A bridge too far

[Mike McCarty]

Kim,

I've got three grown daughters and as I recall they all went through the "too much makeup" phase. Fourteen is a pretty tough age for a girl I think. It's no picnic for a dad either.

As far as these images go ... I think I would trade but a few for a few minutes next to my dinning room window. It seems to me that all the posing and color can never substitute for good light. To get good directional light out of doors in the middle of the day you you have to be really really good, or just lucky.

I arranged to meet these girls and their mother at the museum instead of my house because I don't know them and they don't know me. No harm, no foul.

Michele,

First of all I thought they were identical twins, clearly they are not. When I first saw them a couple of weeks ago they were dressed identically and had their hair done identically. When I spoke to the mother I thought we agreed that they would dress the same. Most people don't have a clue what we are trying to do or the level of nitpicking we are capable of. I go under the impression that when you meet someone for the first time it's just a warm up. Most of the time the thing that messes the deal up is things like improper clothing and their failure to understand exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Lord knows it couldn't be my fault. It takes a lot of patience. I would dearly love to persue that one indoor composition, but, I don't think I will have the opportunity.

Patricia,

My philosophy is - it's better to seek forgiveness, than to ask permission. When we arrived in the lobby I had one of the girls carry my camera around her neck. My understanding is that if you are a professional, bringing you client to the museum, they will ask for an annual usage fee. I don't have any trouble looking unprofessional. Also it's typical that they allow no flash inside.

[Garth Herrick]

Originally Posted by Patricia Joyce

Mike, did you approach the museum to get permission to photograph your models there? What a great idea, what I could do in the cleveland museum!!!

Patricia, I think Mike has the right idea. You have a great museum in Cleveland. Go for it!

[Michele Rushworth]

To get good directional light out of doors in the middle of the day you you have to be really really good, or just lucky.

...or happen to stumble on a few good books on outdoor portrait photography. The single most valuable tip I've read on outdoor lighting is to put the subject under something, to block the light coming from above. Then the light has to come in from the side. Put them on a porch with a roof, under a big tree, etc.

The only alternative to that idea that I have found is to backlight the subject. That still works best either very early or late in the day, though. Otherwise all the light in the mid-day sky makes the subject squint too much. The main drawback to this lighting scheme is that there's hardly any definition in the form of the face, but you can often get a nice glowing edge on the hair or on the body that kind of makes up for it.

[Mike McCarty]

Michele,

I would ditto all that. The absolute worst case is midday with the sun coming straight down. Your chances go way up in the morning or evening.

To my own credit, I am constantly putting myself in a position to fail. I don't mean that I want to fail, I do work hard to overcome the obstacles, but, it's in the screwing up that you get better.

I've said it before, you want to stretch yourself when the pressure is not on. Do it on your own nickle as often as you can.