“She knew that this silent, motionless portal opened into the street; if the sidelights had not been filled with green paper, she might have looked out on the little brown stoop and the well-worn brick pavement. But she had no wish to look out, for this would have interfered with her theory that there was a strange, unseen place on the other side—a place which became, to the child’s imagination, according to its different moods, a region of delight or terror.”-Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture sidelight. After looking online for several days at examples of this concept, I decided I wanted to try my hand at artsy portrait shots. My daughter generously agreed to be my model and we spent a delightful afternoon playing with light.
The majority of the shots were taken in our green bathroom using a flashlight and a gold reflector, but a few were taken using the natural light of our front window. Although these photos are very different than my normal ones, I love them. Not only do they showcase the beauty of my gorgeous daughter, but they forever will be a reminder of our time together.
I’ve written a lot about her struggles, but not nearly enough about how lucky I am to have this time with her. We spend our days orbiting around each other and it’s a treasure I didn’t know I’d have at this time in my life. While everything isn’t always easy, loving her is. She gave me permission to share these photos and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week!
- Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
- If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com
52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
You nailed it! With a beautiful model!
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked the photos. I’m quite fond of her❤️
<3
Number one is my favorite, but your subject looks beautiful in each and every one. 🙂
Thank you! We had a lot of fun taking these shots. She’s a natural with poses.
How nice to bond more with your daughter and play with your photography.
Thanks! Yes, we had so much fun taking these.
These photos of your beautiful daughter are treasures! Thanks so much for sharing. 😎🌺
I’m so glad you like them! Thank you.
Your young lady is beautiful, Bridgette! Ginger runs in your family I see which I love. Have a great week! ❤️😊
Thanks, John! Yes, she’s really such a beautiful girl inside and out. I’m so happy she saw some of what I’ve been telling her in these photos. I hope you have a great week too!
Thanks, my friend. ☺️
Wonderful range of snapshots here – 1’s got the perfect contrast between light and dark and 7 works really well with the coloured background – she’s a natural model 🙂
I’m so glad you like them, Tom! They are quite a departure from my normal shots, but it was fun to play around with the light. I happen to think she’s a natural model too.
Glad you’re both finding your feet again after those rough patches. 🙂 Hope things keep getting better <3
They are all great pictures of your pretty daughter! I really like 4 & 5 as they tell me a story..Shunning the light, and reaching out for it!
Thank you so much, Sheryl! That’s exactly what we were trying to convey in those images. I’m so glad they worked for you.❤️
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos of your beautiful daughter. We each and all have our own life challenges. Love adds treasures like these photos along the way. 😍🤩💐💕✨
Thank you so much for the kind words. Love does make life a lot easier to manage the struggles and obstacles put in our paths.❤️
I’m glad the time is well spent. My son is 3, while part of me is tired and strung out, the rest of me knows I’m going to miss the shenanigans.
Yes, the time goes by incredibly quickly! ❤️❤️❤️
Oooh I loke the last couple, with her face in shadow. The light and dark is good. Almost like the horizon on the moon, that kind of thing.
That’s what I was going for! These were very fun to create and I’m glad you like them ❤️
So creative and what mysteriously beautiful pictures of your daughter. Lucky for you , you don’t need to look far for a model.
Thanks! We had a lot of fun creating these shots. She’s a natural in front of the camera.
Lucky you had a beautiful and willing model. Was she paid in ice cream 🙂
Iced coffee 🤣
😂😂
What a team you two are! Nice work! 😊
Thanks! We really are a great team ❤️
💞
What a beauty! Things aren’t always easy, but loving her is is beautiful. You should use it in a poem.
That’s a great idea! Thank you. I think she’s pretty darn amazing. ❤️
Very nice 🙂
Thanks, Greg!
5 and 10 are my favorites.
Thank you! I really like 5 too. It wasn’t the exact thing I was going for, but I liked how it turned out.
9 is my favorite ❤️
I’m so glad you like that one! Thank you ❤️
Nice work. I must confess I’m not very good at light and shadows. As if I don’t see the shadows. I need to pay particular attention to “see” them.
Thank you! This was my first time really playing with creating these more directed light shots with lots of shadow. It definitely required me to play with the angle of the flashlight quite a bit.
Lots of work. But worth it. Best wishes.
Absolutely worth it!
Thank you so much Bridgette
3 6 9 10 by three’s plus one, since you asked. Why – cause if I were kin these are the ones that make me smile, the ones I show around when they asked. ( 3 & 6, for their softness, the most) (and for me, the most emotional – I like that)
I celebrate your working to learn your craft. This ability don’t just fall on a person’s head. Gotta look and listen, be willing to do what the moment wants, yea, practice, a lot. Good for you. nice work.
No resemblance there, huh? (meaning that’s a lie. there is, mother and daughter) Glad your relationship has places with Sun. Thanks for sharing Bridgette.
Thank you for your kind words. I really like the softer images too. Yeah, there’s no denying we are related…only she luckily got her dad’s thick hair and height 🙂 I’ve been doing photography for about 1 1/2 years now and it’s been a really fun journey. I definitely see growth and these challenges help me step out of my comfort zone of taking close-up nature photos. It’s fun to try other styles and to focus on things that push me to grow even further.
Thanks for your kind support! Hope you are having a great day. It’s storming pretty good here today. I’m quite in love with the sound of the rain on the windows.
All beautiful. If I had to pick one as a writer, I would go for #6. The story, I would tell would be of a strong independent character. The look over the shoulder says, I know where I have come from, and I know where I’m going. Nothing will stop me.
I love that, Paula! That’s 100 percent the energy she has right now. This girl amazes me. She’s got a lot of struggles, more than someone her age should have to face, but she finds a way to be fierce and loving through it all. Strong independent character—yes!
Genuine and stunning vision 💜🪂
I’m so glad you think so! Thank you 🙂
You’re so welcome, dear 🎈
They’re all grater daughter love photos. I like much. Wonderful range of snapshots contrast between light & dark and work really well with the coloured background. Like a nature model. I love daughter! I have only one daughter!
I send love for daughter 💝!
Sha get you permission share his photo. Iam so happy!
Thanks, Bridgette!
You know it can be hard to capture an image of a teenage girl that she doesn’t hate, and I’m so fortunate she loves these images. She’s learning to embrace her unique beauty and it’s all I’ve ever wanted for her. Thank you for the kind compliments and I wish you and your daughter the very best!
Thank you so much. Your girl is very good. You lt of care. She is happy to see these pictures.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos of your beautiful daughter. We each and all have our own life challenges. Love adds treasures like these photos along the way.
Very well said! Thank you very much, Tyler.
Such a beautiful series of shots, wow! #4 makes me think of a still shot from a scary movie…what is she seeing! I love the feel of hope reaching out in #5…and her look of longing in #9 tugs at my heart They are all wonderful…and what a gift to have that time spent with each other! 💞💞💞
Thanks for the wow! I’m so glad you saw a story in my photos-that makes me so happy! It really was a gift to spend that time together and I was so happy she actually likes how she looks in them. That’s huge! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing lovely photos and a part of your world!.. “Life gives us brief moments with another, but sometimes in those brief moments we get memories that last a lifetime, So live that your memories will be part of your happiness.” (Author Unknown)… 🙂
Hope your path is paved with happy memories and until we meet again..
May the love that you give
Always return to you,
That family and friends are many
And always remain true,
May your mind only know peace
No suffering or strife,
May your heart only know love and happiness
On your journey through life.
(Larry “Dutch” Woller)
Thanks for checking out my photos and for sharing that quote ❤️
Interesting, great way of showing different lightning and what effect is has.
Thanks! I’m so glad you found them interesting.
What a wonderful bonding experience, Bridgette, that becomes beautiful memories for you and for your lovely daughter. All photos are amazing, but I love the lighting, beauty, and mystery in #1. ❤️
Thank you so much, Lauren. She’s not had an easy go lately and seeing her come alive behind the camera in these shots made my momma heart soar with delight. She’s agreed to model for me again, but even more than that, she’s starting to sort of believe me when I tell her how incredibly beautiful of a soul she is and how much the world needs her to stick around.❤️❤️❤️
Your lovely girl has a wonderful, caring mom! 💗💗💗
That’s so kind of you to say. Thank you 🙂
Awe, she’s so cute. 🧸
She is indeed! Brave, strong, and incredibly talented too.
Your girl is lovely, a natural model. I’m glad for your times together.
For me #9 is the one! Is she thinking of something that’s weighing heavily on her mind or is she the essence of tranquility and peaceful thoughts? The latter, I think. She seems to be staring at the moon.
I love a photo or a story that leaves us asking questions. This photo of your daughter does that for me. Absolutely stunning!
I’m so glad you love the photo and that it hints at a story for you. She’s really a natural in front of the camera and I do think she was feeling very peaceful and calm in that moment. That photo was actually the final shot we got and when I showed it to her she smiled. I knew we were finished ❤️
Those photos are great and your daughter is so pretty and photogenic.😮
How do you take photos like that specifically?
Thanks! She really is. I’m not sure the proper way to take photos like these, but we took them in our dark downstairs bathroom with green walls. I used a flashlight to focus the light (covered in toilet paper a few times to dim the whiteness of it). I also have a gold reflecter I bought when I did my nephew’s senior portraits. I’ve never used it before, but I reflected the light off to give the effect in #2 (my personal favorite).
Oh, nice! Thank you so much for this! I appreciate it.
Of course! ❤️
These photos are very artistic and I think both you and your daughter will treasure them throughout your lives. I loved all of them; each has a certain unique personality. Since you asked, my favorites are the first two. Tell your daughter thank you for giving permission to share these.
I’m so glad you like these, LuAnne. It was such a joy to photograph her and for the first time in years she actually liked how they looked. You know how huge that is for a teenage girl! #2 is my favorite because it highlights her beautiful eyelashes and stunning hair. I’ll let her know you enjoyed them.
What a gorgeous young lady – I can’t decide between 4 & 5 with her look into the middle distance and those fingernails.
I happen to think she’s something remarkable too! I’m glad you like those two. It was lucky she just got her very first set of acrylics right before this photo shoot. Thanks for your kind comment!
Such a beautiful series of shots.