Lessons learned from pool
On my first try with this shoot, I knew it was a gamble to attempt with my current lens. The higher f-stop of 3.5-5.6 on my 18-55 lens proved to be difficult to work with in the low light environment when I was back in the editing bay. While there was overhead lighting at each table, I couldn't quite figure out how to take pics that I was proud of with that aperture - especially without a flash. I went back a few weeks later and reshot on my new purchase of a 85mm f1.8 lens. I've shot with the f1.2 version of this lens frequently, and instead of continuing to rent (shoutout to the great folks at Dodd Camera) I finally bit the bullet and bought the f1.2's little sister. It's my first z-mount lens to accompany my also recently acquired Nikon ZF.
The new lens gives a totally different feel and framing to the environment at Surge Billiards - the prime 85mm lens definitely was the way to go since I could lurk better in the background without being super close and distracting for the players.
This set is also the second set that I've edited fully in Lightroom. I've been editing with the native Mac Photos app for the past year which has been a good entry point to get exposure to developing a workflow and a style, but all the other professional photographers that I follow were right about how good of a tool Lightroom is (to no one's surprise). Adding in a background mask to lower the exposure make the photos look more dramatic was prefect for this shoot (and also the recent Chicago Winds under-the-lights set). Knowing that I lost some of the bokeh with that new f1.8 aperture is fine with me for this set as the finished product is something I'm extremely proud of. Next time, I'll probably tighten up that aperture just a hair to get a more even exposure on the pool table itself.
