A Mind of Her Own
This is a modern woman, a career woman who can take care of herself. Yet inside all of us, perhaps, is a romantic girl from the 1930’s or 40’s. I thought of emphasizing this romantic look when I saw the pursed lips. I thought of a ‘cupid’s bow’ a popular look in the 20’s, if not the 30’s.
This era was the era of my mother and I remember looking at photos of her wearing lovely dresses, just above the ankle, plus a hat (usually a cloche) and high heels. She might be standing with one of her girl friends, both laughing into the camera, happy to be free from their factory jobs for a Sunday afternoon in the park.
My mother’s parents were immigrants and so were the parents of her friends. She used to describe them by which of the ‘old countries’ they had come from. I remember her telling me about the wonderful featherbeds she slept in when she spent the night at her Polish friend’s home. Or she would describe the delicious food that was their mother’s specialty. It seemed exotic to me growing up on a farm in South Carolina where nearly everyone was ‘kin’ even if ten times removed.
A few ‘technical’ details of how I got this look. I used window light. The sun is not directly shining into the window, but even so there is often too much contrast if your subject is too close to the window. If you can’t move him/ her farther from the window, then you can use some white paper to filter the light or fabric or whatever you have handy. Most likely, you will have nothing handy, so get prepared before your subject arrives.
I had her turn her head until I saw the triangle of light on her shadowed cheek. And notice also that the shadow from her nose does not fall onto her lip. This is a no-no that I have recently learned.
I used film here, but still did some finishing in Photoshop. I smoothed any imperfections in her skin. And darkened her pupils. Also lightened the catchlights in her irises. I used a sepia tone to give it a more old-fashioned look. And I applied a very slight blur to enhance the romance look.
This woman wore very little makeup but if you have a subject who enjoys the look of this era, give her carte blanche. You both will have fun.