoot with my elbow up in the air like that. So I want to be more stable, I want to have my body braced like this. And having all of the controls that are up here, now available here, let me move so much more quickly. And again, I don’t want to be thinking about my gear when I’m photographing children, especially. It just needs to be intuitive. So by having this grip, two batteries in it, and it just helps me kind of really keep everything under control. So this is something that I recommend to everybody.
Photo by Monica Sigmon. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/160-sec., f/8, ISO 160
See more of Monica Sigmon's work on her Alpha Universe Profile and on Instagram @monicasigmon.
For more portrait photography gear and tips, explore alphauniverse.com.
