Happy World Photography Day!
My inspiration for portraits comes from a collaboration with the people who trust me in front of my lens. But it also often relates to art I find, whether in museums, in art books, or elsewhere.
For each client, I design a session based on their goals, our shared mood board, their style, energy, or the way they move. Sometimes I see in someone an expression or gesture that I can relate to a Renaissance painting. This is one example.
This is a portrait of my son, David. It’s part of a series I made about five years ago. David sometimes has the expression in of the young man in the painting called “Portrait of a Young Man,” by Sandro Botticelli (1480). Botticelli was one of the most celebrated artists of the Italian Renaissance. The painting is currently at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
When I showed a photo of the painting to David, he was excited to create something with me. So I found a red cap on amazon.com. He wore an old Carhartt jacket. The headphones were his idea — and I love the way they relate past to present.
For photographers: The main light: Profoto B1 in an Elinchrom 3′ Octa, feathered, camera right. Fill light: Profoto B1 in a Profoto L umbrella, double-diffused directly behind the camera. The hand-painted backdrop is by @oliphantstudio. Scratches, dodge & burn, and color work (yellows added to highlights and mid tones) done in post-production.