On-location portrait: The big city

A location for a portrait could be a backyard, in the wide open spaces of expansive greenery. Or it could be within the confines of the big city. Good photo fodder is everywhere.

This portrait was shot at City Hall in Chicago. One of the nice things about shooting in the city is that at certain times of the day, streets and corners become wonderfully lit by a combination of direct light, ambient light and reflected light.

The sun was behind the subject here in the late afternoon. At the same time, a building half a block down the street acted as a natural reflector, throwing light toward the subject from the front. A large gold reflector added warmth to the subject and numerous pleasing images were made.

Mommie reunion

I received an e-mail from Idaho a couple of weeks ago. A group of four young women, fast friends who had gone their separate ways and became mommies, were reuniting in the Chicago area along with babies for an upcoming weekend. Would I be interested in taking some photos of the group? No thinking required here. I was on it.

On the day of the session, one of the little guys was not feeling up to par, and it was heartening to see the other mommies rally around the one mom whose child didn't have any smiles in him for the pictures. The other mommies had individual photos taken with (and of) their babies, and I offered to come back at no additional cost to photograph the local mom when her baby was feeling better.

It was a good day to get together with friends, sit and play in the grass and eat some dirt.

I'm sure the kids enjoyed it, too.