This portrait of mother and son was of my neighbors. I asked them if I could do a shot of them for my portfolio, as all their children are incredibly photogenic (and the parents are, too!).
The young lad was having a very challenging day, and REALLY didn’t want to sit still for a photograph. I’m old-school, having grown up shooting film and trying to capture the decisive moment. I knew my best tack would be to simply set up the lights, position the subjects, give them direction, and shoot with the best possible timing I could, more like a fashion shoot than a portrait session. I got about five minutes before the youngster just didn’t feel like having his picture taken anymore. This was one of about five images where I got his eyes open.
Camera: Sony a7RII. Lens: Zeiss 90mm f2.8 macro at f5.6. Lights: Alien Bees 800.