This is one of my favorite senior photos from last summer, even though it’s not a traditional portrait. Now when I’m shooting, I make a lot of choices as I’m going along, but I always have a plan of certain poses I want to try (especially if my subject has something specific he/she has requested). This image was not planned. The sun was going down quickly as I was shooting Courtney with her guitar in the golden light. As we walked back toward the road and the sun was now behind her instead of illuminating her, the idea to do a silhouette of her with her guitar suddenly struck me. Laying completely on the ground wasn’t enough to get a good angle, so I asked her to stand on this mound of dirt. At first I just asked her to stand there with her guitar. The light was awesome, but something seemed missing. She was doing exactly as I’d asked but I needed to give better directions. So I suggested she strum and move as if she were actually playing. That’s when things really came together! There’s a sense of movement in her hair and skirt, the bend in her knee makes her look more relaxed, plus her right arm isn’t resting on the guitar but it’s actively engaged. What a difference these little things can make!

Of course, cropping and removing power lines might have had something to do with it, too…

Before (left) and after (right):