Every year I do a select number of private commission portraits for high school age people wanting something unique and artistic. I don't like to call it a "senior portrait" or "high school picture" just a "private commission portrait session." To me there is a difference. It's not volume work. Everything is customized to the individual client. As I tell everyone, "you won't be hugging any trees or sitting on big numbers." The work is done on location or in my second floor urban grunge daylight studio. Occasionally we'll shoot against a seamless, depending on what we collaborate to create. Collaboration is of utmost importance. I like people with ideas and passion. It's so much more fun and rewarding to create images of excited, creative people.
Because my work is so customized to the individual client I rarely book multiple shoots in a day. I want to work in the best light. Usually that occurs once a day so booking more than one session on location is to possibly compromise the quality of my images. I won't compromise my work, period, so a generous amount is mandatory.
The portrait shown here was made near the end of the day. The sun was low in the sky. A California Sunbounce reflector kicked in just enough light to add dimension and provide a clean catch-light in her eyes. I like her expression - soft, yet confident, someone ready to take on the world. In post I used custom mix in Nik Silver Effect Pro to create the overall tone and tonality. Nik software is simply the finest black and white conversion program out there today. I'm a huge black and white fan, and I still shoot film at times for "the look" but Nik nails it so well I hardly ever "need" my film bodies anymore.
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon 70-200
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