This is Cristina.
It took me nearly a year to pluck up the courage to ask her if I could photograph her. I am always embarrassed about asking people if I can take their photo, it’s something stupid because normally people are flattered that you want to photograph them. So if a photographer asks you if they can photograph you, be gentle with them!
She already has a bubbly, outgoing personality so there was no problem in making her feel at ease. Normally I would have to spend fifteen minutes taking photos in different poses so that the model or client can relax, this is part of the process. However, in this case we were straight into the productive part of the session.
She had brought some changes of clothes to try different combinations with the various backgrounds I have in the studio. We did a selection of shots from casual to formal. She did forget to bring heels, but we got some lovely barefoot shots and we have the perfect excuse to do another shoot.
With her striking hair, there was one obvious focus during the session, this said, I always want to show what I can see in the person I’m photographing, otherwise the images will be too superficial. As a photographer, it is my aim to capture the essence of my subject, something which is difficult to to achieve (and something I won’t know I have succeeded in doing until I see the files on a large screen).
