Going back to a topic I mentioned in another post, about learning my lesson about passing by a photo opportunity. I did it again. I went back and actually did something with an opportunity I saw and had crafted shots in my head. This time it was for portraits.
I walked past this one spot several times on various times of the day without realizing the amazing potential 0f this seemingly ordinary street corner. One fateful walk home around 5pm I noticed the light streaming through the yellow forsythia bushes and I couldn’t get it out of my head for a week. I had to do something to settle this urge to shoot at the spot before the yellow flowers passed and I felt the common feeling of regret that is associated with the missed opportunity. So I contact two friends and they both were very willing to sit in on a quick portrait session. They were great to work with, and allowed me to experiment with some things that I have been working on, specifically posing.
Kate
One of my goals was to get better at directing a subject into a pose that is both flattering to them as well as visually appealing in the photograph. My research in articles didn’t lead to much then along came CreativeLIVE. An extraordinary service, that if caught when streamed live, its FREE! I have seen several workshops through CreativeLIVE and the most recent ones covered posing. So I thought I would take what I have learned and apply it to real life shooting. So I had my location, and the right light now I needed a subject.I contacted several people who I thought might be available, hoping to get at least on person who was available at that time. Luckily, two friends were available and willing to do it. Awesome! Kate was first, and the light wasn’t quite right for what I envisioned but I still went for it and came up with some amazing images of her. The sun behind some clouds. It was actually tough to get her to have a relaxed face, as she is very bubbly and always laughing; which is not a bad thing at all.
The following day Erin and I came up on the location and it was just how I saw it in my head, glowing forsythia and a lovely lady in front. You may remember Erin from some engagement photos I took of her and her, now husband and good friend of mine, John. These images show another side of these otherwise energetic, happy-go-lucky personalities. Erin was also kind enough to give me some helpful, positive feedback on how she felt this time, in regards to posing and my direction, compared to the first shoot we did together.
Two lovely ladies, a location that haunted me, and some newly learned skills all lead to some beautiful images. Both shoots lasted no more than 30 minutes and I ended up shooting less images, but came away with more workable images. I’m liking where skills are taking me. Now on to the next portrait session.
Erin
