City Lifestyle Portrait and Product Photography Downtown Los Angeles

 
 

I had the opportunity to work with actress Deborah Cortez for a city lifestyle photoshoot in Downtown Los Angeles. For this photoshoot, I started off in a location that I am very familiar with when it comes to shooting lifestyle portraits - the Walt Disney Concert Hall. However, I decided to try and find some other locations around Downtown Los Angeles to practice in and see what results I could come up with.

One of the biggest unforeseen challenges when it came to this photoshoot was the weather. A few minutes before beginning the photoshoot, it started to rain a little bit. I had originally predicted the weather would be mostly overcast, but a bit of sunlight would appear near sunset.

As an outdoor photographer, I have learned to improvise when scenarios like this happen and I was very fortunate that Deborah didn’t mind the bit of rain. The rain stopped a little while into the photoshoot and I was able to focus more on working in different locations rather than the weather.

All photos in this blog post were taken with the Sony a7R III paired with the Sigma 35mm & Sigma 85mm DG DN ART prime lenses. These photos were edited in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

 
 
 

PREPARING FOR THE LIFESTYLE PHOTOSHOOT

I wanted to capture a style similar to my previous photoshoot with Rhea Morales. For wardrobe, I asked Deborah to bring simple clothes like a T-shirt, black jacket, blue jeans, and boots. When it comes to lifestyle photography, I try to make sure that the wardrobe fits the mood of the photoshoot and location, but also isn’t too distracting.

As far as accessories, Deborah bought a black watch and I brought the grey travel bag that was in Rhea’s downtown photoshoot. City essentials like backpacks and watches can help bring out some interesting poses and set a more interesting narrative than without accessories.

For this photoshoot, I would be taking a mix of portraits and lifestyle product photos of the backpack and watch with Deborah modeling them.

 
Woman looking back wearing a travel backpack while walking up Walt Disney Concert Hall stairs.
 
 
 

USING COLORS IN URBAN LIFESTYLE PORTRAITS

I had originally intended to start on the stairs of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. But because of the slight rain and crowds of people taking photos (as the location gets busy in the evenings), I decided to start under the roof of a restaurant that had a blue door, which I thought made for a nice background. I also used some of the leaves from a plant in front of the restaurant as foreground, just to add something to the composition.

Usually it can take a little bit of time to warm up - especially when I’m working with a new model and learning how they naturally pose. I wanted the photos to be very natural and relaxed, so I had Deborah pose with the backpack by holding the handle, and by wearing it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t bring enough bubble wrap to fully fill in the backpack, but I’m still happy with how these beginning photos turned out.

 
 

LIFESTYLE PORTRAITS WITH A WATCH

We moved back to the Walt Disney Concert Hall once it was less busy and I wanted to capture some close up photos with the watch. The 85mm lens is my go-to choice for most of my portrait sessions, but for these close-up photos - I definitely wanted to avoid as much distortion as possible.

Despite the less than ideal weather, I think that the bit of rain and wind in the photos makes the portraits a bit more interesting.

I had Deborah continue with simple poses and having her grip her jacket with the hand she’s wearing the watch on. 

Before leaving this spot, I did manage to get some more full-body photos with her holding the travel bag while wearing the watch. I mention this in my blog post about watch photography ideas for brands, but one of the ways I like to take lifestyle product photos for watches is to have the model hold another accessory.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAKING LIFESTYLE PHOTOS DEEPER IN THE CITY

At this point, I went further down into the city to get a mix of portraits and walking photos to introduce some movements. We went further into the center of Downtown Los Angeles and despite never capturing lifestyle photos here with a model, I have crossed by the location plenty of times and I knew it would make a nice city backdrop.

 
 
 
 

In this part of Downtown LA, you’re more likely to see buses drive by and use other buildings like hotel entrances and restaurants as backdrops for the photos. We got lucky that the rain had just about cleared up at this point.

I started off with some portraits to test the lighting and then followed up with some walking shots. I switched over to the Sigma 35mm lens so I could still be on the crosswalk but get a wide enough angle to have her and the backpack in the frame.

 
 
 
 
 

FINAL PORTRAITS

For the last part of the shoot, we walked back up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to get some last minute portraits with the watch before the end of the session. At this point, we were approaching blue hour so I increased the temperature a bit to try and introduce more warm tones and grabbed one last snapshot of the watch.

 
 
 
 
 

FINAL WORDS

Despite the unpredictable weather, I enjoyed the photoshoot and was happy to have the opportunity to try taking lifestyle photos in a different part of Downtown Los Angeles than usual.

Looking back at the photos, I noticed that a majority of the photos were taken at very low apertures (around f/2 - f/3.5). I usually go as low as f/3.5 for most portraits before blue hour (just as a personal preference). I’m glad I stuck with the Sigma prime lenses that can go as wide as f/1.4 rather than using my Sony G-Master zoom lens that only goes as wide as f/2.8.

One of the problems I ran into when going at a wide aperture, however, is that at times the camera seemed to focus on the eyelash or the ear, rather than the actual eye. For this reason, it’s always beneficial to check your photos every once and awhile before moving on to another location.

With Deborah’s help, I was able to get some nice portraits and lifestyle product photos in the city.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and thank you for reading.

Until next time.

lifestyleBrian Brownproduct photography, lifestyle product photography, los angeles photographer, downtown los angeles, travel bag, branding photography, adobe lightroom classic, travel essentials, everyday bags, sigma lens, sony camera1 Comment