Headshot for Oscar Lars Painting

One image out of a few that I was commissioned to shoot back in March.

Shot with:

Nikon D3100
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D
Sunpak MS-4000 + Umbrella

EXIF:
f/1.8
1/80"
ISO 400

On the Limitations of the Gear:

Shooting with a really old, incredibly limited gear set is nothing new to me. Until the past few weeks, photography has been a part time gig at the busiest of times, so investing in new gear wasn't something I was able to do.

The Nikon D3100 has no built-in autofocus motor, so using the 50mm f/1.8D means dialing in the focus by hand and using the focus assist and grainy back LCD of the camera to get sharp images. I was lucky enough years ago to get really used to focusing manually; my first "real" camera was a Minolta film SLR from the 80s (I wish I remembered the model; I loved that thing). I've shot plenty of dark, fast-moving subjects at concerts with the f/1.8D and dialing in a good focus is second nature at this point.

My lighting setup is a hand-me-down of a hand-me-down. The MS-4000 is a heavy strobe with three settings: Off, Dim, and Bright.

I would love to hear some feedback about this image and what I could have done better and what I did well.

Thanks!