A Morning of Lifestyle Photography Part 3 | Santa Monica Beach
Here is a collection of some of my favorite photographs I took featuring model Erla Garcia from Bounty Models LA for a lifestyle beach shoot in July 2024.
The photoshoot took place on-location near the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. For this photoshoot, I wanted to produce both casual and more editorial photos. While I expected the morning to be incredibly foggy and overcast, I was happy that the sun rose to capture these portraits with a beautiful morning golden hour glow.
These photos were taken with the Sony A7R III and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens.
All photographs were edited in Adobe Lightroom.
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/400 sec. | f/3.5 | ISO 200
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/320 sec. | f/4.5 | ISO 200
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/320 sec. | f/3.2 | ISO 125
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/400 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 200
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/320 sec. | f/2.5 | ISO 125
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/320 sec. | f/3.2 | ISO 125
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.5 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.5 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.5 | ISO 100
Since this was a test shoot for the agency, I didn't want to use any unnecessary props that would distract from the final images. However, I still wanted to add a lifestyle element to these images so I asked the model to do a lot of natural movement along the pier and the beach, rather than sticking to a standard portrait.
I was able to get a few photos on the actual Santa Monica Pier before it would get busy later on. But the majority of this shoot was on the sand at the beach. Erla did a great job providing a variety of poses with each outfit.
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/3.5 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/5.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/5.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/5.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Before the sun would rise too high and cause a harsh light on the model's face, we quickly went with the second outfit of the red dress. Erla did a great job getting closer to the water and capturing some dynamic shots. There isn't much in the environment on this beach to interact with as far as rocks or trees. We ended up going slightly under the pier to add a bit of variety to the images compared to the first outfit.
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/640 sec. | f/5.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/800 sec. | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Sony A7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART | 1/500 sec. | f/5.6 | ISO 100