DAY 125

PORTRAITS

Use of Shadow

DONALD DEAL, FASHION DESIGNER

Donald Deal’s fashion design and sense of style is classic, timeless, and beautiful, and he has dressed many for the red carpet over the years. When he commissioned me to make his portrait, I was very happy to oblige.

Our inspiration was the cinema portraits of the 1930s and ’40s. We shot a variety of setups, using old Fresnel tungsten light, and even an old 4 × 5 format film camera, shooting only on black and white film and Polaroid. In some shots he was seated, standing in others, and always wearing a variety of elegant clothing. This portrait was the final choice and actually comes from a Polaroid 669 proofing negative.

What I like most of all is that the dramatic lighting technique I used here creates a lot of shadow, which adds depth and dynamism to the final image. —SA