Outdoor portraits
A friend of mine recently hired me to photograph a friend and former colleague of hers who recently had lost both of her parents. She thought it might ease her friend’s grief and help her focus on her future. Her friend Kathy called a few days later and suggested we meet at a city park called Centennial Lakes in Edina, Minnesota. The park is 30 minutes from my home. I hadn’t been there before and because I would not have an assistant to move my gear, I brought a wagon packed with anything I might need. Most of it would go unused.
We met at 9:30 a.m. under a bright blue sky. The contrast between the highlights and the shadows under the trees and bridges was dramatic and required careful balancing. I had to shoot at higher shutterspeeds to keep the brights from washing out, and that meant using a strobe on high-speed sync to fill the shadows on Kathy without making her look like a deer in the headlights. I used a medium-sized, silver Profoto umbrella with a white diffuser to spread the light from my Profoto A2 strobe. It had the power and performance to pull this off without being overly heavy. I had it mounted on a lightstand and used a sandbag filled with metal shot to keep it from blowing over the breeze. The one time I forgot it did blow over, but thankfully, the fall was cushioned by the umbrella and some shrubbery. No harm was done.
Kathy and I walked through the park looking for open shade. I positioned her so the bright sunlight acted as a backlight, then placed the strobe slightly to her side, feathering the light across her. We spent about an hour, stopping at various locations and shooting just under 200 photos. Kathy made one costume change along the way.
Back in the office, I spent perhaps four hours culling and editing photos. I always shoot in raw mode, which captures the most data. My Capture One software enabled me to tone down excessively bright highlights when necessary. I was pleasantly surprised at the results.
The best thing about this shoot was taking the time to get to know Kathy a bit. She has a ready smile, despite her grief. The park was a place that she enjoys, which helped put her at ease.
I write this as we just passed the fall equinox. The leaves are beginning to turn. Farmers Markets are filled with the summer harvest. Families are looking forward to Halloween (el Día de los Muertos), Thanksgiving and religious holidays. It’s a perfect opportunity to make some year-end portraits. Let’s get together before time escapes us.
