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Photography: Women Are…

“She did not succumb to the battering of the brutal elements in her life. No, instead, with nourishment and strength from those surrounding her, and from her own deep, strong roots, she continued to grow; not just grow but thrive! So much so that she did not buckle under the weight that was not her own.”—Claudia

For the month of June, my model was my lovely friend Claudia. We met during sunrise, to avoid the heat, and our time together was magical. We wandered the same wooded area I had taken photos in last month, but it looked different, more golden and less dark green. I focused my camera on capturing her lovely energy, smile, and how she connects to nature.

I met Claudia when our kids started first grade together. My first memory of her is volunteering together to paint the school office. She was working hard (something I learned is how she’s wired) and we got to talking. I instantly knew she’d be someone I wanted in my life. She’s caring and kind, but doesn’t allow boundaries to be crossed. She’s a loving mother who taught her kids to speak up for themselves and is the very epitome of unconditional love.

I’ve seen my friend go through some very rough times in the last few years and really focus on healing. She’s in such a good place right now and I saw it, radiating off her (see the photos at the end for photographic evidence, maybe?) I’m really loving these sessions with my friends and can’t wait to keep growing and sharing my photos with you all.

Enjoy!

#1

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#3

What makes you proud?
Watching my kids advocate for themselves and set boundaries, and knowing that I provide well for them, not just physical needs but in all of the ways that matter makes me really proud.

#4

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#6

What makes you feel brave?
Reminding myself of how much healing and growth I have done these past few years makes me feel brave.

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#9

What gives you hope?
Trusting the path that the universe has set for me, believing that it has good things for me, and reminding myself that it has always taken care of me (even though I endured a lot of pain and trauma), gives me hope.

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#11

#12

When we first starting taking photos together, I told my friend to just take a moment to look around the woods. Relax a minute and feel the energy. I snapped this shot. Although it’s most likely just a unique sun flare, my first thought when I opened the image was “did I capture her aura?” I had to share it with you all too.

And here’s some extras, just because I like them:

These were taken with my Olympus E-M1 MarkII, using several different lenses and edited with Lightroom Classic. Let me know what you think, and check out the others in this series if you missed them.

29 thoughts on “Photography: Women Are…”

  3. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photographs of your friend. Sunshine is truly in her element. The fact that you captured her during the golden hour makes the images all the more iridescent. Her demeanour exudes calm and patience, reflecting the healing she has undergone. The image with the accidental lens flare is almost metaphysical.

    I also loved the knotted latticework of the gold-and-green canopy.

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    • Thank you! Yes, I brought her those lovely flowers and she just happened to be wearing a sweater the same color. She’s a bright and colorful person! I thought that shot looked pretty cool too, like I definitely caught her aura or something. I didn’t see it through that camera and I’ve never had a flare like that before. It was a surprise favorite of the day.

      Glad you liked the tree, too. I love that little forest so much.

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  5. Wow that ‘aura’ shot is intriguing, more than the red chakra flare it extends above your friend into that misty orb. I’d say both of you were pleased with the results of the session. Also the very last one of the ancient tree is excellent.

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    • Thanks, Roy! I was quite surprised by that shot as I didn’t see the flare when taking the shot. I’m really loving getting to spend time with the amazing women in my life doing these shoots. Glad you liked them, especially that beautiful tree.

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  9. I enjoyed the thread you had with bushboy about posing models. Something that worked for me long, long ago, was to just start talking to a person a snap, snap, snapping. (Back in film days, I did it without film in the camera. Then it’s like, “hang on, I need to put more film in the camera.” or don’t even say anything, just do it.) I’m just trying to get them used to me snapping photos of them. Then I would casually say things like, “excuse me, could you just turn a little more to the light?” or “could you step away from the window, please?” Also, I found I could get really good close-ups by standing further back and using just a bit of telephoto. That way I wasn’t pointing a lens practically up their nose (if you know what mean). So with your friend above, I would have said, “Hey, let’s take a walk in these woods here. You know I shot so-and-so here last month and…” just start chattering away (and snap, snap, snapping). I dunno. Worked for me. I think the idea is to get poses without them feeling as if it’s being posed. I think most people just off the street will find it difficult to drop their stiffness and just let go.

    I liked 7 and 12 of the poses. I like the “aura” photo as an art shot. And when I saw that first “extra” with the big tree in the foreground, leaning a bit to the right, I thought, “I wish there was something more in it, like… like… like Claudia sitting with her back against it, or if she wouldn’t sit, leaning back against the tree, maybe looking up.”

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    • Thank you for that advice. That is sort of what I did, and I tried to just chat with her because we haven’t seen each other in a bit. I think some people just don’t like having their photo taken (she’s one), but she agreed for me 🙂 I do need to learn a few go to poses though for those moments, and then try hard to get back to more natural movement.

      Glad you liked some of them and the aura shot, as an art shot. The problem is my lenses right now. I have a dream setup but I’m not able to purchase it yet, but I do think having the ability to get wide shots and also zoom in will be really important. I used two lenses on this shoot, one with the wide shots, and one for closer ups. The wide one is really terrible with light and I get a lot of noise.

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  10. I guess I’m telling you stuff you already know. Difficult to photo someone who tenses at lenses. It just occurred to me that you’re usually one on one. Maybe bring a third person? In college I did a year in a recording studio (course of study). Once we had to take a break and get the lead singer a little drunk so he’d relax. Just saying….

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    • A third person might make a difference, if that was a person they already felt comfy with. It could potentially be worse. I know it’s going to be up to me to get them relaxed. I’ve had several sessions that were like magic, but if I’m gonna start a business, I need it to be the norm.

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