The Right Dynamics
These are the dynamics that I look for when creating a pure relationship portrait. The image below has dramatic lighting, high emotion, and a lot of connection. Dad is holding the baby, the baby is holding Mom’s finger, and Mom is resting her head on Dad’s back.
Posing and Expression
The baby is the subject and the parents are the props, all staged at different levels. Dad is the security. He is serious as he holds his son with his hand upon the baby’s back and the baby resting on his shoulder. Dad is also in deep shadows, making him feel like the foundation. Mom is less about security and more about intimacy as she touches the baby and the baby holds her finger. Mom is clearly showing her emotions for her husband and her child with her loving, glowing expression and her closed eyes. When you have someone close their eyes, you make them experience the moment. If they are closing their eyes with someone they love, expression is never a problem.
“Mom is less about security and more about intimacy as she touches the baby and the baby holds her finger.”
Less Is More
This image reminds me of something that I learned from a great instructor, Gerhard Bakker: impact is the most important thing a photograph can have.
Impact is that initial wow that stops the viewer and forces him to look at the image. However, Bakker also noted that initial impact can be deceiving; an image can possess initial impact but still lack the underlying substance that yields lasting impact. For example, mediocre exposure or lighting can sometimes be obscured by the initial impact. However, the longer you look at an image, the more obvious these underlying problems will become.
The test of a great artist, he suggested, is creating work with lasting impact. If someone enjoys your image, leaves it, and then still enjoys it at a later viewing, that image has lasting impact and you are doing something right.
Although there is no formula for creating impact, I always say there are two things I look for: a strong (even severe) composition and an unusual approach.
Additional images from the same session.