ARTICLE

Shooting fashion portraits in Sicily with the Canon EOS R6

Ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy poses in front of classical buildings in Palermo, Sicily.

Fashion photographer Wanda Martin was the first pro to shoot stills with the Canon EOS R6, capturing ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy in the classical surroundings of Palermo, Sicily. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/2000 sec, f/2.8 and ISO320. © Wanda Martin

The work of fashion photographer and Canon Ambassador Wanda Martin is inspired by Romanticism, so when commissioned to shoot a fashion editorial with ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy, she was drawn to the lavish and ornate buildings of the Italian city of Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

"Palermo has such beautiful classical buildings – exactly the kind of environment I like shooting in," says Wanda, a Hungarian photographer based in London with many high-profile editorial and commercial clients. "I'm inspired by portraiture from the 17th to 19th centuries, especially the Pre-Raphaelites. Like those artists, I tend to use natural or ambient light for interiors – the atmosphere of those paintings is what I'm aiming to capture."

Two ballet dancers lean against a wall.

Parts of Palermo's Palazzo Conte Federico date back to the 12th century, making it the perfect backdrop for Wanda's art-inspired portraits. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/100 sec, f/2.8 and ISO1000. © Wanda Martin

Wanda Martin uses a Canon EOS R6 to photograph a dancer in an ornately decorated room.

Shooting dancers in the ornate settings of the Palazzo tested the Canon EOS R6's autofocus, speed and performance in varied lighting conditions.

Capturing fast-moving ballet dancers in low light, and at times having to freeze the dancer's movements, requires a fast camera with excellent AF, low-light capabilities and good dynamic range. Wanda, who usually shoots with a Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, was invited to put the Canon EOS R6 through its paces.

The latest addition to Canon's Full Frame mirrorless range not only boasts a maximum frame rate of up to 20fps1 (12fps with the mechanical shutter) but also performs excellently in low light, offers enhanced face, eye, and body tracking AF, and delivers 8-stops of Image Stabilisaton depending on the lens used.

Drawing inspiration from classical buildings and ballet

Wanda's two main shoot locations were the opulent, sumptuously furnished Palazzo Conte Federico and the Teatro Massimo, Palermo's grand 19th century opera house and the largest theatre in Italy.

Wanda had two RF lenses in her kitbag – the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM and the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, two of Canon's trinity of essential pro lenses for EOS R System cameras.

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Wanda says she always prefers using zooms. "I like working fast, and these professional zoom lenses give you the versatility and dynamism to go from portrait to full-length in a heartbeat," she says. "The two RF lenses were fast, with f/2.8 maximum aperture and powerful optical Image Stabilization. They just help you stay creative and react immediately in all conditions, and create beautiful and unbelievably sharp images."

Wanda prepared for the shoot methodically, as she always does, but was open to letting it develop in unexpected ways. "I always have a vision, a mood and a story I try to capture," she says. "I usually put mood boards together, but the shoot depends on the model's personality and the chemistry between us."

Ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy poses on the floor of an ornately decorated room.

Wanda says she loved working with Lee. "He's a very edgy, interesting character. We drew inspiration from classical ballet but with a contemporary approach." Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/160 sec, f/3.2 and ISO1250. © Wanda Martin

As expected, the lighting was a challenge in both locations. In the Teatro Massimo, Wanda could use the stage lighting setups, but backstage there was only ambient light and she was shooting at ISO6400 and above. The Canon EOS R6 has an ISO range expandable up to ISO 204,800, offering incredible performance in such low-light situations.

Wanda's style is to shoot images that are atmospheric and still, but she also took images of Lee jumping or pirouetting in both the Palazzo's rooms and on the theatre's stage. "I don't usually work with dancers, so it was a challenge to capture the movement and the fluidity," she says.

Ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy captured in mid-air as he leaps across an ornately decorated room.

"I could easily track the eyes, body and head of my subject," says Wanda. "The face tracking gave me the confidence to keep up with my model and capture his dynamic and emotional poses." Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/1300 sec, f/2.8 and ISO2000. © Wanda Martin

Freezing action with 20fps and 8-stops of IS

Having used cameras such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV) and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, Wanda immediately felt at home with the Canon EOS R6. "I felt very comfortable and could start shooting with it straight away," she says. But the camera also offered features she hadn't used before and expanded her creative options.

"Although I'm totally used to the weight of EOS-1 series cameras, it was a refreshing experience to shoot with such a light camera," she says. "I could imagine the Canon EOS R6 as a camera I could always carry with me – it's perfect for documentary or portraiture."

The Canon EOS R6's face-tracking autofocus worked perfectly, following Lee's every movement. Building on powerful AF systems seen across the Canon professional imaging range, the EOS R6 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF with face, body and eye tracking and up to 100% coverage vertically and horizontally when using the automatic tracking modes. There are up to 6,072 AF areas for making precise manual selections and you can use the AF joystick to quickly home in on a focal area during a dynamic shoot.

Ballet dancers move quickly – the perfect pose or a mid-air leap is often captured in just a couple of frames – but the ability to shoot at up to 20fps1 with the Canon EOS R6's silent electronic shutter gave Wanda more options. "The challenge of this shoot was capturing fast movements," she says. "Being able to work with speeds up to 20fps made it easier to capture that one decisive moment."

Beauty in motion: first video shoot with the Canon EOS R6

Fashion filmmaker and Canon Ambassador Javier Cortés films a dance journey through Sicily with the full-frame mirrorless Canon EOS R6.

The camera's 8-stops2 of Image Stabilization, possible depending on the lens used, also allowed Wanda to shoot with much longer exposures and without a tripod. "I was told you could shoot handheld for at least two seconds and I said, 'No way!' In the Palazzo, I managed to shoot handheld for four seconds and the background was still sharp. I couldn't believe it."

A dancer stands in a doorway of an ornately decorated room, arms blurred by motion.

Wanda used a four-second exposure to capture this impression of the dancer's motion. Even though she was shot handheld with such a long exposure, the background is still sharp. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 15mm, 4 sec, f/14 and ISO100. © Wanda Martin

Ballet dancer Lee Jay Hoy lies on a couch, looking up at the camera.

A dream shot for Wanda in the style of the Old Masters. "The Vari-Angle screen made it very easy to quickly shoot from a different perspective," she says. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/85 sec, f/2.8 and ISO2500. © Wanda Martin

Pushing the boundaries of creative freedom

Wanda also had the opportunity to use a Vari-Angle screen for the first time, and it helped her get one shot she'd been dreaming of. "The Old Masters used to paint their muses lying on a sofa in a classical position, and I had the idea of photographing a male model in a similar way," she says. "Lee lay on a sofa and there was some nice golden light hitting his face and upper body."

When looking over the images captured in Sicily, Wanda felt particularly happy with the quality of the files, finding the dynamic range "impressive, with all the details in the highlights and shadows." This was the case even in backlit images and shots with areas of bright light in otherwise dimly lit rooms.

Two ballet dancers pose together on stage at the Teatro Massimo, Sicily.

The Canon EOS R6 performed excellently, even in the challenging low-light conditions in the Teatro Massimo. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 24mm, 1/800 sec, f/3.2 and ISO3200. © Wanda Martin

Fashion photographer Wanda Martin with a Canon EOS R6.

Wanda found that the Canon EOS R6 expanded her creative options and enabled her to realise her vision. "For me, the challenge of the shoot was mainly to capture the dynamism and the movement of the dancer, while still maintaining the painterly quality I like and keeping an editorial perspective. I'm very happy with the results."

Most importantly, Wanda says the Canon EOS R6 gave her greater creative freedom and allowed her to push her boundaries. "I like not to think about the technicalities too much. I don't want to worry about whether it's too dark, or if my images will be too noisy or blurry. I need a tool in my hands that makes my life easier and helps me capture a story I want to tell – and as fast as possible.

"With the EOS R6, you can shoot in low light at a very high ISO, you can lower your shutter speed and still shoot handheld, and I also just love the versatility of it being a perfect video camera too. I found everything I really need in a camera."

Written by David Clark


Wanda Martin's kitbag

The key kit pros use to take their photographs

Wanda Martin's kitbag

Camera

Canon EOS R6

Next-generation full-frame mirrorless camera, outstanding for both stills and video with impressive low-light performance and intelligent AF. "I especially loved the high ISO performance and the face-tracking AF," says Wanda.

Lenses

Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM

Canon's fastest ultra-wide-angle zoom, boasting a Nano USM motor, 5-stops of Image Stabilization plus 3 Aspherical and 2 UD elements for stunning sharpness. Wanda says it helps her create "beautiful and unbelievably sharp images".

Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM

One of Canon's trinity of essential pro RF lenses, the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM boasts a fast aperture and Image Stabilization plus a Nano USM motor for silent focusing. "I like working fast, and professional zoom RF lenses give you the versatility and dynamism to go from portrait to full length in a heartbeat," says Wanda.

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    1. *Shooting speed may vary depending on the battery type, the use of a battery grip or Wi-Fi, and operating temperature. For further details see specifications.
    2. 8-stops based on the CIPA standard with RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM at a focal length of 105mm