An Empowered Portrait session in France, and I wasnt even there
Today was a day to remember.
The wits with Louise started like most Empowered Portrait sessions do…we have a Zoom consultation where we talk well-nigh who we are and where we are in our lives, we talk well-nigh what its like to be an “older” woman in our society, and then I requite writing prompts to fast track the “getting to know you” part and also, to have the woman really start to explore how she got here, and what makes her the woman she is today. She works on her writing and then sends it withal to me, and then the fun begins. We start to translate her strongest qualities and characteristics into imagery…what does strong squint like? What does free-spirited finger like? What verisimilitude is that? What might you wear? What props might you have in the imagery to really tell the story of who you are, sitting here today in front of me. It’s fascinating to watch the process. All I do is unshut the door, ask the questions and invite in whatever will come. The questions are ready to be asked, and the answers are soapy to be told.
Today though, as a first, we held the portrait session which comes near the end of the experience, without stuff in the same room, or the same state or country. Louise is in France and I am in Maine. It definitely took a little uneaten planning, patience and effort but I think we pulled it off, swimmingly. And I say that tongue in cheek as Louise and I have the love of the sea in common.
She is moreover a photographer which definitely helped me withal for this first remote session. We brainstormed what needed to be washed-up to prepare and she was willing to make the effort. She borrowed a tripod for her DSLR camera, she found a remote trigger to fire her camera without stuff overdue it, she went to the fabric store and found material she liked for a background, and asked a friend to sew a loop on the top for hanging it. Louise and I “walked virtually her rooms” via Zoom looking at spaces and light and talking well-nigh whether we should alimony shades unshut or closed. We settled on a space to shoot with unconfined natural light. She watched the light coming in her windows for a week to icon out what time of the day we needed to shoot knowing that if it was early her time, it would be the middle of the night mine, but I was ok with that. We discussed outfits, make-up, hair, and what props she would have in her portraits, and then we were ready to roll.
Early, for me, this morning we met on Zoom. She had washed-up of few tests with her camera on the tripod using her remote trigger, and was having a little difficulty hitting focus. We brainstormed some well-nigh vent and other possible reasons for lack of focus, and then we were ready to roll. I had it easy. I sipped my early morning coffee overdue my palmtop while Louise, took a shot, got up, went to the when of her camera to trammels the image, took a picture of the when of her camera with her iphone to show me, and then we made adjustments to where her stool was, where the camera was, how it was wilted and the light….always the light.
Then we had some fun. Through the eyeful of Zoom, I was worldly-wise to guide her through poses, position her hands, transpiration the direction of the stool, ask her for the squint I wanted and where I wanted her vision to be, and then when I saw it come together I would say, “Now!” and she would printing the remote trigger, waif it from her hand, and strike the pose. She did amazing. At one point, I had her put her trigger in multiple splash mode and just stand up and alimony moving. In and out of the frame, leaning, laughing, and moving again. I did it with her on my end and we laughed our heads off. After well-nigh three hours we got through three outfits, multiple emotions and we were ready to be done. She was tired from all of the up and lanugo and when and forth, and I was tired from the early morning.
And….we were thrilled with what we created together, remotely, thousands of miles yonder from each other, but in many ways, right in the same room.
Enjoy! It’s wondrous what you can create with a little effort, creativity and collaboration. Priceless!
If you are interested in knowing increasingly well-nigh Empowered Portraits, and how you may have one of your own, trammels out all of the information here. And ask me questions. Let’s together show the world the beauty, wisdom, spirit and love of women over 50.
~ Louise Mamet, 75 years kind, curious, true-blue and independent. Mother, grandmother, friend, photographer, adventurer, traveler, and so much more.
Born on the Island of Mauritius and now resides in Tours, France.
You can find an excerpt of Louise’s writing over on my FB page, Nanette Faye Photography. Louise was the first woman who workaday an Empowered Portrait session with me, today, remotely. She in France and me in Maine.
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