I get asked this question a lot: “Are these real people? Are they models?”. Yes, they are, and sure, some are models because I am a fashion photographer too. The other ones are moms, dads, insurance salespersons, administrative assistants, stock brokers, engineers.. The other day, I got a call from Jenna. Jenna says to me that she had a baby 5 months ago and she would sure like to have a fashion style portrait because she has never done anything like that before. I said sure… so, when she got here I pulled out the makeup kit and got started. While I was doing her makeup, we talked a lot. We talked about what she liked, what I liked, we talked about the mood for the photos. I was fortunate that I had the time to do that since I was doing her makeup and hair for the photoshoot.
So, what is the point of this blog? Am I blogging about Jenna? Am I blogging about pretty photos? Neither of those things actually. What I am blogging about is the role that I think I play when I take a portrait. I believe that my role as a photographer is to not just capture the way someone looks but to capture how they feel or certain mood that we (subject and I) want. My role is not only to press that shutter button but also to figure out how to get those feelings or mood out of my subject. I teach this to all my students..the technical (camera and posing), is half the battle, the relationship is the other and the two combined can make magic.
At the end of the day…Jenna, a real mom and not a model, looked amazing and her unspoken emotions and behaviors spoke to me through the lens and I think I was able to capture not only a beautiful mom but a beautiful woman.
P.S. In case you have green eyes and you like the color used on her. I have to say that Almay has a Green Eye Trio and I love it for natural look on green eyed girls!
Tags: feamle portraiture, red hair, studio