Taking Video With Tamron Lenses

Jay P. Morgan and his team film two creatively themed video tutorials.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Video and images by Jay P. Morgan

Jay P.'s lens arsenal for his video work typically includes four Tamron models: the SP 17-50mm VC, the SP 70-200mm VC, the SP 24-70mm VC, and the 18-270mm VC. "The 70-200 and 24-70 make an especially nice combination for putting together a video storyline," he says. "And we've been using the 18-270 a lot behind the scenes. With that lens, you have the range of both of those other lenses for video that doesn't need a faster aperture or as shallow a depth-of-field."

To test a series of diffusion materials, Jay P. and his team hired model Cynthia Chavez to shoot a steampunk-themed tutorial. "I wanted to go beyond a one-light setup, and I thought steampunk would be a fun topic to illustrate that," he says. "I built a small multiple-light set: We had a 3K multi-lamp with a softbox on one side of the set just to give some overall light. Then we bounced a 2K directly toward the model, and used a 1K on a softbox to add highlights. We shot two lessons over a 12-hour period."

The main challenge of the shoot was to accurately show how all of the different diffusion materials worked. "We had to be able to easily switch everything out so we could show each new diffusion with a similar exposure," says Jay P. "We also had to try not to let the background change focus, which was difficult - some materials let more light through than others. We had to get really close to the wall so you could see the quality of light and how it wrapped around the model with each change. Some wraps were really soft, some were a little harder."

The 70-200mm lens was the go-to lens for this project. "That's probably my favorite lens for both video and stills," Jay P. says. "It lets the background fall out of focus really quick and is such a sharp lens. With its range, we were able to go from wider shots to closer shots, like showing how we mounted accessories on the walls. Plus, with its maximum F/2.8 aperture, you can shoot almost wide open. When you combine that with the large sensor and shallow depth-of-field of the camera, it gives you the perfect film look."

For their "Day of the Dead" fantasy portrait tutorial, Jay P. originally commissioned a local graveyard for the shoot. "The cemetery was started in 1920 and they were going to let us shoot there, so we thought it would be perfect," he says. "However, we were out of town, so we didn't get to head over there till the day before the shoot, when we found out that there were no headstones there - not very cemetery-like!"

His team had to think quick. "There was another cemetery nearby, but it would have been a lot of money to rent and it didn't have great headstones, either," Jay P. explains. "So we rented a bunch of headstones from a prop house not too far from us and set the headstones up underneath the trees in our yard. We had smoke machines making both the background smoke and the foreground smoke close to the ground, an effect I love. It created exactly the ambiance we were looking for."

The makeshift set served as the perfect venue to film model and actress Nadia Dawn in her full "Day of the Dead" regalia and makeup. "We hired a professional makeup artist to apply the heavy makeup needed for a shoot like this, and we had her wear a lighter-colored dress to make sure she stood out from the background," Jay P. says. "The 24-70 was perfect for this kind of video: My background is in stills, and I love that kind of epic look you get with the 24-70. You see the person and her surroundings, and you get a sense of who she is."

Next on Jay P.'s to-do list: the official launch in October of an online coaching business class ("we're in the beta stage now and people love it") and completing a video his team recently shot in Fiji. "We did video and stills for a foundation that goes to Fiji once a year and does surgeries for people who don't have access to medical assistance," he says. "We were in really remote villages in the middle of nowhere and in the homes of some of the people who came in for surgery. It was a great experience, and I think the video we're putting together will be really powerful."

To see more video tutorials, check out The Slanted Lens website.