I was asked to shoot a portrait of Alice O’Kieffe, a writer, in her home in Southern California. I initially thought of a “writer at work” setup. Looking at the yard and considering the natural indirect light, we set up a writing area outside, where the natural light was hitting the background just right while giving me a well silhouetted subject to light up with my flash unit.
The nature of the connection (or disconnection) between the subject and the camera is what remains forever and defines how the subject connects to anyone who will ever see the image, that is the most important thing that makes an effective portrait and can’t be faked. To find that connection, exploration is very important and since this kind of session doesn’t usually have a predetermined layout, together with adjusting the light, directing, walking around and exploring the subject while shooting helps to find the sought after frame.
While wrapping up, I noticed that Alice set in another part of the yard where the natural light looked perfect to me, so I shot a few more images, The one on the right is one of my favorites.
3 replies on “Exploration in portraiture”
I like the first shot, nice and soft light.
Hi Ali,
Wow they are both great, but the first one is gorgeous!!!!! How fun was that…..
A natural beauty in a natural setting. Gilad captured it wonderfully. I also loved the shots he took of 5 year-old Nola that same day, posing in front of the computer in order to be just like her Mamma.