This shot was tough to get, not just because of the chaos of the protest, but because I wanted to do something different with the composition. It was a union protest for restaurant workers in DC—loud, fast-moving, unpredictable. But what really caught my eye was the child in the middle of it all. Seeing a kid at a protest like this says a lot. It makes you wonder how personal this must’ve been for the parent—so important that they were willing to bring their child into an environment that wasn’t exactly safe.
That idea bled into how I framed the shot. Normally, you’d expect the subject to be well-lit and sharp. But here, the parent—the real subject—is in focus but lost in the shadows, while the child, who naturally grabs your attention, is slightly blurred under the glow of passing headlights. It felt like the right way to tell the story—balancing both of them without making either one the obvious focal point.
I also made a point to only use ambient light. No flash, no extra lighting—just whatever was naturally happening in the moment. A car passed by at the perfect time, casting this dramatic glow that almost looks like a studio setup. I had no control over it, which honestly made it even better.
At the end of the day, this photo isn’t about being technically perfect. It’s about breaking away from what’s expected, capturing something that feels a little off-balance, a little messy, but completely real—just like the protest itself.