Maggie and I have been friends and occasional roommates since college. We got together on a November Sunday afternoon to shoot a casual portrait set. I wanted to work on my composition and lighting, and also wanted more practice working with a person. I’m continuing to experiment to try to figure out exactly what it is that I like taking pictures of. Sometimes I think it’s people and sometimes I’m not so sure. Either way, we were mutually excited to get together and play around.
Something I’m coming to appreciate about my photography style is that it’s incredibly DIY. Maggie’s not a professional model; most of my tools I have gotten second hand or made myself. We shot next to a window in the daylight and I had a can light bouncing off the wall behind her. I also used an old foamcore board rescued from the trash at work to bounce light on to her non-window side. The backdrop is just some fabric I had sitting around, and we cobbled together looks from clothing in shades of black I had in my closet. The crown I crafted out of junk from a thrift store.
These ended up soft and dreamy. I love old religious iconography, and there was some inspiration from that in the stoicism, crowns, and fabrics that I had her use. Occasionally the photos are overly soft in focus, focusing on just her eyes or her lips. This was not exactly on purpose (noting that next time I’ll have to use a smaller aperture), but I’m pleased with the result.
I’m slowly gaining confidence in building scenes and in giving direction; in having a vision and trying to realize it with others. After sharing with her the completed images, she gave me the highest compliment I think I’ve gotten on my photography so far: “Rebeccah knew how to get both what she wanted and what I wanted out of the session,” wonderfully reassuring that I’m learning in the right direction.
Camera: Pentax K1000
Lens: SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:1.7
Film: Ilford Delta 100Professional
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