Shooting with a Purpose

12*02*2010 Posted in Photography

If you live in New England, you know that cold, bleak, winter days are approaching. This is the time of year when I really envy all those photographers who live in Southern California… OH how I wish I could bottle up that Southern California light and bring it back here in a bottle. Alas, in the absence of bottled sunlight, I rely on my dear 50mm f/1.2 lens. This baby can capture light in a black hole!!

Just last week, I set out to take head shots of Kira, a graduate student in Boston University’s program for Chorus Studies. She called asking for a set of basic head shots that she could use for auditions and applications. I always get a little nervous taking pictures in December. You never know how well the available light will cooperate with you; or if the light will just look really “cold”. So you can imagine my excitement when it turned up to be a super sunny day in downtown Boston.

We took this set of photos near the Christian Science Center. It’s a really gorgeous location with tons of archways and cool architecture, but I had to keep in mind that Kira really just wanted photos for professional use. So we banged out a couple of regular head shots, but as you could image I was itching on the inside to get some fun and stylish photos of gorgeous Kira, but also keeping in mind the purpose of the photos too. I couldn’t get too crazy with posing or backgrounds since these photos were mostly going to be used for professional auditions and applications. As I started taking photos and chatting with Kira, I asked her if she ever planned to have her own website and might possibly consider using these photos to showcase herself as an artist. EURIKA!! This was my opportunity to get a little more creative with Kira. When talking and working with clients, it’s always a good idea to really understand the final use for the photos… this way you can really shoot with purpose and intent. We talked about the type of photos she might want to showcase of herself on a website someday, and the idea of really showing off her personality through the photos appealed to her. So I wanted to make sure I gave Kira a good variety of standard head shots, fun head shots and just plain stylish photos of her oh-so fabulous self!

And here’s a look at my camera settings for this shoot. Proof that even as winter approaches, you can tap into some of that perfectly bottled light!! Happy Thursday!!

50mm f/2.8 1/320 100 ISO