So there I was with this shiny new Nikon Z7 and no one to photograph, so I did the logical thing and offered up a mini session. I was heading north to Iron Mountain to see my friends who own Venue906 in Kingsford, MI. This is a beautiful, and newly renovated, wedding venue that I am lucky enough to be able to work out of. Their bridal suite is perfect not only for photographing weddings but boudoir as well. They have put a lot of thought into the decor and layout of the suites for both the bride and the groom. I put some feelers out there on the socials and had some interest but of course I also have to reach out to some of my favorite models as well.

It’s a good thing I did as my mini session offer didn’t go over so well, and that is ok because Brooke was ready to make some magic in front of my new camera! Oddly enough I was the one who wasn’t ready. Any time you get new gear you have to learn about it and well, I was too impatient and just started firing away and made a big mistake and didn’t switch the settings to shoot in RAW! Yikes! Now the camera was amazing even though I was shooting in JPG the problem came later when those JPG files tones were all jacked up and took some work to correct. I think overall I was able to salvage some really great images from our shoot that was only about 1.5 hours long.

All of the images were shot using the Nikon Z7 with the FTZ II adaptor with the Sigma ART 50mm 1.4, and that combo is ridiculously good! The adaptor worked perfectly and the camera was quick to focus and sharp as ever. The photos above were also taken using a single off camera flash. I love me some Godox so I was using the AD600, maybe too much power but that’s ok, with a gridded cheetah softbox on flashpoint all in one boom stand. The flashpoint stands were also new and I can not recommend them enough! They are light, the joints are strong and not made of plastic and hold everything in place nicely. We also shot some natural light as well as you can see below.

I need to give a huge shout out to Brooke for always working with me, she is such a treat to work with and a great model! You can find more of our work in the Long Riders motorcycle calendar that we have produced over the years. I am sure we will find a way to make more magic in the future! Don’t forget to check out my socials for more of my work and stay tuned for the next step in this photographic journey! See you soon!