Mingling with Murals

A setting for a portrait can add to its emotional aspect. For this series, I photographed a beautiful model, Paola, in the Wynwood Art District in Miami.

I was interested in having her interact with the murals, representing emotions, through expressions and color. I looked for vibrant colors to match her dress.

Or a monochrome piece to make her pop more.

Photographing at this location during the evening would be not be successful, if I had not used flash. All these photographs were made using two speedlights to illuminate the model, and show off the setting. One of my inspirations to shoot using speedlights in this way is Joe Mcnally. His work motivates me to want to learn more about the technical aspects of lights and using lights effectively.

Shooting when there is no light from the sun has helped me by forcing me to be conscious in placing my lights purposefully. I enjoyed this shooting style from a technical aspect, but I also liked playing with this concept for a portrait setting.

Pairing the outfit choice with different murals, was something I really enjoyed. I like the idea of being able to interact with another person’s art and perhaps see it in a different light than you would if you saw it just walking down the street. This is the first set of portraits I have made intentionally interacting with murals, and it has stirred me to want to pursue this concept further.

#murals #portrait #speedlights #colors #wynwood #miami