The 50mm focal length is a well-known staple in photography culture, and the SIGMA 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art is yet another reason why this holds true. I had the pleasure of seeing how incredible this new imagining of a classic is by putting the single lens to the test on a quick portrait adventure.
Ashley Pagliuso is a long-time friend of mine, and she is well-known for her company, Straight Outta the Coffin, and her beautiful modeling work. It had been some time since we last shot, and new content for us both was in order. So, we took the two-hour drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to shoot at the stunning home of Ashley’s childhood friend.
With no plan in mind and just a suitcase of clothing, we made magic happen with no real roadmap. Here is how the SIGMA 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art helped bring these images to life, and why it worked to bring only one lens (I am sure many photographers are gasping in horror at this sentiment)!
Natural light indoor portraits
With beautiful midday light pouring through the white sheer curtains in the breakfast nook area, we found this to be a perfect opportunity to capture some airy images. What I love about the 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art lens is how dreamy images appear at F1.2 – the light spreads out to create an in-camera softness. This was especially prevalent in the standing image where Ashley moved further away from the background elements, so the light was able to spread even further around her.
The black dress made for a sharp contrast, and this was a good test of the 50mm’s focus in backlit conditions. With an aperture this wide open, locating the subject’s eye is vital because of the slim plane of focus – and this lens communicated with my Sony Alpha flawlessly.
Moving swiftly into the formal dining room, those same white curtains created a nice studio-esque front light, which completely changed the mood of the portraits. It’s very easy for a location to become cluttered or busy, and a shallow depth of field can help remedy this problem.
As someone who started photography at too young of an age to drive, my love for using depth of field to solve location problems came from being trapped in my backyard as a shooting spot – needing to find clever ways of transforming spaces and finding that smaller (F1.4, F1.2, etc.) F-stops were a great solution. In these shots, the 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art helped soften furniture and accessories and keep the attention fully on my subject, alleviating any “busy-ness” that might be in the frame.
In search of leading lines, we meandered into the hallway. By now, the sun was starting to hang much lower on the horizon, and another window provided our front lighting. I personally love hallways for portraits because they make it easy to compose flattering shots; there is a natural frame around your subject. The wall made for an excellent prop, as Ashley found various ways to lean on it.
Once more, the bokeh was creamy and beautiful but very natural-looking. Even in close-ups, the focus falloff was smooth – definitely satisfying for a pixel peeper.
Outdoor locations for easy and beautiful variety
Santa Barbara is known for its impeccable coastal beauty, making it a magnificent place for photographers to shoot. The frequent marine layer creates a soft diffusion, and the sky often produces clouds even on otherwise sunny days. This makes for a perfect portrait combination, and we took full advantage of the outdoors!
A natural cloud formation hanging right above the house created a spotlight effect, and filled Ashley’s face with light while the rest of her remained shadowed. The clouds in the back added depth and interest to the landscape, making this series probably my favorite that we shot.
Elsewhere, we noticed a large bush of pretty pink flowers. With the setting sun, this was a prime time to use the landscaping! I love putting subjects into flowers; everything about this look just… worked.
Just a few feet away was the main (private) road. Much like the hallway, roads are also classic for leading-line shots and this particular one was so pretty. The breeze continued, and the dress was light enough to keep catching it. Photography is relatively static by nature and the movement of your clothing or pose helps bring life to it.
A great finale to the floral dress look!
As much as we had hoped to see a magnificent sunset because of the clouds and moisture in the air, the marine layer had other plans – a large blue/green mist overcame the entire area. This made an excellent backdrop for some moody and even melancholy captures, and the dress Ashley wore for this set fit the feeling so well.
It’s a bit wild to think that we got so many different vibes in just a few hours of shooting, but this also makes for pretty efficient content creation if you only have one day to develop weeks’ worth of content. The 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art really did capture the light of each look we did with outstanding precision.
A nearby stone fountain was our next shooting spot, encompassing even more moody portraiture. By this point, the layer had fully enveloped the area, and it was a chance to shoot something a bit more painterly. Both Ashley and I were really taken by the texture of the stone and felt something with a bit more pose and drapery was in order here. We let the dress cascade naturally over the edge, and Ashley went through a cycle of poses until we found what worked best there.
Our grand finale was the infinity pool. With the marine layer creeping in very quickly, I saw a unique opportunity to shoot a minimalist image that was almost an illusion in and of itself. The marine layer touched the edges of the infinity pool, and by lowering my vantage point to water level, it was hard to see where one ended and the other began!
We let the dress loose, and Ashley held the ends up while the rest soaked in the pool. A slight transparency gave her shape underneath the fabric. Everyone I’ve shown this set to had a different interpretation of its meaning, and I think that’s the fabulous beauty of art – so much is a personal, intimate experience between the subject and the artwork itself.
I really enjoyed using the 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art for a wider, landscape-type shot rather than the tight portraits this lens is best known for. I don’t believe in putting gear into use-case boxes – I think you can adapt any glass into whatever you need it to be. In this case, the 50mm F1.2 functioned just as great a lens for a wide shot as lenses designated for such.
Why this lens works for virtually anything
The SIGMA 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art lens’s effortless transition with the varying ambient light and adaptability to us moving around the property have made it a permanent fixture in my camera bag. I capture so many different kinds of subjects in a wide array of scenarios, and the gear that sticks by me needs to be able to flow from one session to the next.
Holding true to the SIGMA promise of quality, I also have no frets about this lens failing on me – it’s always comforting to be able to focus solely on the shot in front of me rather than concerning myself with whether or not my gear will perform well.
Every image captured was sharp and crisp, with great color. As mentioned somewhere in my musings above, my editing workflow is predominantly just playing around with colors, and it’s such a joy to just color grade and consider a shoot done.
All in all, the SIGMA 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art was a perfect companion to this out-of-town adventure with Ashley!
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