Meg and I went on a summer walk around downtown Dover New Hampshire so I could take some photos of her as the sun was starting to lean towards the horizon.
The day was warm and calm, Meg was introspective and quiet, and I was feeling that pull to capture the harsh light of the sun beaming through trees and scattering across window panes onto her face as well as enveloping her in the deep shadows created in the spaces the light no longer touched.
We walked the mills, we sat by the water, we stood in the ivy and we photographed this moment in time where she’d just finished a long day of work and I was longing to have a one on one connection in front of my camera to record her just as she is.
A large part of successfully photographing people relies on my ability to quickly create a space of comfort between me and the subject so I can capture a side of them that’s truly genuine. Holding a camera to my face makes for a naturally defensive situation for a subject who isn’t used to being the center of this kind of attention for extended periods of time and it’s on me to remove that tension and lower their guard – even if only for a brief period of time.
I love photographing people one on one because it’s simultaneously the loudest and the quietest space to work within and maintain that level of intimacy. It’s a totally different animal than a wedding day, but to me getting to exercise each separately makes them both stronger. They live in a strange and beautiful symbiosis within my creative mind.⠀
I’m glad Meg was up for some time with me so I could forever show her that this is what she looked like in the summer of 2018 on a beautiful summer day in Dover.
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