In 2011, I took this picture of Zainab and became obsessed with trying to recreate it. This is nothing more than simple natural light shot from a 20"x30" window in my basement. I was amazed at how beautiful a simple window could create such stunning light.
I fell in love with the highlights, light direction and the contrast that this mighty little window could produce. Of course because we're talking natural light specifics I was limited to shooting during daylight at certain times of the day.
Over the years I continued to recreate and improve on this type of shot. Last winter I took one my favorite images of this style with Sasha (below). I had many people contact me about this shot asking for something similar.
The shot above was processed using Nik Software for an edgier and raw black and white effect. I've been using Nik Software since early 2014. When it comes to the feeling of these images, I make sure to talk to my subjects about conveying a moody, more serious expression. As you'll notice there are very few smiles in the galleries below.
In 2012 I took this shot with the amazing Amanda. I just love how the light wraps around her, shows a lot and very little at the same time.
I still didnt realize I was really onto something yet.
In 2013 I took some stunning beauty shots of DasJia [day-zja]. I started to pay more attention to time of day, cloudy vs sunny vs shade up or down and began to work at it.
Unfortunately for 2013 the majority of my shoots were not from my home studio and the few that were I neglected to use my special little window. This next shot of CarrieJo is the only other "window" shot from 2013. Still a favorite.
In 2014 I really drilled myself in this shot. I tried it with almost everyone I shot that year. Previous to this year I was a Canon shooter, from the 5D Mark I to the the Mark III sho0ting with either my 100mm 2.8 (non L) or 50mm 1.4. As of this year I switched over to the Nikon D750 and used either my 85mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8 and loving the new results. Due to various times of day and weather conditions my settings changed drastically. Some of the images are ISO 100 (CarrieJo above) to ISO 3200 (8th image below). Shutter speeds range from 1/60 to 1/400 but aperture is usually within f/1.8-2.5. Although its rare I do something use a reflector.
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Here are some more favorites from 2015.
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Looking forward to the rest of this year with you faces.
