A family friend tagged me in one of those Facebook challenge things: to post a black and white picture of my life every day for seven days. This is not something I would normally participate in, but she knows I love taking photos.
These are what I posted each day. Meaningless, and all but one without a filter. Click to enlarge.
My daughter consented to a quick photo shoot this morning before she went out for the day. Click any image to embiggen it.
I often encourage models, especially younger models, to bring a parent or friend along to their first shoot with me. It helps them feel safe, which is crucial.
This week's model brought a friend along. I was happy to meet her, and offered to take a few shots of the friend, as well.
Sofia hadn't planned on being photographed. She wore no makeup, hadn't done anything with her hair, wasn't wearing anything special. But my model encouraged her to take a few, and Sophia shrugged and said, "Sure, why not?"
She said she had low self esteem and low self confidence. I don't know Sofia well enough to gauge whether this is true. On my modeling stool, she projected an air of guarded vulnerability that I found fascinating. Sofia was a study in contrasts: unexperienced, but needing little or no direction; shy, yet willing to take a chance; soft exterior, but a sharp mind.
You'll see the primary model in next week's post. She's somewhat experienced and brimming with vitality, and I loved every minute of our shoot together. We plan to shoot more. It's going to be absolutely amazing. But today, let's focus on the young woman who bared her face and soul without warning or expectation.
This is Sofia.
Click any image to enlarge.
Note: This post originally had the model's name spelled incorrectly. Her name is "Sofia." The headline, text, and tags have been changed to reflect this correction.
Recently, I've been experimenting with lighting; specifically, highlighting the angles and planes of the faces and the chiaroscuro effect. Last week's work with Jace is an excellent example of the type of look I'm trying to create.
This week, I had the pleasure of working with Jordan, a college student just beginning to try a modeling career. Jordan was very different from Jace, whose older, more world-weary looks drew on a rich and varied experience; Jordan is still learning. It took us a while to find a common ground. Once we found it, we were able to get some really good shots.
Modeling is harder than it looks. You don't have to be classically good-looking. What you really need are the ability to relax and the ability to allow your face to reflect what's on your mind. Generally, I find young adults the most difficult to shoot. They're still finding their feet, learning who they really are, and trying to figure out how much of their inner selves they feel safe expressing. So I didn't have very high hopes when I started out with Jordan -- but he surprised me.
Take a look and see what you think. Click any photo to see it in a larger size.
The Raich Ende Malter collection was gracious enough to permit me to photograph my oldest typewriter yet -- a Hammond curved typewriter from the 1890s. It's a beautiful piece of design, in mint condition. I'll post a few pictures soon and update the Office Objects page here.
