As a photographer, it’s always a pleasure to create images of people that they love, but it is really fun to see them used on the web and in publications marketed to the general public.
A couple of months ago, Dr. Kara Davis came to me because she needed a photograph of herself for an upcoming second book she was writing on heart disease from a physical, emotional and spiritual standpoint. Dr. Davis (or as most people call her, Dr. Kara) is a wonderful physician, mother, and pastor’s wife.
We had only spoken on the telephone before our shoot date, so when she arrived, we sat down to chat. We talked about her family, her first book, and the book she was about to have published. Then we got to work.
As lovely as Dr. Davis is, she is not a professional model with tons of experience in front of the camera. Most people don’t relish having their photograph taken, feeling awkward and uncertain what to do with themselves. I like to give direction to clients, though, and never expect them to move around like a model (unless they can do that!). Taking the time through a relaxed photo session, tweaking poses and expressions while chatting with my clients is the #1 way I like to go about creating natural photographs that really show who the subject is. Such a thing cannot be rushed. And we didn’t rush. Starting with an idea of a look and fine tuning it, we had in the end a wonderful photograph of this book’s author–worthy of the book’s cover–which shows the warmth and expertise of the author. Congratulations, Dr. Kara!
Look for the book on Amazon, but with this fabulous cover:
