I had so much fun during this photoshoot. Although we were just barely acquainted, the connexion between the photographer (me) and the subject (her) was immediate and simple.
The idea
As mentioned in my overview, I take photography the spontaneous route. I always have some sort of idea in my head I want to put down on paper, but most of the time I enjoy letting the moment, and the people I'm with, guide me. In this case, I wasn't looking for anything specific, but suddenly, she turned her head, and her beautiful dreads flew over her face to reveal a subtle glimpse at her features. I had to get that feeling, that strength in the look, and the flow of the hair.
My tendency to go for dark looks, almost imperceptible variations in shadow depth, led me to push the shadows even further here. It gives this feeling of mystery, depression, or lost cause. The tiny shimmer of light in the eye conveys a brighter outcome to an otherwise hopeless expression.
I can't help but think of a badass pirate when I see her face, it's amazing how much a look can change the perception of a person.
The technique
I had no professional material for this photoshoot, so it mostly came down to my editing knowledge. During the photo, my main focus point was to keep the light solely on her face, and not have it absorbed by her hair. A tough job when your only tools are the curtains of the windows. I managed to get the right angle, and especially the right level of brightness for the background. Indeed, I wanted to highly contrast the background with the character, but couldn't play around with the inverse square law (a very useful portrait photography tool to make the background pop out or fade into darkness based on the distance of the source light to the subject and to the background). Therefore, I was obliged to achieve the look I wanted with editing tools.
I pushed the highlights and mediums and pulled the shadows and darks to the minimum. To add to a vintage look I added grain which emphasizes the raw look of the subject and helps give texture to the background. The grain also give a different texture to the dreads in the front, almost as if they were painted.
Tools
Camera: Canon 1300D
Lens: 18-55 mm
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