February 18, 2019 1:49pm I’ve never commented on one of my own photos before. But after rereading the comments about it, I decided to comment on this one.
Above the model’s right knee are four bodies, apparently of civilians. All the other figures in the mural are soldiers, possibly in some Third World country.
The storyline we went with was that this was during the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The soldiers are looking for a squad or platoon of enemy soldiers, and the model is somehow trapped between the two sides.
I asked the model to look in the same direction as the figure at camera right, who appears to be the officer in charge, so that she appears to be looking at the same thing that he is.
Before the shoot began, we cleaned the floor with Lysol. The model is sitting on a white towel, which of course required darkening the red floor.
Normally, I wouldn’t have been shooting there. The city had commandeered the building where my studio was at the time for the weekend, to be used as a VIP lounge/rest and refreshment area for artists, musicians, vendors, exhibitors and city employees involved in a city-sponsored street festival. Since the model had traveled from another state, we couldn’t reschedule, and I had to find an alternate location.
There’s another photo from this shoot (shot on another floor of the building) in one of my other portfolios. I’ll see if I can paste the link in here:
November 26, 2013 1:31pm This is an excellent composition in terms of craft and theme. The model's pose and expression combine well with her context. The figures on the wall are nicely incorporated into the photgraph's content, and the warm colors serve to counter the tension suggested by the model's expression.
