I met this gentleman through Daniel’s Care, the special pediatric care program provided by Hospice of the Bluegrass in Lexington, Kentucky. He and his wife have fostered and adopted children from this facility, and this young girl is one of the children that they took into their home. I met them at our church one Sunday and fell in love with her amazing look. So, I spoke with the couple about creating a relationship portrait.
A Story of Security
Because Dad is such a large part of her story, we wanted the portrait to be of the two of them. Whatever her past may have been, she now has a secure place to live, a secure love, and a secure future because of this man and his wife. That’s the story I wanted to tell in these images.
Clothing and Posing
Because I like simplicity, I requested that he wear a black t-shirt and just wrap his arms around her. I did a number of other poses that were quite nice (below), but the one on the facing page especially touched my heart and really told the story.
Black & White Only
I never photograph in color and black & white in the same session. If I had photographed this in color, I would have created it differently; I would have seen it differently. Black & white is our emotional brand because with black & white, the viewer really sees the people without the distraction of color.
I love that she is nestled tightly into his arms and that he is a big, bodybuilding type of guy, which added to the contrast. She looks all the more small and delicate wrapped up his large arms, strengthening the visual impact. All of these contrasts come together to tell an amazing story. This is a big, macho man, but what can bring a man to his knees more quickly than the love of a child?
Additional images from the same session.