A Light Tale

Photographed for Gustavus Adolphus College. Saint Peter, MN

I love creating environmental portraits. There’s something so beautiful about people in their homes, office, gardens, and wherever is special. It puts them at ease in their space, so they open up and give you much more. Using my lighting skills to shape, form, and define the subjects is also fun. So I come loaded for bear with more lights, stands, modifiers, cutters, and grip gear than I ever expected to use. But it’s there, just in case.

This couple was photographed in their Minnesota home for Gustavus Adolphus College. It was a great space with many beautiful options. As the art director, Kristine Martinez of BD&E, and I took a tour, scouting for that unique space, we entered this room, complete with a fabulous piano. But the best feature in my eyes was a massive window with soft, buttery light wafting from the left. I’m sure I must have seemed like a kid on Christmas morning! The gift of perfect light is something to behold. But it was getting late in the day, and we needed to act fast. I set up my Leica M240 on a tripod with a 35mm Summicron lens. Because of the dwindling daylight, I needed ISO 640 to get 1/125 and F/4. I could have slowed my shutter speed down, but I’m known to work kind of excitedly, so I figured 125 was safe. Then, after setting up, we brought the couple into the room. The couple needed little direction as they almost fell perfectly in place. I worked until the daylight faded away. From start to finish, it may have taken all of ten minutes. In the end, everyone loved it.

When someone says, you make it look easy; I consider it a compliment. It only took me 30 years of learning, practicing, testing, and doing countless assignments under immense deadline pressure to make the picture in ten minutes. Easy peasy.