Leona -- Floored

Part of the reason I asked Leona to show up later in the afternoon for this sitting was this lighting situation. At this time of year, there is a rare patch of direct sunlight on my living room floor at this time of day. Such harsh light is a challenge to use, but it was so unique that I couldn't pass it up.

This light was fairly restrictive -- meaning, that it looked good only for certain poses. We did some exposures with Leona's hips turned more towards the camera, but I didn't like them as much as these.

So, to try something different, I asked Leona to turn around, putting her feet towards the window. That resulted in Boris Karloff lighting on her face, which we corrected by positioning a reflector just off camera to reflect some light back on her face. The sun was bright at that moment.

The sun bouncing off that reflector was a powerful thing. I asked Leona to stand between two of the living room windows, and we lit her with the hard light from the reflector. We were restricted with the reflector position -- if we had raised it, it would have lost the direct sun light. Thus, we used the light that came from low down on the floor.

Assessment: This lighting is a bit radical for my style of photography, but hey, it was there, so we used it. While not my best work, these images are interesting, and I'm glad we did them.
I continue to struggle with my desire to return to studio settings. I would love to get Leona into a studio with some more controlled lights. Perhaps soon.

And I continue to enjoy the time I spend with Leona. Look for more sittings with her soon.