Sonia, Drink and Click Portrait – Austin, Texas

How do you create a unique portrait? That’s the challenge I grapple with. On one hand, I want a complimentary style to the one I’m developing. On the other, I don’t want all my portraits looking the same. Today’s, as you can tell, is a little different. I’m still using a high contrast black and white at a 50mm equivalent, but I suppose it looks dreamier than usual.

I already featured a portrait of Sonia, back in November. A conventional one in my usual black and white. That’s why, I wanted something different. I was at the Scoot Inn back in February and noticed these wonderful lights.

I asked Sonia to look up towards them, hoping that they would light up her face. A true available light photo, I suppose. This is a black and white I processed in Capture One from a RAW. It actually looks similar to the in-camera black and white, though smoother and grain free.