I am working on a series called "Selfhood: Unadulterated personality portraits of middle-childhood and early adolescents."
I have always had a love for vintage portraits. The subject's often stoic and formal appearance seem iconic and haunting at the same time. At the dawn of formal portraiture subjects would sit for long camera exposures and sets and background would be highly stylized for the fashion of the day. I often wondered what those people were like away from the lens.
I'm drawing a little of that style with classic lighting - slightly moody, tintype tones and tweaking it a bit with stripped down settings and a side of real personality. In my twenty years of being a portrait photographer I've found the most interesting subject to be kids between the ages of 9-13 or so. Subjects somewhere in their adolescents or middle-childhood possess this ephemeral beauty and passing surliness that is so unique to this age. You can look them dead in the eye and know all at once what they must be thinking and simultaneously have no idea at all. Somewhere in the middle of who they were as a needy child and who they will be as an autonomous adult, these fascinating subjects walk the fence of Selfhood. Certainly a little bit that enigmatic character walks around with in all of us no matter how much we believe we've matured...
Currently I am offering "Selfhood Session" that include 5 complimentary digital images with your package purchase. Children must be between 9-13. A consultation will be done to get the clothing, personality and style just right! A signed model release will be requested.