Some Portraits...

I've been hesitant to shoot people for the longest time, I didn't have a "concept" an "angle", and besides people talk back and most of the time don't take direction very well, unlike food for example, which stays where you put it and never argues :) But then one day, while playing with my kids and taking some shots of them, I stumbled onto a simple set-up which I immediately liked and felt that I could use to shoot some of my friends and family. It's basically a Rembrandt look, with its typical chiaroscuro technique: one soft light to the side of the subject which creates a light/shadow/light/shadow etc. effect. (chiaro-scuro means light-dark or see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro). The classical Rembrandt look requires the creation of a triangular shadow on the cheek opposite to the light, which means that the angle of the face in relation to the light has to be very precise. Luckily I am not such a stickler to rules, so my shots vary quite a bit from the standard. To my surprise, I found out that I actually am having fun doing portraits, and in some cases I am very pleased with what I got. So for now, I will keep on doing it.