I recently did a series of headshots/portraits for an article in Scene Magazine (a longer version can be found on the New Orleans Video Access Center blog HERE). The article featured local movie industry maven Jennifer Day. She is moving from her position as Director for the New Orleans Office of Film and Video (AKA the city’s Film Commissioner) to become the Director of Communications and Public Relations for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the magazine did a great profile on her, courtesy of writer Danielle Nelson.
I had never met her before, but as soon as she walked in I knew this would be an easy job. Great smile, great laugh. We did a few straight portraits and then I conducted my own mini-interview (while shooting) to get her to talk and relax a bit. I’m telling you, getting people to relax is BY FAR the toughest part of portrait work. You have to temporarily forget all the technical info and lighting and realize that almost no one feels comfortable with a camera in their face. Even someone who deals in cameras, people, and PR like Jennifer Day.
Speaking of lighting, let me give a big ole’ thanks to Mother Nature on this one. I started out slinging lights all over the place, umbrellas, beauty dishes, stands, etc. And I just couldn’t get the look I wanted. I was getting a little frustrated and thought, “let’s give some good old-fashioned window light a shot”. Opened the shutters, arranged a drape just so, brought in a reflector and BAM. Heavenly, beautiful, reliable, battery-free window light. Gotta love it. It’s always there for you, waiting, saying, “Mmmhmmm, he’ll come back. Once he realizes all those fancy lights and modifiers can’t do what I do”.
Ahem. On to the pics:
Beyond the three that made the article, I had two extra personal favorites.
This shallow depth-of-field one:
And this one, which shows what a fun personality she has. She’s a riot, I tell you:
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