Gear


6 Must-Have Tools for Portrait & Fashion Photographers

September 25, 2020

By Dan Havlik

With more and more professional photographers taking to YouTube to develop their brands and explore new business opportunities, many find themselves spending as much time in front of the camera as they do behind it. Fashion and portrait photographer Julia Trotti is someone who balances her photography life with running her successful YouTube channel. On it, she routinely dispenses helpful, in-the-field photography advice, behind-the-scenes shoots, Lightroom and Photoshop tutorials, and travel vlogs twice a week.

Trotti’s interest in photography began over 15 years ago when she started tinkering with found stock images in Photoshop just for fun.

I truly loved editing and retouching, and slowly wanted to start taking more control over the images I created instead of relying on photos I found created by other photographers,” she explains. “That’s when I picked up a camera to start shooting and fell in love with the art of photography.”

Her interest in video developed much the same way—through just experimenting with it, this time on a trip to Washington State with her sister to explore the national parks. “I decided to bring a little camera and ended up vlogging the entire trip,” she recalls. “I had so much fun filming, editing the video and incorporating my photos into it and it also had a really great response from my audience online that I decided I wanted to do more.”

That audience has grown to nearly 400,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, which she calls “an easy and open platform for new photographers to learn and grow their photography skills and business.” And now, with the pandemic continuing to slow down in-person portrait and wedding work, Trotti has found herself spending more time cultivating the channel. “My main aim [with the channel] is to continue to grow all of this to create a well-known platform and go-to for anyone who has any questions about anything in the world of photography.”

Some of Trotti’s most popular videos are her gear tests where she reviews the latest cameras and lenses in real world shooting scenarios while capturing models (and non-models) on location, oftentimes in Sydney, Australia, where she’s based. Trotti’s also created a number of Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions that she personally uses in her work. Called Digital Film Actions, they’re designed to transform images into something beautiful in just a single click. She often showcases their various effects on photos in her Instagram feed. Since she has her feet in both the photo and the video worlds, it comes as no surprise that some of her favorite tools are a blend of both. Here are six pieces of gear she can’t live without.

[READ: Nikon Ambassador Jide Alakija’s Essential Tools for Wedding & Street Photos]

The Sony A7 III

Julia Trotti go-to #1 - Sony A7 III mirrorless for her fashion and portrait photography

The 24.2-megapixel, full-frame Sony A7 III was the first mirrorless camera that temped Trotti to switch from shooting with DSLRs. Prior to trying the A7 III, Trotti had spent her whole photography career using DSLRs, specifically the entire Canon 5D series.

“I first started using the A7 III as a hybrid camera taking photos and vlogging while travelling for my YouTube channel,” Trotti explains. “But it quickly became my main camera that I have been using for the past couple of years for my portrait photography and wedding work.”

Along with 4K movie shooting with full pixel readout, 5-axis in-body image stabilization, an autofocus (AF) system featuring 693 phase-detection AF points and fast Eye AF, the A7 III is quite affordable ($1,998, body only) for a full frame mirrorless camera.

“At the price point, it’s hard to beat the quality, the balance between image resolution and low light capability, efficiency in focusing and [compact] form factor of the A7III,” she says.

Other pluses include the 10 frames per second burst shooting with either the mechanical shutter or in silent shooting mode; dual card slots; and Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth. 

“I don’t see myself switching to any other system, and this is a question that I get asked a lot,” Trotti notes.

Price: $1,998

Sony Distagon T* Zeiss 35mm f1.4 ZA Lens

6 go-to tools for fashion and portrait photographer Julia Trotti includes Sony Distagon T* Zeiss 35mm f1.4 ZA

When it comes to lenses, it always “prime time” for Trotti.  But if there is one prime lens she’d choose over all the others for her portrait and wedding work, it’s the Sony Distagon T* Zeiss 35mm f1.4 ZA.

“My entire camera bag is made up of a kit of prime lenses for both portraits and weddings,” she says. “I have the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm but my favorite of all these lenses comes down to the 35mm focal length.”

The Zeiss 35mm f1.4 is fast and sharp and built around 12 lens elements in eight groups to achieve its large maximum aperture while minimizing vignetting and spherical aberrations. Along with producing stunning background blur, aka bokeh, the fast f/1.4 aperture lets you shoot in difficult lighting conditions, particularly dim settings.

“I find that this lens is on my camera 90 percent of the time,” Trotti notes. “For weddings it’s super versatile and for portrait photography, I love the unconventional look and the fact that I can share more of the environment in an image. In particular this Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 never skips a beat with eye AF and focus accuracy, it’s a lens I know I can rely on.”

Price: $1,598

Wacom Intuos M with Bluetooth

Julia Trotti uses Wacom Intuous M with Bluetooth for editing

Each photographer we’ve interviewed so far has a slightly different workflow when it comes to post-processing their images. For Trotti, she can’t live without her Wacom Intuos M with Bluetooth tablet, which allows her to edit her photos with the help of the Intuos’ virtual pen that harnesses 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity to tweak shots precisely in Lightroom or Photoshop.

“As a portrait photographer, I spend a lot of time retouching my images and I find a tablet is so much more comfortable to use than a mouse,” she explains. “I am able to retouch with more accuracy and more efficiency. I have the Wacom Intuos Bluetooth tablet in the size medium. It’s a tablet I can easily travel with and it’s nice being able to minimize the amount of cables in my workspace.”

The pen uses EMR (Electro-Magnetic Resonance) technology that allows it to be battery free. A variety of pen nibs including optional Felt and Flex Nibs let you draw on the Wacom Intuos tablet with the touch of an artist, giving you a level of creativity you don’t get from a mouse.

Price: $199.95

Apple iPad Pro

Julia Trotti uses Apple iPad Pro for photo editing YouTube video

Apple’s products have a sneaky way of finding a cozy spot in our digital lives without us expecting it. That was the case for Trotti with the Apple iPad Pro, which has quickly become an indispensable photo editing tool for her.

“The iPad Pro is a recent addition to my photography workflow that I am quickly finding that I can’t live without,” Trotti says. “I like to minimize the amount of time I spend sitting at my workspace so I sync my Lightroom catalogues from my Desktop so I can edit out and about.”

Featuring an edge-to-edge 12.9-inch Liquid Retina display and P3 wide color support, the iPad Pro is also a great way for Trotti to review images, find inspiration for future shoots, and handle logistics, including billing.

“I also have the iPad set up in a way to be able to access my entire back catalogue from my NAS systems, so I am able to grab any image I need at any time,” she explains. “I find that it’s a more creative way to plan photoshoots, create mood boards and I have also moved my admin work and creating invoices to the iPad too.”

Price: $799 (11-inch model starts), $999 (12.9-inch model)

Atmos Ninja V

Atmos Ninja V 5-inch monitor for YouTube fashion and portrait photography video filming


As a YouTuber, Trotti spends a lot of time in front of the camera and she’s got to make sure everything looks good on screen, and that includes her. One way she’s able to do that is via the 5-inch Atmos Ninja V monitor. Trotti previously used the 7-inch Atmos Shogun 7, but likes the reduced form factor of the Ninja V.

“The Ninja V replaced my Shogun, it’s smaller form makes it convenient to include in my camera setup when I’m filming YouTube videos,” she says. “I use it as a reference monitor when I’m filming myself talking to the camera and it’s my go to screen for top down shots.”

The Ninja V is also a powerful video recorder and display that allows you to record up to 4K 10-bit HDR video direct from the camera’s sensor over HDMI 2.0. You can also record 4K 12-bit Raw from enabled cameras. It’s been an excellent tool for Trotti when testing photo and video gear on her channel.

“I also use it when comparing cameras, capturing AF speed tests and comparing video image quality on cameras that are able to output 4:2:2,” she says.

Price: $599

Incase DSLR Pro Pack

Incase DSLR Pro Pack

The quest for the ideal camera bag seems to be an eternal one for most photographers. There are some bags that are too big, others that are too small, some that aren’t waterproof enough, and others that are just too heavy or expensive. Trotti, however, says she’s finally found one that suits all, or at least, most of her gear carrying needs: the Incase DSLR Pro Pack.

“There’s nothing quite like finding the perfect camera bag for you and for me this Incase DSLR Pro camera bag is it,” she says. “The proof comes from the fact that I’ve been using it heavily for the last seven years, I haven’t needed to replace it and am not interested in looking for anything else for the time being.”

The all-black DSLR Pro Pack is made from durable ballistic nylon that’s abrasion resistant and water repellant. The bag has enough room to house a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless camera with a lens attached along with a collection of other lenses, both zooms and primes. There’s a dedicated slot for a 16-inch and a tablet computer and a spot to store a drone.

“It’s not too large, but comfortably fits everything that I need when I’m going out to a photoshoot or wedding,” Trotti notes. “It’s extremely comfortable and secure, I can travel with it and it’s very convenient to use.”

Price: $179

To view some of the work Trotti’s is best know for, view the gallery at top. You can also visit her website and see what she posts on Instagram here.