My daughter started a tradition a couple of years ago where she has friends over to the house for pictures before they head off to the dance. Last Saturday was prom night so we set up a white background in the studio. Now that the weather is warming up a little, we were also able to take a few shots in the stairwell outside the studio as well. Good times!
This photo is the first image you see when you visit my website and blog because it defines that “ah… ha…” moment for me as a photographer.
What do I mean by “ah… ha…” moment? It was this image that made me realize a photo can be so much more then a simple picture. A successful image evokes emotion and feeling, not only through the actions of the subjects, but by the strength of the lighting. Lighting is extremely important to the overall success of an image. This image conveys the love and guidance of an older brother as he imparts his wisdom on his younger brother.
My goal as a photographer is to capture this type of feeling and emotion in all of the images I take.
Light through a north facing window provides an excellent quality of light for photography. This photo was taken with all natural light (no strobes or flash of any kind). I could have used a reflector to lighten up the shadows just a little but I kind of like the deep shadows in this image.
Colleen came over to the studio on Friday. She is in high school and needed a head shot so we took this photo. I think it is a nice image and successfully conveys who she is.
After the “standard” shots I wanted to be a little more creative so I suggested that she shake her head and let her hair fall where it may. I told her not to fix her hair and look straight into the camera without smiling. I also tossed a tye-dye sheet over the large soft box we were using for the background. This is the image we got.
These two images were made within minutes of each other. We got a whole new look by shaking things up just a little (specifically… her hair). I like it. I think it has an edgy look to it.
The creative aspect of making multiple images of a single subject that convey a completely different “look” or “feel” is what I really enjoy about photography.
