Charlotte Lifestyle Portrait Shoot with Hannah | Inspired by Banana Republic

Last week, I had the opportunity to create some spontaneous lifestyle portraiture with my friend Hannah, a model and photographer visiting Charlotte from Wilmington, NC, which is a few hours away on the East Coast.

We had to work pretty quickly to game plan with only a few days of notice, so I spent some time browsing Pinterest and found some inspiration regarding attire and color grading from Banana Republic’s Winter Campaign for 2024.

I’ve linked some samples below.

Charlotte can be a somewhat “cold” city architecture-wise, with many greys and browns and very little diversity in its design.

So, I knew I needed to play into something that complemented that vibe and came across as contrasty enough to stand out in an otherwise bleak environment.

It’s been pretty chilly here lately, so after exchanging a few different options, we decided to go with a darker overcoat at the forefront.

This highlighted some “small-town girl visiting a big city” vibes that I feel blended with the muted but still sophisticated color palette and styling that Banana Republic typically goes for in its urban-based winter campaigns.

This was my first portrait shoot utilizing the 35mm and the 85mm, so I was eager to see how to incorporate them into my workflow.

My original incentive for including these two prime lenses in my kit was to convey both main aspects of storytelling. I used the 35mm's broader, more true-to-life perspective to establish environmental shots and give a sense of background and setting. In comparison, I utilized the 85mm to hone in on specific details and moments and provide the most flattering headshot and upper torso angles possible.

When it comes to highlighting apparel and true-to-life depth in lifestyle photography, I sometimes find that the most common mistake photographers make is shooting with a wide aperture just because the option is available.

I can think of countless examples of shooting at such a wide aperture that, while I can get beautiful background separation and bokeh, I lose aspects of the environment essential to the story.

Digital photography can sometimes come across as a little “too” perfect if you aren’t careful, and I feel that it’s important to maintain as many authentic perspectives as possible so that we don’t take the viewer outside of the moment and lose the magic of authenticity when it comes to selling or conveying in lifestyle portraiture.

Thankfully, I was able to restrain myself this time and capture what I consider to be beautiful imagery and a very natural depth of field.

I’m currently finding that F/4 is a great starting point for both the 35mm and the 85mm, and I’ll adjust in one direction or the other as needed.

I’m very grateful for what we created together, and I’m looking forward to future opportunities to use both these lenses together to develop tasteful portraiture that highlights apparel and lifestyle.