Faith

Sometimes a model arrives on the set and my heart goes pitter-patter. Not so much a personal pitter-patter (although, sometimes, there's that too) but more of a photographer's pitter-patter. Faith was just such a model.

I was shooting another model when Faith arrived but I kept finding myself turning my head in Faith's direction as she sat patiently waiting for her turn in the make-up chair. I couldn't wait to get her in front of my camera.

When she walked in, Faith didn't have a lick of "street" make-up on her face. Her hair was pulled back into a matronly bun. She wore gray sweat pants and a plain, blue, tee-shirt. She was long and lean and her naturally exquisite face looked like it had a porcelain veneer. Take a good look at this first image I've posted. Click on it and let it enlarge. There's not a bit of PS applied to Faith's face. None. Zero. Nor to the rest of her body.

Anyway, it took a lot of discipline to keep focused on the model I was currently shooting and, trust me, that girl was quite a beauty herself.

What makes a pretty girl like Faith grab the attention of the shooter the moment she walks in? Especially when there's a bevy of pretty girls on the set? I really don't know. (I shot about 15 girls over the two days I worked this gig. It was like an assembly line for making pretty girl pics.) I'm sure personal aesthetics have a lot to do with it. But I think there's something more than the shooter's tastes going on. Some girls just have it. What that "it" is I can't explain but it speaks loudly and clearly.

As Faith climbed into the MUA's chair, I thought I'd be able to return all my attention back to the work at hand. But that didn't completely happen. I kept taking little breaks from the set I was shooting so I could walk over and keep a close eye on the MUA's progress with Faith. Not that I didn't have trust in the MUA's skills. Lilian, who was applying Faith's make-up, is very skilled and experienced. I simply wanted to keep an eye on the process and use that opportunity to build a bit of rapport with Faith.

An hour or so later, I had Faith where I wanted her: In front of me and my camera. They had me shooting against a plain, blank wall on an old, time-worn, hardwood floor, with a small, black, mushroom-shaped settee. That didn't matter. All I needed were my lights, my camera, and Faith.

It was a muse-driven experience. Faith knew how to work the camera and all I had to do was direct the poses and snap away.

As you've already figured out, the long, lean, and lovely model in these pics is Faith. MUA was Lilian. Images captured with my Canon 5D w/ 85mm f/1.8 prime. ISO 100, f/6.3 @ 125th. Mainlight was a 5' Photoflex Octodome. A Chimera medium strip and a small, silver umbrella are providing highlights from either side behind her.