There’s something to be said about a well planned, thought out, studio portrait. A long time client emailed me a beautiful wall portrait of her older daughter taken at age five by another photographer. Her second daughter wasn’t quite five yet, but was about to lose a front tooth, so there was a touch of urgency in getting her five year portrait taken – especially if she showed off her beautiful smile.
The goal wasn’t so much to match every detail of her older sister’s portrait, but replicate the traditional look, size, and feel of a quality, 20×24 canvas portrait her mother already owned of daughter number one.
As always, in cases like this, my starting point is to duplicate the lighting, pose, and expression, but to reverse the pose so when hung side by side, they will face one another instead of both going in the same direction (they’re wearing the same dress). After I’m satisfied, I work outwards from there to put my own spin on it, giving the second child’s image its own personality.
In this case, I opted for a more pensive expression, without teeth. A chair was switched for a park bench, and hand placement was rearranged. Mom loved it, and who wouldn’t? It’s clean, well lit, traditional, and will be a perfect “sister” image to hang side by side with her older sibling.
Mission Accomplished!
Creating Wall Art
Newsome's Studio of Photography, Inc. 