These portraits were my first attempt at shooting low-key photography. I used only one hot light against a black backdrop in order to dramatically expose and accentuate the features of each model's face and in some photos body. I felt the process of shooting this series turned out to be rather playful with the younger models which included my sisters and two close friends. Shooting my elders, both parents and grandparents, proved challenging because the majority of them considered a
portrait as something that has to be rather formal. Interestingly enough in the first and last photos displayed above, both models asked to pose with the shown props. During the shoot, I avoided asking the models to pose a certain way or act in a given manner so I wouldn't impose of their true
character.
In shooting these series of portraits, I had a goal of capturing the individual personalities of each model. This concept of
character,
which unifies the series, was inspired by my own unique sense of face-to-face interaction with other people in my life. I feel the images represent each person in a different light according to their own personality which in some cases is seldom shared with strangers. I was able to photograph each model in an "Almost Caricature" way since I had grown up with and knew each person fairly well.
