A Careful Combination
By simulating natural light and using the close-up shooting power of the 17-50mm lens, photographer André Costantini adds new dimension to a budding musician.

 

André Costantini is no stranger to on-location shoots. His photographic journeys have whisked him to the exotic landscapes of the Far East, into the Bavarian beauty of Germany, and all across North America (he’s taught photography and lighting workshops in Boston, Montreal, Honolulu, New York, and Oakland, among other major metropolises). So a road trip into Pennsylvania from his studio in New York was a welcome regional respite, as well as a chance to help create a memorable image for an up-and-coming musician using the Tamron 17-50mm lens.

“This shoot was for some of her PR material,” Costantini explains. “She’s a singer/songwriter, somewhere in between pop and folk.” It was important that Costantini create just the right ambience to capture a compelling photo, so the two embarked on a creative collaborative process. “She had some ideas, and I had some ideas,” he says. “Some of it, like the location in this house in Pennsylvania, was her idea; the treatment and the lighting and the pose were mine.”

A painter paints pictures on canvas, but musicians paint their pictures on silence—so said famed conductor Leopold Stokowski. In this case, photographer Costantini “painted” this photograph using a clever lighting technique, which resulted in the rosy effervescence that emanates from the photo. “The shot is a portrait designed to be lit as if I were using available light,” Costantini says. “So when I was putting the shot together, I placed lights in places where the available tungsten lights already were to simulate natural-looking light.”

Every element in this image came through crystal-clear, thanks to his choice of lighting and the 17-50 lens. “You’ll notice that everything is pretty much in focus,” says Costantini. “It’s the type of shot you actually wouldn’t be able to get if you just used available light; because of the long shutter speed, you’d risk a little bit of movement even with a tripod.”

This is where the 17-50mm lens proved invaluable. “I had really quick, precise focusing speed with this F/2.8 lens, which was definitely an advantage,” says Costantini. “And there’s the sharpness of the lens. It’s not a superlong zoom like some of the other Tamron lenses, but it does have a really effective range, especially for digital cameras.”

The lens is also handy for shooting in confined spaces, like the one Costantini found himself navigating in this remote home situated in the Keystone State. “The room was nice, and the elements like the old radio were interesting, but it wasn’t a large room,” he says. “Having a lens like the 17-50 that’s on the wider-angle side allows you to use it for portraits to get a really nice image. I shot this at F/4.5, 1/160 of a second, ISO 400, at the 43mm focal length.”

Costantini’s ethereal subject may use her voice to captivate and entertain her audience, but the fast, compact Tamron 17-50mm lens has proven to be a photographer’s invaluable tool in creating beautiful portraits that capture a person’s inner essence.

Tamron AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro

Model A16 for Canon, Nikon and Sony Digital SLR Cameras

The SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 is a lightweight, compact, fast standard zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras, expanding the product concept of the popular SP AF28-75mm F/2.8 zoom lens.

The lens boasts one of the best close-up shooting performances in the class of fast standard zoom lenses designed exclusively for digital cameras and featuring an F/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the entire zoom range, to ensure stress-free photographic shots at all focal lengths and distances.

 

  Lens designed for exclusive use on digital SLR cameras with smaller-size imagers.