Musings: January 15, 2026
The Pillar of Strength © Jamiya Wilson Studio, 2025
One of my favorites images from last year with fantastic model and friend Emma Helena.
Images like this are why I now consider myself solely a portrait and fine art nude photographer.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Well hello 2026.
Another year begins which opens opportunities for fresh starts, new beginnings, and new relationships. 2025 was a very interesting year for me. It started with a bang, lulled a bit in the summer, then ramped up again in the fall. It was fraught with emotional moments, sad goodbyes, tear jerking happy moments, and countless surprises. I’ve taken time away from posting not only due to my work schedule but I’ve also been dealing with some personal issues I’ll detail in a future post. Still processing things at the moment, so bear with me. I’m human.
As the first musings post of the year, this one kicks us off with announcements and details about the overall direction for the year. Not only are things changing rapidly in my own life, but all over the world. How do we as artists navigate an ever changing(and ever shrinking) landscape? I hope to have more answers to that question as the year progresses, so stay tuned.
For now, enjoy the first musings of the year.
RECENT PHOTOGRAPHS
Model: Layana Devis @layanadevis
Studio: L’Atelier & Beyond Studio @latelierandbeyond_studio
Location: Paris, France
ALL IMAGES SHOT ON THE SONY A7RV + SONY FE 28-70MM F/2 GM
Just one photo this week. I’m still working on images from this set, but this is from my first shoot with the stunning Lana aka Layana Devis. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite models to work with whenever I’m in Paris. Beautiful features, a friendly demeanor, and always up for shooting, she has been a pleasure to work with.
This image was captured on the Sony 28-70 f/2 GM lens. A lens which I’ve pondered selling from time to time, but I find it irreplaceable for my portrait work. I covered an event at the end of 2025 and didn’t find the focal range as pleasant when compared to the 24-70. Having the 24 on the wide end is still extremely useful so I own both. 28-70 for portrait work, 24-70 for events and video. The 28-70 is my go to for portraits since it essentially replaces a bunch of primes I’d use such as the 35mm or 50mm options. Love the output from this lens.
GEAR TALK
The Sony FX3 Is Still The Camera To Beat
The Sony FX3. Been around 5 years and still #1.
The Sony FX3 is still one of, if not the best, video cameras on the market.
I’m currently working on a documentary project(details coming soon) which was greenlit in July 2025. At the time, I didn’t own a dedicated video camera. Already being in the Sony ecosystem, the FX3 was the logical choice for me. However, I did compare it to other available options and honestly none of them appealed to me as much. Panasonic has their S1II’s, Canon has the R5 Mark II and the recent C50, and Nikon came out with their ZR at the end of 2025. All great options but lacking in some area for me. With Panasonic, form factor and company dependability. I shot Panasonic for years and the lack of innovation and/or haste in getting out new products(especially lenses) left me with a sour taste in my mouth. So Panasonic is a no go. Further, I’ve also have been studying the image from Panasonic’s recent cameras and I don’t find it as pleasing as I once did. It looks “waxy” to me. Canon has impressive options, but is expensive and I didn’t want to invest in a completely different system unless it offered substantial benefits over what I have. Plus the C50 doesn’t have IBIS which won’t work for my application. The Nikon ZR looks cool, but isn’t suited for this sort of work. It’s more a prosumer camera than a true workhorse like the aforementioned options. It lacks much of the customization options on the body that more pro level cameras have. Plus, I don’t like Nikon’s colors.
So after all the comparisons, the Sony Fx3 still came out on top for me. The biggest advantage it has over ALL the others, is low-light performance. Shooting doc work, you’ll often find yourself in less than ideal lighting scenarios, so it helps to have a camera that can still produce a clean image even with abnormally low lighting conditions. Add in the small form factor, the amount of buttons and dials I can customize, and I have a camera I can truly call my own. After changing most of the default settings, it actually feels like “my camera”. There are still some odd Sony design philosophy quirks that nag me, but overall I find it a pleasant system to use. It will remain my main camera for the duration of this documentary project. Once it’s completed maybe I’ll consider other options, but for now, it’s been bliss working with the FX3.
Long live this amazing little camera.
NEW DIRECTIONS
One of my earliest(and still favorite) beauty images. Fun and frustrating times that era was.
In 2026, I’m saying goodbye to both beauty and swimwear as genres I’m focused on. For those who wish to see that work, you can see it in the Archive menu in the site’s main navigation.
Why abandon beauty photography?
“But Jamiya, you’ve put so much work into it!” I know. However, unless it’s for a commercial client, I’m not interested in shooting beauty. It doesn’t inspire me. I could care less about makeup, hair looks, etc. None of it draws my attention anymore and it lacks the emotional depth and intrigue I can create with portrait photography.
Swimwear was really fun, but time to move on.
Why abandon swimwear photography?
There’s no money in it. It’s fun to shoot beautiful women in beautiful locations. But since the rise of social media, influencer culture, etc. there’s really not a lot of money to be earned shooting swimwear. Brands aren’t hiring photographers for it in droves like they used to. Instead they’re bringing much of it in house. Influencers/models are shooting themselves just to post quick pictures on their stories. And the photos are more than “good enough”. There are about 3-5 photographers I know of that make a decent living shooting swimwear alone. And half of them have to do other things like weddings(*shudder) alongside their swimwear work in order to earn well. So while fun, it’s not moving the needle forward for me in any significant way to warrant focusing on long-term.
Will I ever shoot those other genres again?
Sure! I certainly will if I have an idea or something inspires me. If I just want to go to Miami and shoot swimwear for fun, I’ll definitely do it. Or hit the streets of Tokyo for some street photography, I’m with it. Those genres just aren’t mainstays in my portfolio like they used to be. And I won’t market/promote myself as a photographer in those genres. I don’t want any potential clients getting confused about the style of work I generally offer. Anything outside of portraits and nudes is more of a special case and quoted accordingly.
Where is all this going?
Essentially I’m starting fresh and reinventing myself as an artist. I don’t think some of my older work still serves me, so instead of clinging on to successes of the past, it’s time to embrace the future and focus on the next chapter of my career. On the photography front, I now consider myself simply a portrait and fine art nude photographer. I’m focused on making striking, compelling portraits of people outside of the scope of just shooting with models/actors. I want writers, poets, politicians, musicians, philosophers, CEO’s, etc. This new focus allows me to hone my efforts and really refine my marketing going forward. It also frees up precious time to step more fully into filmmaking and make that a more extensive part of my repertoire.
I want my portfolio going forward to be: Portraits, Nudes, Film/Video.
Expect small changes to happen on the website over the next month as I make the transition. Archiving the old work was step one. Now it’s time to fill out my portfolio a bit with more recent work and make creative projects plans for the year.
Sigh, my job is never done.
LESS BLOGGING, MORE WORKING
I won’t be blogging as much this year. Instead my focus will be on working more, improving my style, and growing my business. Blogging isn’t a huge part of my business strategy. It’s more of a place for me to share announcements, thoughts on things, but with minimal engagement it’s not worth wasting useful hours writing posts. 15 years ago, blogging was all the rage. People would actually read, engage in comments sections, etc. But now? Across the web, you’ll see many photography blogs are ghost towns. Comment sections use to be full of insightful discussions, now there are only a handful of comments. The web has shifted more to social media and YouTube and even on those platforms, unless the focus is on gear, engagement isn’t what it once was. Such is the times ya know?
If you’re sensing a theme, I’ll spell it out: I‘m focusing my time on things that excite me and yield greater results for my business. If it takes up too much time, offers little return, and/or I don’t enjoy it, it’s out.
So I’ll still blog occasionally if you’re into that, just not as frequently. 1-2 per month seems sufficient. Maybe I’ll share more from my travels as well. We’ll see!
IN CLOSING
I feel it’s important for artists to take greater control over their careers. If you don’t want to do a certain type of work, don’t. Figure out another way. Don’t allow yourself to be pigeon-holed into a miserable existence working on stuff that doesn’t stir your soul. Life is far too short to be wasted on things that demotivate us. Seek out clients/customers who love what you do. Sure it may be more niche, perhaps come with less fanfare, but at least you’re being authentic to yourself. For years I’ve pondered stepping away from beauty in a more official capacity and now I’ve made it so. It feels a bit odd letting go of something you worked on for years, but I’m not one to linger on past successes. I’m seeking deeper, more enriching challenges that make me excited to photograph. In time it will make sense, for now I feel liberated.
Here’s to the new year! May it bring more happy and exciting moments for us all!
Hope you enjoyed this post! Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below!
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