I had so much fun photographing two of the Golda siblings recently, in separate sessions.
Zack is a senior at Servite, and was chosen by his school as one of this year's Leaders of Tomorrow. He's been recruited by UCLA to play water polo, but he's not just getting there on an athletic ride. He carries a 4.4 GPA, and is a National Merit finalist. Oh, and my daughter Katie's boyfriend :) I photographed him at the school pool, where he swims on the swim and water polo teams. He also came to the studio to take some fun senior portraits- including this one that we applied some of our digital magic to. Play the videos below to see more from their sessions.
Then I got to photograph Zack's sister Natalie, who aside from being a newlywed, a water polo coach, and acting athletic director at Rosary High School, is an Olympic athlete. We were so proud to watch her and the women's water polo team take the silver in Beijing, after having won the Bronze in Athens 2004. She brought both medals in for her photo shoot - the only time I've gotten to see Olympic medals up close. They're heavier than they look! She was concerned that now that she's not training for team USA, she might look a little out of shape in her suit. I should be so out of shape! She looked great- and was a good sport even when I asked her to wet down her hair for some sexy looks. As it turns out, she's pretty used to wet hair.
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I love it when someone asks for something that makes me try something new - or in this case, something old. The classic lighting of Hollywood glamour in the 40's was very directional and crisp- something we try to avoid in modern portrait lighting. It can be beautiful, but unforgiving. Wrinkles and blemishes are nothing more than shadows, and with bold lighting comes bold shadows. But it was also beautiful lighting because it sculpted the face, bringing out cheekbones and strong jaw definition. When Maliha asked for Hollywood glamour with a sophisticated, alluring twist, I could see she'd be perfect for this kind of portrait treatment. Look at that skin and eyes! She's a beauty, and I'm happy to have had the chance to go back to the simplicity of classic light.
