This last photo is one of the few candid 5-star portraits I’ve made recently. I made one of Liz a few posts back, but since then it has been a few months at least since I made a candid portrait that deserved the much-coveted 5-star approval in my library. Of the roughly 10,000 photos that have the specific “portrait” keyword (I have a tremendous backlog of photos that need keywording), only 119 of them have 5 stars assigned to them. They are in entirety photos that I would be satisfied to be remembered by. Naturally I have preferences even within those. A number of months ago I tried paring down my 5-star collections to my 10 favorite photos, and the task was agonizing. At any rate, in the near future perhaps I’ll put together some kind of proper collection of 5-star images, but for now, enjoy the man in the glass.

My friend Nicholas Golden Karnick (yes, that’s his real middle name), asked if I’d be able to shoot some photos for his girlfriend, Danielle this weekend so she can put a model card together. I obliged, and these photos are the result.

I struggled somewhat in my head in deciding how to light these photos. I’ve seen enough model cards to know that if you get too dramatic or complicated, you can’t tell what the model really looks like, and thus the card won’t get any clients, but also enough to know that if you make it too bland or flat, you also tend to just sink into the crowd. I tried to strike a pleasant medium by keeping the lighting soft, but not necessarily flat. This was essentially accomplished by placing a softbox overhead (and to the side) to make sure her hair was properly lit, and an umbrella placed at a medium distance away from her, to keep the light from being totally enveloping (by moving closer), but also from being harsh (by keeping it at a distance). Where needed, I also added a bit of reflection fill on the right side of the frame.

If perchance you are looking at my site and would like to contact her for modeling work, go ahead and use the contact button in the drop-down menu and I’ll get you in touch with her.

Enjoy.

Pretty oddball stuff here today. Haven’t done much shooting, as per my goal to relax and kind of take it easy. I’ve been feeling somewhat like I’m in a grind lately.