Organize Your Workflow: Artistic Creativity, Technical Tasks, & Automated Processes

The biggest thing you can do to vastly improve your photo editing in virtually every way is, first and foremost, to organize it. Ask yourself: which parts of your workflow do you want to have the most control over, and spend the most time doing? Oppositely, which parts of your workflow would you prefer to automate and/or not have to worry about at all? Answer these questions for yourself, and you may just unlock a whole new level of creativity in your photo editing!

Artistic Creativity

Above all else, you’re an artist. This means that you should never let the editing process be a drain on your creativity, but also, you have to beware the potential pitfalls of getting too technical. Or, unfortunately, even things like presets and LUTs can result in a creative slump. In other words, don’t just use a “cookie cutter” approach to your editing. Routinely remind yourself to think outside the box, try something new, and stay inspired!

Technical Tasks

Compared to the creative side of things, technical tasks are the things you DON’T want to spend time on, period. In fact, if possible, almost all technical tasks should be automated. If you want all of your images to have a particular sharpening or noise reduction setting, that’s a great example of something you should never have to worry about. Save these settings as a preset, or even make it your raw default! Even if you still want to go through the edits and make subtle adjustments, having a starting point is always better than doing things from scratch every single time.

Automated Processes

Lastly, one of the greatest ways to speed up any photo editing workflow is to have as many automated processes as possible. We could spend days giving tips and advice, but here are just a few suggestions, in rapid-fire:

• Import and export your photos in batches. Also, make sure that you have something else to do while the process is running. Most photo editing applications, including ZPS X, allow you to do almost anything else while a folder of new or edited photos is being imported or exported.
• If your computer gets “bogged down” when exporting hundreds or thousands of high-megapixel images all at once, then just take that opportunity to get up from your computer and go for a walk!
• Use a cloud-based storage system to ensure that you can seamlessly transition from editing photos on a desktop or laptop computer, and posting low-res versions of those edited images to social media from any of your mobile devices.
• For high-resolution photo sharing directly with clients or other viewers, one of the ultimate solutions is to seamlessly integrate your editing workflow and an online gallery for full-resolution images. This is one reason why we’ve recommended ZPS X in the past–the Zonerama online gallery feature is fantastic, and an excellent solution for automating the final step in your photography workflow.

What Is a LUT? | LUTs Versus Presets

  You have probably heard about LUTs before, especially if you do both photo and video editing. A LUT is a “LookUp Table”, which was basically a fancy videography word for what most photographers have known as Presets. (That’s an oversimplification, but we’ll explain further!) Basically, a preset is a group of saved settings that affect your editing adjustment sliders. You can create presets for not just basic adjustments to exposure, contrast, saturation, and white balance, but also for advanced things like highlights & shadows, tone curves, Hue/Color, sharpening, or vignetting. As you can see below, hitting the “Highlight Details” preset in ZPS X gives a certain look, which you can dial up and down from 0% to 100%. Notice how the sliders move along with the presets “Intensity” slider…

On the other hand, a LUT is a very specific type of preset; and technically we shouldn’t even call them presets because of how separate they are. LUTs only affect the color and tone of an image, in a relatively subtle way. Also, (and this is important to note!) a LUT works independently of your editing sliders! In other words, if you apply a preset that adjusts your RGB curves, you’ll see the points of the curve change. If you apply a LUT, however, you won’t see any of your adjustments changing, because the LUT operates “under the hood”.

In Zoner Photo Studio X, LUTs are now accessible toward the top of the Editing panel, as part of the “Color Style” panel. You have a main Color / Black and White option, a drop-down menu for selecting your 3D LUT, and then an Intensity slider to increase or decrease the effect of the LUT you select. The LUTs included with Zoner Photo Studio X are quite diverse and powerful. Plus, you can easily import additional LUTs that you might have downloaded, to emulate almost any look!

Why You Should Use LUTs in Photo Editing

The question is, if a LUT is so similar to a preset, why should you bother using them? LUTs require special tools to create, while presets are easy to save/create, and are built into most photo editing programs. Answering that question is very simple: LUTs are useful because they don’t change or undo any of your existing edits; they are an additional “layer” so to speak. This means that, unlike a preset, a LUT can have a nearly identical effect on every image you apply it to, whether that image was captured in soft light, harsh light, or even an HDR type scenario. How can this be a benefit to you? One example is this: You can edit a portrait session or other job however you normally would, as the default, “color-corrected” look. Then, on top of that, you can apply a LUT to further enhance the image by adding a subtle, stylized look to the colors and tones. This effect will appear universal across all your different images. (Doing the same thing with a preset is usually impossible, or extremely difficult at best!)

Alternatively, you can use LUTs in basically the opposite way: Set one as your default, so that all your images start off representing your preferred style without even applying any edits. Then, (as you can see above) apply a preset that suits your image’s actual subject/scene. This method is particularly useful if you have a consistent style that you want to always see your images with.(We are getting ahead of ourselves, but you can also consider adjusting your raw defaults for this same reason!)

How To Add A LUT in Zoner Photo Studio X

  In Zoner Photo Studio X, creating a new LUT is a very easy process. In the “Color Style” panel of the “Develop” tab, look for the little plus sign next to the 3D LUT drop-down box. This will allow you to locate a LUT file that you have downloaded, and import it to join the seven built-in LUTs. Unfortunately, creating your own LUTs isn’t easy to do. However, thankfully, various LUTs are very common and easy to find online, including ones that emulate the trademark cinematic color schemes of different popular films!

How To Customize Raw Defaults in Zoner Photo Studio X

Opposite from what a LUT does, sometimes what you want is for all of your images to start off with the same set of adjustments already applied. But, at the same time, (unlike a LUT) …you want the option to go back and re-adjust one or two of those settings such as Contrast or Saturation. Maybe you like the way your images look without any editing at all, but you’d prefer just a faint additional “pop”, or a subtle tweak to the dynamic range. In this case, simply create a new raw default! Starting with a completely unedited image, make the minimal changes that you’d like to see appear as the defaults whenever you import new images. Then, save the new raw default.

Of course, if you ever decide that these new defaults aren’t right, you can always revert to the original, “actual” raw default again, or just save a slightly different new default. (Note the grayed-out “Reset Default Adjustments” option below the highlighted option, above.) One of the best suggestions that we can make when you are changing your raw defaults and when you are saving a preset in general is this: Think of it sort of like you would a LUT! That is, use the editing tools you are less likely to need to adjust later. So that your defaults stay as universal as possible. For example, if you want to slightly increase contrast in your image, try using the curves instead of the contrast slider itself, if you rarely ever use the curves slider. Similarly, if you want to save a new raw default that has slightly increased dynamic range, try using the curves for that instead, so that your basic sliders are still free to adjust highlights and shadows for each image individually.

Conclusion

  All in all, there are many ways to improve your workflow from both a creative and technical perspective. With the right workflow tools, this can be a seamless process from start to finish! Remember to organize your workflow tasks so that you don’t lose sight of those things that give you artistic inspiration in the first place. If you can eliminate anything repetitive or tedious, and give yourself an inspiring starting point each time you fire up your computer to edit photos, then this challenge becomes significantly easier! We have consistently recognized ZPS X to be one of the most complete workflow solutions in this regard, and these newest tools in the fall of 2023 are making things even easier.

For additional tips on getting into real estate photography, here is a step-by-step guide to getting into real estate photography! Also, here is a guide to real estate photography pricing.

1. Don’t Show Up Without The Right Lens For The Job.

One mistake that a real estate photographer can make when shooting their first few jobs is, simply having the wrong lens. For example, if you’re going to be shooting in very tight quarters you’ll probably want a wide-angle zoom lens. Oppositely, if you’re doing a lot of outdoor work, a normal or telephoto lens can be very useful, especially the more space around the property you have, or if there are any beautiful backdrops such as mountains, beaches, etc.

This does NOT mean that you must go buy expensive, exotic lenses right away before you shoot any real estate work. The key is simply to know what you’re getting yourself into with each job. There are plenty of jobs that you can accomplish quite well with just a 24-70mm or 24-105mm lens, if the interiors are spacious and the desired images are simple compositions.

However, if you’re photographing a lot of tight quarters, or small rooms, then having something like a 16-35mm or 14-24mm ultra-wide lens could really save the day. If you don’t have one of these lenses yet, try renting one!

Again, don’t mistake this for needing the most truly exotic, expensive lens. In almost all real estate photos, your goal is to get everything in focus, so you’ll be stopping your lens down in most cases. Even a modest, affordable lens like the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 (for Sony mirrorless) or 17-35mm f/2.8-4 (for DSLRs) can work wonders. Or, if you need to go even wider on a budget, Rokinon’s 14mm f/2.8 lens is extremely affordable, and now offers a distortion correction profile.

(To read more about lens distortion and how to fix it, stay tuned for a future article coming soon!)

The most important thing you can do is, ask your client some questions about the size of the property, the rooms, and ask them what types of photos they’re expecting. This simple, easy communication can go a long way towards helping you deliver above and beyond the clients’ expectations!

If you’re stuck with whatever lens you have on hand, for one job here or there, the good news is that if you have a really good eye for strong compositions, and/or if you can do a quick panoramic stitch, then the client may not know that you didn’t bring the “optimal” lens for a job.

Unfortunately, from here on out, the rest of our tips will definitely be things that a client will notice, so if you weren’t already, it’s time to start taking serious notes!

2. Don’t Promise A Turnaround Time You Can’t Deliver On.

One of the biggest cardinal sins that your clients will definitely notice, is if you simply don’t deliver on time. Never promise that you can have images to them in just a day or two, and then take a week or two instead. You’ll probably never hear from that client again!

In real estate photography, each job’s required turnaround time can vary, but it is not uncommon for the client to expect, indeed require, the images as immediately as possible. If they’re having you photograph a property, they probably want to list it as soon as possible.

Some other types of professional photographers may be shocked by the idea of having to deliver a completed set of images in just 24 hours, or even just a couple of days, but sometimes it’s part of the job! Simply schedule yourself enough time after each job, either the same day or the following morning, to get your images processed.

Thankfully, post-production for real estate doesn’t have to be too complicated. If your images are simple single exposures, basic color correction that is batch applied to every image of a room with similar lighting may be sufficient, with only minor image-to-image tweaks.

If you have any reason to create composite images, oftentimes things like panoramas and HDRs can be done effortlessly within Lightroom, or for greater control with a highly streamlined process, dedicated HDR software such as Photomatix by HDRsoft can seamlessly integrate into your workflow, even for batches of bracketed images.

No matter what you do, the best thing you can do is deliver ahead of schedule. When it comes to making clients remember you as a professional that they’d love to work with again, nothing creates an awesome impression like surprising them by delivering good-looking images early.

3. Don’t Forget To Ask The Client To Prepare The Space For You!

This is a big one, and if you’re a softspoken artist who likes to be self-sufficient and never ask for anything, it can be difficult to break that ice and request that the client prepare the space to be photographed.

The truth is, thankfully, this is a very common practice, so you’re not asking too much if you require, even in your contract, that the property be “ready to photograph” when you arrive. Aside from a few minutes of putting things away if someone is actively living in a property, you should be able to arrive and start shooting as soon as you’ve had a walk-through and set up your gear.

Standing around waiting for someone to clean up a messy room, let alone having to do it yourself, is simply NOT in your job description. Or, if you want to offer such a service, you’d better charge extra for it!)

4. Be Careful Offering Deceptive Retouching or Photoshop.

This depends on where you’re doing business, of course, but in some areas/states, there are laws against real estate property being significantly misrepresented in photos.

It may be the real estate agent or company that gets in trouble, but you could still find yourself dragged into a huge time-wasting fiasco as the photographer. Also, if that client is in deep trouble, you could lose business.

How you respond to such requests is totally up to you as a professional, but, first and foremost you should educate yourself about the laws of your area. And, although it might be none of your business, if you sense that a client is simply not scrupulous, you might want to broach the subject with them.

5. Don’t Over-Process Your Images.

Even if your Photoshop retouching work is minimal, another cardinal sin of real estate photography is processing your images so over-the-top that the tones and colors themselves are not just unnatural, but unattractive.

Remember, photography is art, but it is also used as an accurate representation of reality. And any time you are picturing something that is for sale, whether a property or any other object, realistic representation should be balanced with “artistic liberty” a little bit differently than other forms of artistic photography.

Simply put, your goal is to render tones and colors relatively naturally. Leaning in the direction of “bright” and “warm” instead of dark, shadowy, and “cold” can help to make a room look more attractive, of course. Just try to keep your overall color-correction realistic and natural-looking.

If you do need to capture a bracketed sequence of a scene, be careful to not go too over-the-top with wild HDR processing. Lightroom’s built-in HDR merging feature gives the benefit of having a DNG file that you can “play with” without leaving your raw converter, however, for the maximum amount of smooth tonal control possible, we’ll usually use Photomatix with one of our more natural, neutral looking presets that allows us to process a scene brightly, and smooth-toned with just the right amount of contrast and clarity from dark shadows to bright highlights. That’s one of the major drawbacks of most raw conversion software, especially with extremely dynamic scenes: it can be difficult to manage contrast differently between highlights and shadows, whereas Photomatix is specifically designed for complete tonal control throughout the entire range of light.

6. Don’t Forget To Raise Your Prices!

Sure, everybody has to start somewhere. Your first job or two might have to be for a friend, for free, or for someone who just got their realtors’ license yesterday.

But, here’s the thing. Every photographer who enters this debate of, “how much should you charge for your first gig?” …often overlooks the most important step of the process: Getting your first few gigs under your belt is not the issue. However, AFTER you’ve shot your first few gigs, THEN your business pricing strategy becomes extremely important!

Many photographers get stuck in the rut of continuing to work for free, or charging way too little because they’re afraid of parting ways with those first few people who gave them a chance.

The absolute best thing you can do for your aspirations as a real estate photographer is, to charge a fair price as soon as you’re qualified. Yes, you’ll have to tell a few clients that you’re going to be charging more, but if your images are remotely good enough, the serious, respectful clients will see your value.

Then, the minute you have more work than you can handle in a week or a month, you know what that means? It means you have “too many” clients saying “yes” to your existing prices. It sounds like that couldn’t be a bad thing, but it is. Why? Because you could raise your prices a little bit, have a few clients say “no” but still have most of them say yes, and make equal or even more money by doing, well, less work!

Or, of course, if you’re already raising your prices and still having more clients trying to book you than you can handle, it might be time to consider bringing on a teammate who can help you accomplish some of the simpler jobs all by themselves, and help you on some of the bigger ones.

[Related Reading: Real Estate Photography Lighting Guide]

Conclusion

Thanks again to the folks at HDRsoft for sponsoring this content! We’re really enjoying being able to bring you these great, real-world tips and guides on real estate photography. Stay tuned for more coming soon.

Use (and Break) The Rule of Thirds!

The rule of thirds is all about balancing lines, subjects, basically anything! Divide your composition horizontally and vertically into three equal sanctions, creating nine equal-sized boxes. Many cameras now have a grid overlay to make this even easier.

This may have been the very first rule you learned in photography, but it really does work! However, it is also a very general, vague rule, one that is easy to bend or break. In fact, if you “nail it perfectly” with 3-4 strong lines that fall exactly on the rule-of-thirds lines, your landscape composition might actually start to look too forced and uncreative. So, don’t try too hard to follow this rule perfectly, just keep it in mind and remember to vaguely consider the different zones of your image when placing subjects.

Understand the Golden Spiral and Golden Triangle

These are the Golden Spiral, and the Golden Triangle. The Golden Spiral is also known as the Fibonacci Spiral, after the man who invented it. The Golden Spiral looks like a Nautilus shell, and to get the most effective composition you should place the areas of most interest within the smallest area of the spiral. It’s hard to describe, so the best way to understand is to look at it superimposed over an image:

The Golden Triangle is another way of arranging composition to open up the image and draw the eye along diagonal lines. Again, the best way to understand this is to look at an image overlaid with it.

You’ll find that Photoshop and other image editing programs have crop overlays that include the Golden Spiral and the Golden Triangle, as well as others. Use these when cropping an image to give the best composition depending on the overlay you choose. There are other methods of composition that simplify things further, like the Quadrant System, which divides the image into four equal parts.

Look For Leading Lines

Nothing draws a viewer’s attention into a scene like literally having a line to follow through the image. It could be a distant curving river, or an up-close rock formation; either way, if you have something that can lead the viewer’s eye from the bottom edge of the photo (usually) and directly towards a distant subject, then you’ll have a successful landscape image.

Create Balance and Symmetry

There are many other aspects of an image that can add to its impact. Not just leading lines, but also strong textures, prominent shapes, or very vibrant colors. All of these elements can really help your landscape photographs stand out!

However, if your image contains too many of these elements, or if they clash with each other and create imbalance, the viewing experience can start to feel overwhelming. Sometimes, therefore, you might want to just simplify your image! If the colors are clashing or causing imbalance, try converting the image to Black & White. If there is too much of a particular texture in your landscape composition that is distracting a viewer from the main subject, try re-composing the shot to create better balance and/or emphasis. With practice, you’ll instinctively know when to compose your image to emphasize a certain color scheme, texture pattern, or other shapes, lines, or objects.

Add Depth With Dynamic Foregrounds & Backgrounds

Maintain as much of a visible connection as possible from the foreground through the image to the background. Even if there isn’t a strong leading line, it still can be incredibly powerful for a viewer’s eye to actually see how a foreground connects to the rest of the scene. Otherwise, it might just look like two random subjects unnaturally forced together. (This is, of course, yet another great rule to break, once you are aware of how the visual tool works!)

Think Outside The 2:3 Box – Know When To Crop And Stitch

Your viewfinder’s framing isn’t the only way to frame a scene. Sometimes, cropping from the native 2:3 aspect ratio to another common ratio such as 4:5 or 1:1 is a perfect way to remove distractions and/or accentuate a main subject! Other times, cropping (or stitching) to a panorama, such as 16:9, 1:2, or even 1:3, is the best way to view a scene.

Create A Sense Of Scale With An Identifiable Subject

Have you ever looked at a photo that was so full of subjects, shapes, lines, and textures, that your eye didn’t know what to look at? ‘Busy’ photographs tend not to keep the viewer’s attention very long, so including a clear subject in your landscape photo goes a long way towards creating a good image.

Decide what you want the viewer to focus on when you choose a composition. Think about the brightness, size, color, and contrast of that subject, and what you want to be the main attraction. Oppositely, look for any distractions that might draw the viewer’s eye away from the main subject, and try to frame the shot to exclude them! Oftentimes, when you see a perfectly “clean” landscape composition, what you don’t realize is that there is a tree or rock or something else just out of frame.  We dive deeper into this concept in our minimalist landscape photography article.

Stick Around After Sunset (Blue Hour)

One of the most exciting (and challenging) times of day to capture landscape photography is known as “blue hour.” That is, after the fiery colors of sunset have faded, and the stars are just starting to come out.

If you have the patience, and a sturdy tripod that allows you to capture photos at shutter speeds measured in whole seconds or even minutes, you can capture some really unique images.

Get Closer to the Ground

For an interesting perspective, get your camera down closer to the ground. This lets you include more foreground without having to crop out the sky or the background. This works brilliantly if the foreground has texture, like sand, and it also works well for photographing moving water.

Sometimes, you can even blur the background of your scene to increase the emphasis on your close-up, low-down subject, however, you can also try your hand at focus stacking, if you’re up for a real landscape photography challenge!

Explore Without Your Camera

This sounds counterintuitive, but one of the best things you can do to improve your creative eye is, actually, leave your camera behind! Of course, this works best if you can arrive to a location early, and go on a scouting hike/walk well in advance of the best light or photography opportunity.

Just soak in the views. Make a mental note of any strong subjects, other potential elements that you might be able to add to a landscape composition, and take some time to actually ponder how to work everything together.  Hopefully, by the time the light gets really good, you’ll have one or two solid ideas of which photos you want to capture, and you’ll be back with your tripod and camera ready to go!

Check For Celestial Alignments

You may be constrained to a specific date or time if your landscape photography trip is also a family vacation or business trip. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Always check apps like Sun Surveyor, PhotoPills, or The Photographer’s Ephemeris. These apps will tell you exactly where and when the sun and moon will rise and set, and even where the Milky Way will be if you stick around late at night.

You might not get the perfect moonrise at sunset shot, but you never know when you might catch a crescent moon setting just after sunset, or have an opportunity to line up a perfect sunrise with a distant mountain, canyon, or other feature.

Use Reflections

Reflections have always been popular in landscape photography composition, and that’s because they work. Remember that symmetry is pleasing to the human eye? reflections are symmetrical by their very nature. The most common reflections you’ll see are in water, of course, but don’t forget you can use windows or any reflective surface.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these travel and landscape composition tips for photographers. There’s nothing quite like actually connecting with our environment, and no other tool allows you to create dramatic imagery that achieves this goal, like having a strong understanding of composition.

Because of the uniqueness of travel and landscape photography, there are additional considerations we must take into account for successfully navigating locations. Our goal here is to help you know what to look for and how to find and capture it in an impactful way.  For more info, see our video below.

Today, ZPS X has gotten a major update for 2023, and the highlights are just what we like to see from a photo editing software: faster, (GPU acceleration) smoother operation, (including optimization for older computers!) …and many more tools and customizations.

In this article, we are going to give an overview of the improvements offered by this update, and elaborate on why we’re excited to put this update to good use for us! 

1. Graphics Card Utilization

Most computers today have powerful graphics cards, and even if you are not a gamer you can still put them to excellent use! Now, ZPS X makes the most of the power of your graphics card. The speed increase is apparently as much as 2X!

Zoner Photo Studio is not just for photographers; it offers a video “cutting” and editing workflow environment all within the same app!

2. Improved Performance (Even on Low-End or Older Computers)

One of the most common concerns that we hear new, aspiring photographers mention when asking us about buying a new camera is, “will my old computer be able to handle these raw files?” Indeed, software developers can sometimes seem to favor the absolute latest hardware, gobbling up the “resources” such as RAM, graphics, and CPU power.

This is why we’re very excited about this improvement: ZPS X has been optimized so users with older or less powerful machines can still edit their photos as fast as possible. Especially for photographers who aren’t working with extreme megapixel counts, or incredibly large video files, you simply shouldn’t need the absolute latest computer! ZPS X should now run even smoother, while still delivering excellent image quality of course. 

3. 3D LUT (Color Toning)

Just like a “preset” a LUT, or look-up table, helps you manipulate color and tone in your images. LUTs offer increased control for achieving that subtle look of style in your imagery, while also maintaining consistency from image to image.

You can download all types of LUTs online, and ZPS X is able to support the different LUT formats. Furthermore, the intensity or opacity of the LUT can be raised or lowered, too. With so many visual artists today wishing to deliver a cinematic feel with their content, this is a welcome feature.

4. New Navigation Panel And Toolbar

One thing that artists are always highly particular about is their working environment. Early photo editing applications had a “get used to it!” approach to their interface, but that has changed. Indeed, with this new ZPS X update, the main toolbar is completely customizable, so you can rearrange tools in whatever way suits your workflow.

Also, the main navigation panel and toolbar are both available across all the various ZPS X modules, which creates an even more seamless work environment no matter what stage of the process you’re in.

Local Adjustments With Every Tool

Furthermore, you now have access to all of the adjustment tools in the Develop Module when applying local adjustments. This includes brushes, gradients, and radial filters.

Customizable RAW Default Settings

One of the best ways to save time in the raw editing  stage of your workflow is by giving all your photos the perfect starting point. Being able to designate certain raw defaults is a useful feature, especially for things like sharpening and noise reduction, or other technical preferences or subtle effects.

In short, if it’s an adjustment that you make on EVERY image, now you never have to make that adjustment again! Simply change the raw development default to include that edit.

Zoner Photo Studio X | Additional New Features

There are many more new features in this latest ZPS X update, for both photo and video editors. (See above: dual monitor support!) The video editing environment gains speed ramping with keyframes, and a simpler keyframe system overall. 

[Related: Read Our Full Zonerama Photo Studio X review here!]

Photographers gain many subtle but meaningful improvements to various tools, such as linear curve selection and Highlight (Lights) protection for the vignetting tool. Also, the print interface has been improved to keep track of your files in a photo book or print, as they move around on your computer.

All in all, we are excited to get our hands on this latest update for ZPS X! At the relatively low price of $59 per year, it offers not just a substantial savings compared to competitors, it actually offers a significantly greater collection of tools overall!

Before we get into actual photography tips, there’s one thing you must remember because it could actually save your life: Tip number one is going to be, never turn your back on the waves! Whether you’re on a rocky coastline or a sandy beach, there are “rogue waves” that can be significantly larger than the average waves for any given day’s surf.

1.) Never Turn Your Back On The Waves

During your beach landscape photography, always keep an eye on the sea. Look far enough out so that you can notice a larger wave coming, and get away from danger if the wave looks big.

Waves come in sets, too, so don’t be fooled by an apparent lull in wave activity; larger waves could return within seconds or minutes! Unfortunately, rogue waves and riptides are responsible for quite a few deaths every year; visitors to the beach who are unaware of the real dangers. Don’t be a statistic.

Alright, with that potentially life-saving precaution out of the way, let’s talk about photography!

2.) Bring A Tripod

This is an obvious one. Especially if you’re hoping to get perfectly sharp images at sunrise or sunset, you’ll want to have a solid, sturdy tripod.

But, let’s take this advice one step further, and give some truly practical, real-world recommendations: First, if there’s any possibility of your tripod legs getting splashed by saltwater, or sunken into sand, then always extend your lowest tripod legs at least a few inches or even all the way, before you extend your upper (stronger) tripod legs. Why use your potentially weaker, slightly more “wobbly” tripod leg extension first? Because it will protect your leg joints from excessive saltwater or sand ingestion.

Some photographers recommend using old CDs under your tripod feet to help stabilize your tripod on wet sand, and this is worth a shot, however, if you don’t have 3 old CDs lying around that you’re willing to destroy, just be sure to sink your tripod legs into the sand pretty deeply before you start shooting.

On that note, the best tripod for landscape photography on the beach isn’t just a sturdy one, but also, one that you don’t mind getting pretty dirty, and one that you’re comfortable washing off afterward. For regular seascape work, personally, we’d rather have an affordable yet robust tripod such as the Slik 700DX ($99 for the legs) that has a very basic yet durable design which can simply be rinsed off in the shower after every trip to the beach. Or, if you have a “fancy” tripod, just remember to fully disassemble, clean, and reassemble your tripod leg joints every few months, or once a year.

3.) Bring an ND Filter (And Know When To Use It!)

Neutral Density filters are one of the most fun accessories to have whenever you’re photographing moving water. The amount of blur you can create depends on the number of stops that your ND filter darkens the image, and of course the time of day.

If you mostly shoot seascapes at sunset or sunrise, then a 3-6-stop ND filter will be more than enough to give you nice long shutter speeds. However, if you’d like to create ultra-long exposures even in broad daylight, you’ll need a 10-13-stop ND filter.

Sometimes, the “glassy” look can be beautiful, and for that you’ll want to achieve a shutter speed of 15-30 seconds or longer. However, sometimes it’s more interesting to actually see crashing waves’ motion, in which case you might opt for a shutter speed in the range of 1-2 seconds.

[Related Reading: PolarPro Quartzline ND And ND Polarizer Filter Review]

4. ) Bring a Polarizer Filter (And Know When To Use It!)

Like an ND filter, a Circular Polarizer Filter can be an essential creative tool when photographing water of any kind. To see the gorgeous colors and even details underneath the surface can be beautiful!

Then again, don’t make the common mistake of trying to use a polarizer on every single image that includes a reflection on water, either. Sometimes, the look of a reflection can be beautiful, too!

5.) Look For Reflections Everywhere

Even though the ocean isn’t usually perfectly smooth and flat, as you might see on a calm pond or small lake, you can still find many beautiful opportunities for reflections in your seascape photography.

Whether it’s the wet sand itself, or tiny little tide pools, there can be beautiful reflections everywhere. Keep an eye out for any wet or shiny surface! Another great tip is that even if you can’t see much of a reflection from a distance or a higher vantage point, many reflections look their best when you get down low.

6.) Know When (And Where) Sunset/Sunrise Is

These days, you can effortlessly predict exactly where and when the sun or moon will rise and set, either along the coast, or over the water. All you need is an app on your phone! Many apps are free, however, the ones that cost around $10 (Sun Surveyor, for example, is one of our favorites) are well worth the investment if you’re serious about any type of landscape (or nightscape) photography!

7.) Check The Tides & Surf Predictions

Speaking of preparation, checking the tide and the surf is a habit you absolutely must get into, both for safety reasons and for creative opportunities. For one, if there is an extremely high tide, and/or extremely high surf, then you simply must be cautious when going anywhere near the beach. High surf, surprise waves, and riptides can be deadly.  Prioritize your physical safety and the safety of your gear during your beach landscape photography.

Creatively speaking, of course, what is known as a “mega-low” tide will afford many beautiful opportunities, such as exposing beautiful tide pools, or creating beautiful reflections on more sandy beaches.

8.) Keep Your Lens Clean

Here’s a practical tip that even the most experienced beach landscape photographers can neglect sometimes: If you’re working anywhere around splashing water, then you should regularly check your lens’ front element for water drops and/or smudges. You might not notice it on the back of the camera, but when you get home you may kick yourself when you see a big blob or hazy part of your favorite shots!

9.) Bad Weather Can Equal Great Photos!

As long as you’re safety-conscious regarding the surf, tide, and potential rogue waves, being at the beach just after a storm passes through can be a beautiful sight. Not only are the beach landscape photography conditions potentially gorgeous, but you may have the added bonus of the beach being relatively empty of other visitors! These days, an empty beach is a rare sight throughout most of the modern world, but a good bout of bad weather can help.

Just remember, you won’t always succeed. As any experienced landscape photographer will tell you, for every gorgeous photo of a clearing storm and epic light, there are probably 5-10 failed attempts that didn’t result in any photos at all.

10.) Don’t Hurt Marine Life!

Last but certainly not least, please remember to protect and preserve the subjects you’re photographing so that future generations can appreciate them with their own two eyes, and not just through your beach landscape photography.

In fact, on many coastlines of the USA where there are tide pools, photographers are actually not allowed to place tripod legs/feet in tide pools, or on any rocky surface that has living things on it. In a “marine wildlife refuge”, you could actually be given a ticket for doing so.

With this in mind, just be extremely careful where you step while exploring your beach landscape photography, where you place your tripod, and in some cases, consider hand-holding your close-up tidepool images if you can. These days with advanced stabilization systems, you can easily capture images with shutter speeds as slow as 1/2 sec or 1 whole second, hand-held!

More Landscape Photography Tips!

Stay tuned for more landscape photography tips, coming soon! Leave a comment below if you have any tips of your own for beach/seascape photography.

Today, I am reviewing Elia’s latest addition to his Photographing The World series: Japan. As the fifth workshop in the Fstoppers series, Japan follows two beginner and two advanced courses, one of each being entirely dedicated to landscapes or cityscapes. This time, Elia is combining all of his favorite types of subjects in one workshop, which, (spoiler alert!) makes it quite simply the best value yet!

In this workshop, you will not only experience a grand tour of some of the best photography spots in Japan, but also be given a comprehensive view into the mind of one of the best travel photographers around. Elia brings his experience of both photography and world travel (to over 70 different countries) to this workshop, making it a fantastic value. With that said, let’s dive in!

Photographing The World | Japan: Workshop Details

• PRICE: $299
  (For a limited time, this includes any one additional Photographing The World workshop!)
• FORMAT: Video
• CONTENT ACCESS: Streaming online, downloadable videos, downloadable raw files
• TOTAL RUN TIME: >60 hrs
• TOTAL VIDEOS / CHAPTERS: 22 videos (including 1 free chapter & 6 BTS videos)
• SUBJECTS / TOPICS COVERED: Landscape photography, cityscape photography, travel photography, seascape photography, general urban & nature photography

Photographing The World – Japan Review: Who Is It For?

If you’re passionate about landscape and travel photography, then the Photographing The World series is definitely for you. It’s scope is broad enough that it won’t matter if you’re highly experienced, or a beginner with minimal experience.

Also, it doesn’t matter if Japan is at the top of your to-go list, or if you’re simply aspiring to visit the beautiful attractions around your home state/country! In any case, if you like travel in general, and if you like photographing beautiful scenery, then you’ll benefit from this series, and the Japan workshop in particular.

Photographing The World – Japan Review | Highlights

What I really like about this workshop in particular is that it combines both landscapes and cityscapes in one workshop. The four preceding workshops, as their names imply, focused on either landscapes or cityscapes; either beginner or advanced.

With this workshop, you get a little bit of everything. (Plus, as a huge bonus, though maybe for a limited time, you can get one additional entire workshop when purchasing this one!)

These two key highlights make this simply the best workshop yet from Elia Locardi & Fstoppers. With that being said, let’s dive into the actual subject matter, the style of the content, and other details…

Subject Matter

As its name implies, this entire workshop is all about Japan! Simply put, it does help if you are interested in visiting Japan someday, if you are considering this workshop. By comparison, Elia’s other Photographing The World workshops each include numerous locations from around the world.

Having said that, as a resident of the American West who has never visited Japan, I still found myself relating to the subject matter very closely. Even here in my home state of California, I was continually thinking about how my own local areas could provide similar opportunities for cityscapes, seascapes, and mountain…scapes?

Therefore, I think it’s not as “Japan ONLY” as you might think. The actual subjects, from intimate gardens and temples to distant skylines and dramatic mountain peaks, provide insight to all photographers who are interested in the general subjects.

Of course, the other main subject that is mastered by this workshop is post-production. Elia dives into his full start-to-finish workflow, from raw development to advanced photoshop techniques. Whether you are an adventure travel photographer who simply wants to document what you see, or you are a fine art travel photographer who is creating absolute perfection using advanced composite techniques, you’ll find expert guidance in this workshop.

Techniques & Tricks

The Japan workshop covers not only a diverse array of subjects, but the abundance of little tricks and techniques is common throughout the whole workshop. Little details about lenses that accept front filters, tripod techniques, when to trust (or not trust) our camera’s various features, …it’s a goldmine of technical knowledge.

Beyond the technical knowledge, of course, the creative insight is very useful, as well. Elia seamlessly blends the technical and creative flow, both in the field and in post-production, to demonstrate how everything from choice of focal length to choice of timing, position, and sheer patience, …can all pay off.

The advanced edits Elia teaches are definitely master-level tools for any fine-art photographer, including techniques such as blending multiple exposures for focus, subject motion, optimal lighting, and using “plate” images to help those pesky tourists vanish from your scene!

Educational Style & Format

Of course, no matter how valuable the information of any workshop is, I would have to “ding” it a lot of points if the style & format of the content itself isn’t easy to absorb. Thankfully, Photographing The World as a whole series has been incredibly well-produced, with an educational style that is relatable, student-friendly, and just enjoyable overall.

In Photographing The World | Japan, Elia does an excellent job of explaining everything in very understandable ways. I never feel like I have to “strain my brain” to understand a concept. This is wonderful because it allows me to feel inspired right off the bat; I feel ready to get outside and capture my own images!

One thing I should note is that, oddly, the very first video did not start with an overview of what you’re going to learn, or which videos or chapters you should jump to for a particular topic or location. Instead, the workshop firstly dives into the software that is commonly used for the tutorials. (It’s mostly Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, with some plugins as well.)

After this, the second video gets into the gear that is used, and it’s a bit of a daunting list, (medium format digital; 100 megapixels!) …however, Elia focuses primarily on the focal ranges (in full-frame equivalents) and that is the most important, useful information for other photographers who might not have the same gear. Also, since this is a workshop all about landscape and cityscape photography, Elia does a great overview of the accessories you’ll need, as they can absolutely make or break many of your photo opportunities in a beautiful location such as Japan.

All in all, Elia’s style of educating is highly relatable, even though the gear (and the locations themselves) may seem rather exotic. Right from the start, you feel that he is a genuine person who really understeands what he’s doing, and he does a great job of explaining himself whether it is the technical details or the creative visions.

Value

If you aspire to be a working professional landscape / travel / cityscape photographer, then this content is invaluable. It can make you into a true master of all the subjects, both in Japan and anywhere in the world that has similar opportunities!

Of course, the content does not go very deeply into the business side of being a professional landscape photographer; subjects regarding marketing your work, selling prints, etc. are not covered, and would be an entire workshop by itself, I suspect.

HOWEVER, one of the most valuable videos in the entire workshop is the “How To Plan A Project” video! It gives incredible insight into the “real work” that goes on to even give you a chance to click the camera shutter! As a passionate adventure landscape photographer myself, I cannot stress enough just how important it is to plan ahead! Research your locations, “do your homework” so to speak, and the photo opportunities you get as a result will be significantly better than a casual “wanderlust” type approach to globetrotting.

Is this workshop worth the investment, if you are a hobbyist? Yes, absolutely. Even if you never aspire to make a dime from your travel, landscape, cityscape etc. photography, this workshop will be rocket fuel for your passion. From the creative inspiration to the technical skills and sheer confidence that you gain, the entire workshop provides one of the best values in the entire genre

Photographing The World – Japan Review | What’s Missing?

As mentioned, this isn’t a workshop for those who are looking to learn the business side of travel & landscape photography. I would love to see such a course from Elia and Fstoppers someday, because he is clearly a success story with over 20 years of experience, and an impressive list of accolades. Again, of course, that’s a massive subject all by itself, for an entire workshop, indeed.

There isn’t much content “missing”, besides the obvious fact that this workshop is created exclusively in Japan, while Elia has visited more than 70 countries around the world. As I mentioned, the comprehensive nature is rather broad, and would apply to anyone who wants to get better at landscape or cityscape photography in general. Compared to other workshops that are entirely dedicated to landscapes, cityscapes, or post-production in particular, this one has a lot more to offer.

Additionally, the bonus material, mostly BTS footage that tells the story of how the whole workshop was created, gives another layer of insight into just how challenging travel photography can be in general. Whether it is setting your alarm clock for 4 AM, or navigating the transportation of a foreign country, Japan is just as entertaining as it is educational.

Photographing The World – Japan Review | Conclusion

All in all, I highly recommend the Photographing The World | Japan workshop to any photographers who are interested in travel & landscape photography. It is one of the most well-produced, entertaining yet informative, and comprehensive workshops that I have experienced.

There are a lot of video courses & workshops available online these days, but few have the renown of such a highly experienced travel photographer like Elia. So, whether you are looking to visit Japan soon, or any similar travel destination with a blend of all different types of “’scapes” to photograph, this workshop is worth the investment.

Check Pricing & Availability

Photographing The World | Japan is available for $299 from FStoppers. At this time, they also have a valuable offer: with the purchase of this one course, you can also access any other one Photographing The World course, too! So, depending on your skill level, this would pair perfectly with one of the beginner or advanced workshops that focus entirely on either landscapes or cityscapes.

Also, for those who are curious, you can currently download the entire 1st chapter for free, and the BTS videos will also be periodically released on the FStoppers Youtube channel.

The good news is, today there are more excellent professional mirrorless cameras than ever before. The bad news is, there are almost too many cameras to choose from, and they all have very similar names. (Often just one letter in a camera’s name can make a thousand-dollar difference!)

Without a doubt, most mirrorless cameras today not only rival the capabilities of their DSLR predecessors, they often surpass them. Now, since we’ve already covered the best mirrorless cameras for beginners, this post will focus on providing an overview of the top 5 mirrorless cameras for professionals. We’ll cover some (relatively) budget-friendly options as well as more flagship pro options, (aka larger price points) to ensure that every photographer finds a camera that fits their specific needs.

What to Look for in a Pro Mirrorless System

Controls

A good mirrorless system for professionals needs to offer complete control of the most-used settings, and yet also be intuitive and easy to use. Being able to customize the controls to your liking is a huge bonus, too. Lastly, touchscreens are incredibly useful, especially when they offer complete functionality: on-screen subject selection, AF point control while using the electronic viewfinder, and menu & playback control.

Build Quality

Durable build quality is an absolute must for all pro photographers, of course. You are going to be paying your bills with these tools, so you need them to last as many years as possible! Thankfully, many pro and even prosumer cameras today are made of metal bodies and have full weather sealing.

Adapters

For some photographers who already own an arsenal of DSLR lenses, making the jump to mirrorless will involve an entire line of new lenses, which is a significant investment for most. While we do highly recommend using native mirrorless lenses almost exclusively, there are indeed some fantastic adapters available to let you use DSLR lenses, too.

Battery Life

One of the big barriers to entry with mirrorless systems for most professionals has been battery life. Traditionally mirrorless systems didn’t last as long on a single battery compared to their DSLR counterparts. With advances in this technology, while the mirrorless still may not last as long on a single charge as the DSLRs out there, they have made leaps and bounds in their longevity and will only continue to do so.

One trick that we highly recommend to pro photographers who do significantly longer events or other types of work is this: Make sure your camera can be powered by a USB battery, or at least charged via USB! USB-PD is preferred, as it is the fastest way charge a camera battery.

Video Capabilities

Some, but not all photographers will require a pro mirrorless camera that provides both high quality photo results as well as excellent video. The modern photographer is likely to get the best of both images and videos. Oppositely, however, if you’re exclusively a photographer then there are limited opportunities to save money, since most cameras prominently focus on both mediums.

Best Mirrorless Cameras For Professionals

Canon EOS R5

Canon set the bar rather high with the launch of the $3,899 EOS R5. They put nearly every feature you could think of into it, including a 45MP full-frame sensor, IBIS, (sensor stabilization) and one of the best autofocus systems on the market at the time. For the working pros, it offers dual card slots, and for those who also do video, the Canon R5 offers 8k video capability!

If you’re a still and video shooter, this camera fills in nearly every gap between video and photography work. Even if you only shoot photos, the R5 is still our top choice from Canon. The Dual Pixel AF system is inherited from the flagship Canon EOS-1DX series, and is capable of shooting at 20fps with continuous autofocus tracking! This makes it a versatile camera, indeed, whether you are photographing portraits & weddings, or action sports & wildlife, or landscapes & travel.

Adorama | B&H | Amazon

Sony A7R IV

The A7R IV is an incredible option from Sony that delivers on pretty much anything you can possibly want in a mirrorless system. Its staggering 60-megapixel sensor, with impressive dynamic range at ISO 100 and respectably low ISO noise at very high ISOs, this camera rivals medim format digital cameras. This is even more impressive considering the price, (the A7R IV is currently an “older generation” camera compared to the A7R V) …and it also also offers the most diverse lineup of full-frame lenses on the market. Last but not least, Sony’s incredibly reliable autofocus is indeed the best in the business, especially for those photographers who wish to detect and track subjects’ eyes.

The $2,998 Sony A7R IV not only stands alone as having the highest resolution of any full-frame camera on the market at present, but it also offers professionals the must-have features: in-body stabilization, dual card slots, best-in-class battery life, and extensive controls & customizability.

For those with a slightly bigger budget, the Sony A7R V is essentially the same camera but with a dedicated AI  processor for subject detection, making its autofocus capabilities even more uncanny.

Adorama | B&H | Amazon

Nikon Z8

The latest pro mirrorless camera from Nikon brings a 45.7MP full-frame sensor inherited from the exotic flagship Nikon Z9. The Nikon Z8 offers 5-axis in-body stabilization, dual memory card slots, 20-30 FPS framerate, 8K 60p video, and an autofocus system also inherited from the flagship Z9. It’s a marvel that the price tag is $3,996!

The Z8 is a semi-flagship pro camera from Nikon, in between the Z9 and the Z7 II, with many incredible improvements and benefits above all its predecessors. Of course, when paired with the FTZ adapter allowing F-mount lenses, or mounting the new S-Mount mirrorless lenses, the image quality is absolutely incredible.

Adorama | B&H | Amazon

Fujifilm X-T5

Expanding on the classic X-T line from Fuji, the X-T5 offers everything you ever wanted in an APS-C system. With a truly incredible savings compared to full-frame professional mirrorless cameras, this is one of the best compact mirrorless cameras on the market!

Its 5-axis IBIS can partner up with lens stabilization. Its new battery type is a sizable leap forward compared to the previous battery. Also, it is one of the only APSC mirrorless cameras with dual memory card slots.

The X-T5 is an absolute pleasure to use, with its classic retro design, and is available in black as well as a silver model. It’s priced at a mere $1,699!

The X-T5 uses a 40-megapixel X-Trans BSI CMOS sensor and offers 425-point hybrid AF with subject detection and tracking, making it a solid choice for most all-around types of photographers. Also, Fuji’s lineup of APSC format lenses offers the most extensive professional choices of any mount, including a full assortment of f/1.4 primes, f/2.8 zooms, and even some f/1.0 and f/1.2 lens options, too!

Amazon | B&H | Adorama

Best Pro Mirrorless Cameras | Conclusion

These mirrorless cameras offer a wide variety of excellent systems for photographers and videographers alike, though our focus here has been primarily on photography. There are many options to choose from, so be sure to remember that these systems will leverage the latest and greatest of what mirrorless technology has to offer, such as impressive subject detection & focusing, extended battery life, and all necessary pro features, controls, and customizations.

There are definitely much more expensive high-end flagship cameras out there, of course. We could recommend a Nikon Z9, or a Canon EOS R3, or a Sony A1, quite easily. Simply put, those are the absolute most-expensive cameras on the market, and for good reason. We are recommending these specific cameras above because they offer by far the best VALUE to working pros. (Every dollar you save on your camera body is one you can save towards lenses!)

The most important thing is, knowing what you need, specifically for your creative style or subject genre. Remember that almost all mirrorless cameras can meet a professional photographer’s needs, however, this list has some of the best options available for the professional photographer looking to make the jump into mirrorless systems.

The Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S is even bigger than the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S, but not as big and heavy as the new “Noct”, the 58mm f/0.95. That is to say, it isn’t your average portrait lens. It is big, heavy, and clearly aimed at serious portrait photographers who have very high standards.

It’s incredibly sharp, even wide open at f/1.2. The aesthetic of the bokeh or background blur is just utterly gorgeous, and the overall clarity and contrast are beautiful, too. If you’re a portrait photographer, especially if you mainly focus (no pun intended!) on one or two subjects by themselves, (fashion, maternity, newborn, seniors, etc.) …then this will be your holy grail lens.

I don’t think I can “spoil” this lens review, however, because you really must scroll through the photos to see just how unique the “look” of f/1.2 at 85mm can be. Simply put, this lens utterly destroys your background/foreground. Even in the most challenging conditions, you can trust this lens to give incredibly shallow depth, with a beautifully soft aesthetic to the bokeh. (Alternatively, to be quite honest, if you prefer to always capture portraits at f/2 or f/2.8, then I will flat-out recommend passing on this lens and looking instead at the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S!)

The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S is certainly not for everyone, though; if the price tag doesn’t discourage you, the physical heft still might give you pause. This is absolutely a specialty lens; it shines for portraits, of course, but also makes an incredible fine art lens for literally any subject, and is capable as an astrophotography lens, too. If you want to play with selective focus and/or work in extremely low light, then almost no other lens on the market comes close to this one.

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S Specifications

• FOCAL LENGTH & ANGLE OF VIEW: 85mm, 18° 50′ angle of view
• LENS MOUNT(S): Nikon Z (Full-frame mirrorless)
• APERTURE & RANGE: f/1.2-16, 11 rounded blades
• STABILIZATION: No
• AUTOFOCUS: Dual-Motor STM AF
• MANUAL FOCUS: Yes, electronically controlled, distance & DOF scale on LCD display
• OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION: 15 elements in 10 groups, 2 aspherical, 1 ED elements, Nano crystal coating
• MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION: Metal, fully weather-sealed
• MAGNIFICATION & FOCUS DISTANCE: 0.11X magnification, 33.46 in. / 0.85 m closest focusing
• FILTER THREADS & HOOD: 82mm filter threads, Locking plastic hood w/ rubber grip
• SIZE: 4 x 5.6 in (102.5 x 141.5 mm)
• WEIGHT: 2.6 lb (1160 g)
• PRICE: $2,796
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S Review | Who Should Buy It?

While I have been talking a lot about how Nikon Z mirrorless is a great system for all levels of photographers and videographers, this lens is definitely not for everyone. It represents the highest pinnacle of portrait photography; I can only recommend its price tag and weight to those serious photographers who are highly discerning, and know exactly what they’re getting into…

Portrait Photography

If you’re a portrait photographer, then of course you know how valuable a good 85mm lens can be. Many portrait shooters literally pay their bills with an 85mm prime and rarely reach for any other lens!

However, I should dive in a bit further, because for the price of this one lens, you could afford at least three other excellent portrait primes instead, or a pair of decent f/2.8 zooms even.

So, exactly which types of portraits might be optimal with an 85mm f/1.2 lens in particular? Portraits of just one or two subjects, of course, as opposed to large group portraits. Also, consider the soft, smooth aesthetic of such a lens: it’s a look that lends itself to subjects that benefit from softness and smoothness, of course. Maternity, newborn, boudoir, etc. Meanwhile, other types of portraits may simply not find f/1.2 and the bokeh it offers to be very useful.

 Fashion, Editorial, & Commercial Portrait Photography

Fashion and editorial or commercial portrait photography can certainly be considered as high-caliber enough for a full-time pro to invest in a lens such as this. However, there are a few considerations: If you’re selling a line of clothing, then having almost everything be slightly out of focus usually isn’t a good thing; you’re going to spend a lot more time stopped way down from f/1.2 On the other hand, if you’re selling a line of makeup, then the ultra-soft, buttery-smooth focus on eyelashes, for example, might be perfect!

Simply put, this is a consideration that you as a working professional have to keep in mind.

Wedding Photography

This won’t be a lens you reach for all the time at a wedding, as it is very heavy and not as “snappy” to focus as, say, the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8. However, bridal portraits and wedding days in general absolutely do lend themselves to the beautiful, soft aesthetic that this 85mm f/1.2 portrait prime offers.

The bottom line is this: even if if I had the budget for this lens, as a wedding photographer I would still prefer to reach for the Nikon Z 95mm f/1.8. Sure, the shallow depth is absolutely not the same, but the lens is just so much more comfortable to work with on very long (12+ hour) days.

Candid & Street Photography

There is nothing svelte or “incognito” about this lens, so forget trying to “blend in with the crowd” or anything. If you’re hoping to take this lens out in public, or just hang out with friends & family, then be prepared to get attention.

Having said that, it’s obviously a fun lens to get creative with; having f/1.2 at your disposal opens up a whole world of possibilities in terms of creativity!

Action Sports & Wildlife Photography

The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 is by no means a high-speed lens because there’s just quite a bit of glass for the AF motors to push back and forth. Having said that, this Nikkor does do an impressive job of focusing both fast and precisely, even on moving subjects. I wouldn’t consider it a go-to lens, however, unless you’re working in truly terrible light very often. (For example, photographing nocturnal animals by moonlight!)

Landscape, Adventure, & Travel Photography

I can keep this statement very simple: If you’re going to spend all your time at f/8, then don’t buy this lens. Literally any other of Nikon’s Z-mount lenses, especially the S-line, are going to be better choices for you as a landscape or outdoor adventure/travel photographer. I’d go so far as to say that this is basically the antithesis of the type of lens you’d want to bring on most types of trips. Having said that, it is of course an incredibly sharp lens, virtually flawless from f/2.8 through f/8 where diffraction will begin to overcome your sensor’s resolving power.

 Nightscape, & AstrophotographyPhotography

The opposite is true for those nocturnal landscape photographers, who may be trying to photograph a nightscape by moonlight, or the stars themselves. In this regard, the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 excels in terms of its sheer light-gathering capabilities, as well as the more subtle details of its optical prowess. In other words, this lens is incredibly bright, incredibly sharp, and relatively free of any aberrations such as color fringing or coma & astigmatism.

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S Review | Pros & Cons

The technical, objective portion of this review can be summed up very simply: The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S is an optically superb lens with virtually no flaws to report, in terms of its image quality and overall performance. Nikon did an impressive job with this lens, not cutting any corners, indeed. Nor did they “spare any expense”, obviously, as the price tag shows. At nearly $2,800, this lens is a serious investment, plain and simple.

Image Quality

Sharpness

This is one of those lenses where, by the time you stop down to “normal” apertures such as f/2.8 or f/4, it becomes obvious that the optics are even more high-resolution than any current megapixel count! I bet you could put this on a 100-megapixel Nikon full-frame mirrorless camera, and still see the lens out-resolving the sensor. (Or being obscured by diffraction, of course!)

Even at f/1.2, as you can see above, this lens is absolutely tack sharp, center-to-corner. In fact, in the below landscape sharpness test, I won’t even label what is f/1.2 and what is f/8; you can barely even see a difference in sharpness as I stop down the entire way! This is truly an impressive feat:

Bokeh

Obviously, let’s be honest: Bokeh is the main reason why you’re here! The background blur you can achieve with this lens is a powerful tool for any artist. (Not just portrait photographers!)

Not only is f/1.2 a relatively unprecedented level of blur in general, but also, the aesthetic of the blur, or the character of the bokeh, is soft and smooth at any aperture.

Colors & Contrast

Although the sensor of the camera obviously plays an important role in every image’s colors and contrast, optics are still very important, too. In that regard, I can report that with the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S, I find myself applying zero contrast or saturation boosts to my images; they are clear, crisp, and vibrant.

Vignetting & Distortion

It’s hard to judge any modern mirrorless lens differently from others because they all have some level of “profile corrections” going on under the hood. This is an ongoing concern of mine because while the average photographer may never notice that software is being used to correct distortion or vignetting, highly discerning photographers will certainly notice as they push their gear to its limits in challenging conditions.

Therefore, I am happy to report that the distortion correction this lens needs appears minimal, although I would still turn it off completely any time extremely high ISOs are being used, especially in astrophotography where even the slightest distortion corrections can create a nasty banding pattern that makes images utterly un-usable.

The vignetting, on the other hand, is a beautiful aesthetic of this lens, and I will leave it to your subjectivity to decide whether you like the correction on or off. When photographing portraits, I prefer the subtle vignette this lens produces.

Sunstars & Flare

Due to the optimization for smooth bokeh, this lens’ 11-blade (rounded) aperture is inherently not optimized to create classic sunstars. However, they’re still present from f/5.6-8 and onward, of course.

Flare is beautiful with this lens; “flare dots” and other ghost effects are virtually nonexistent, and the faint wash of warm haze that you can get when placing the sun in or near the image frame is beautiful yet unobtrusive.

Color Fringing, Aberration, Coma & Astigmatism

For those most highly discerning photographers who plan to utilize the maximum performance possible from this optic, here’s the most impressive test possible: the coma / sagittal astigmatism test. In case you’re not quite sure what you’re looking at, that is a 100% crop from the extreme corner of the lens, at f/1.2, f/2, and f/2.8. What this means is, the lens exhibits virtually zero coma, and astigmatism. Below is a central crop, also at f/1.2, to demonstrate the nonexistent color fringing:

Macro & Close-Up Photography

One area where this lens is simply not optimized is macro or close-up photography. The optical formula just doesn’t allow users to focus very close, in fact, the “working distance” as it’s called can be a bit of a surprise to anyone who is used to being able to get right up in a subject’s “personal space”.

Having said that, here’s the good news: The Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S doesn’t show any signs of getting soft when focusing at its closest distance, and with the extremely shallow aperture, you won’t want to get any closer; the shallowness is already downright impractical!

So, I’d love to use this lens for close-up detail shots such as the eyelashes or veil of a bride, or basically anything fine-art related where maximum background blur is a desirable creative tool.

Design & Durability

Physically, not only is this lens big and heavy, but it is also strong, sturdy, and professionally weather-sealed. The main complaint that I sometimes have with the larger Nikon Z-mount lenses is this: When the lenses get this large, the AF/MF switch almost feels “lost” because it’s so small and close to the mount. I wish the AF/MF switch was a touch bigger, and somewhere near the L-Fn button on the lens barrel.

Other than that, it’s hard to complain about such a well-made lens. I’d expect to get a decade-plus of serious professional use out of such a lens.

Ergonomics & Portability

“Portable” just isn’t a word you can use to describe this lens, at all; it’s the opposite of portable. Ergonomically, though, it does handle quite well, if you have strong wrists and focus more on holding the lens itself with your left hand as if it were a shorter, chunkier 70-200mm lens.

Autofocus Performance

For how much glass the AF motors need to push back and forth, this lens is surprisingly fast and precise in terms of autofocus. It’s not a speed demon, but it absolutely is fast enough to nail focus at f/1.2 on most subjects, even active ones. In other words, it’s perfect for models and other portrait subjects who may be moving around quite a bit, however, it may lag just a little bit if you’re trying to track high-speed subjects.

Manual Focus Performance

Manual focus is controlled electronically, as with virtually all modern mirrorless lenses. The sensitivity and precision do make manual focus totally usable even at f/1.2, though.

I will say one thing, however: I really wish that Nikon camera bodies would offer the full array of focus peaking options, including while capturing photos and not just video. This would make focusing manually so much easier, of course!

Features & Customizations

As with NIkon’s other big S-line lenses, the Nikon Z 85 1.2 includes both a L-fn button and a “command ring”. Both can be programmed to do various things, and my personal preference is to use the L-fn button to perform either AF-ON or sometimes AF-Lock. I use the command ring to dial my ISO sometimes, and other times I’ll use it for controlling the Kelvin WB. All in all, this represents what most flagship modern lenses can offer in terms of customization features.

On the one hand, I like the command rings that have a “click” to them, such as Canon RF lenses. On the other hand, I much prefer this type of fully customizable ring over the Sony aperture (only) control ring, even though it can be clicked/de-clicked. If your’e a video shooter, you might feel differently, but either way Nikon lands somewhere in the middle with a good balance for everyone.

Value

It’s hard to define the value of a lens like this, because it is almost entirely in a league of its own. The only other Nikon mirrorless 85mm prime, the f/1.8 version, is nearly ¼ the price! So, the word “value” is absolutely subjective here. What I can say definitively is this: If you’re a full-time pro who uses an 85mm prime to literally pay your bills, then there is incredible value in this f/1.2 prime. However, if you’re a beginner, a hobbyist, or even just a full-time pro who uses a wider range of lenses to pay the bills, and you don’t find yourself constantly reaching for an 85mm prime, …then the value is simply better with the much more modest option!

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S Review | Compared To The Competition

At $2,796, there just aren’t many portrait prime lenses that are a fair comparison to this Nikkor. The only obvious, direct competitor is the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2, which costs $3,000. If you’re already a professional portrait photographer, then you’ve probably already committed to one system or the other, but I will say that I have a similar “love/hate” relationship with both lenses. They’re both expensive, obviously, and they’re both enormous and far heavier than I prefer. However, they both deliver truly stunning results, and if I were a full-time portrait photographer specializing in something specific such as maternity, newborn, boudoir, etc, then I’d absolutely invest in one of these lenses.

With that being said, the next-best comparison would be a good 85mm f/1.4 prime, however, there are none native (with autofocus) for the Nikon Z mount yet. There are loads of great 85mm f/1.4 primes out there, however, and many of them can be adapted to Nikon. I can sum up the entire comparison this way: they are all excellent lenses, from the aging Nikon F-mount 85mm f/1.4 G to the modern, cutting-edge Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN. However, whether you’re dealing with the name-brand FTZ adapter or a third-party E-to-Z mount adapter, they just aren’t going to offer the same imagery, nor the same easy user experience, as this native lens.

Indeed, quite honestly, the best alternative to this lens is Nikon’s native Z-mount 85mm f/1.8 S, a truly modest lens by comparison. (It costs just $696, and weighs just ~1 lb / 470g!) Why would I rather have this lens instead of any adapted DSLR (or mirrorless) lens? Because Nikon is taking full advantage of their enormous diameter Z mount with their native optics, as no other company can, and this opportunity provides some of the smoothest, softest bokeh I have ever seen. So, yes, I’d rather have the beautiful bokeh of a modest f/1.8 prime! (And its portability, and petite size…) As a final word on competition, I will say that it appears to only be a matter of time before Sigma is making native Z-mount (FX) lenses, and their mirrorless-designed 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art is a great lens. It may eventually arrive for the Z mount, however, being originally a Sony-compatible optical formula, it will still be optically constrained by the much smaller diameter mount, and I could/would therefore still make a strong argument in favor of the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 S instead.

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S Review | Conclusion

The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S is one of the best portrait primes I’ve ever used. However, “sparing no expense” means exactly what you’d think! Heck, even finding space for it in your camera bag is a challenge, especially with the enormous hood!

Indeed, it’s a behemoth, and many photographers would be justified in calling it “overkill” for their particular creative needs. Having said that, all in all, I feel comfortable highly recommending this NIkkor portrait prime, with the only main caveat that it’s not for everyone. It offers perfection, and unmatched capabilities both in terms of resolving power and creative freedom. Perfection comes at a price, though.

Check Pricing & Availability

The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S can be found for $2,796 at recommended retailers.

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