DAY 135

PORTRAITS

Use of Location

THELMA GOLDEN, MUSEUM CURATOR/DIRECTOR

When you are asked by a client to go on location to shoot a portrait, you never know what you may end up finding. In many ways it’s exciting, and in many others it’s daunting.

This particular shoot location left me with too many options, but after I looked around the museum interior, I felt that the outside courtyard would provide a colorful, simple background that I felt I needed. Despite having my strobe lights with me, I opted to use daylight, which was softly filtering through a cloudy overcast day in New York.

After meeting Thelma, I realized we had very little time to make the shot, so outside we went. This location’s blue-green glass and white-wall background, shot out of focus, provides a backdrop that balances beautifully against Thelma’s skin and clothing. To cap it all off, she gave me a subtle smile and her eyes smiled too, making the portrait very successful, despite the short time frame. —SA