The Subject
The subject of these images is a motivational speaker from Kentucky. He was in the worst drunk-driving accident in American history when he was fourteen. A drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction collided head-on with a church group on their bus. The crash worsened when the gasoline from the ruptured fuel tank of the bus ignited immediately after impact, blocking the front door and resulting in the deaths of twenty-seven people. I met him through a videographer/producer who had made a movie about the crash.
He was building a new website and contacted me for images. I love using photography to help tell the stories of people who have overcome obstacles and had major victories in their lives.
Enhancing the Narrative
While I was photographing this dad, part of his tattoo peeked out from under his sleeve. He explained that it was a Phoenix (because he rose from the ashes) and the date of the accident. I made sure this artwork was visible in the portraits. These photographs would have still been powerful without the tattoo, but the depth of the story would have been diminished.
“I love using photography to help tell the stories of people who have overcome obstacles and had major victories in their lives.”
Adding His Son
I was only planning on photographing Dad but then decided to add a few images of him with his son. The son’s t-shirt had a design on it, so I had him turn it inside out and wear it backwards. I posed Dad, then had his son mimic the pose (above).
Background
I used a flat, white wall for the background and pulled them forward so that I could put a little spotlight on it. This added a gradient tone that helped bring all of the attention to Dad and his son.
Lighting and Camera Settings
Most of my images are lit with 4×8-foot softbox or an Octobox. I sometimes use grid spots as a kicker light. In this photo, the specular highlights on Dad’s arm and face were added using 20-degree snap-over grid spot, which gave me a thin, pencil-shaped light.
This image was photographed with the Hasselblad H4D and a 150mm lens. My exposure was f/10 at 1/60 second.