Olga & Carlos

These 2 were my old flat mates for about a year, they moved out when Olga became pregnant.

She asked me about doing some photos and I got this idea in my head that was something between a portrait and a still life, I wanted to include a lot of objects that were symbolic and we used my sofa and the coffee table for the arrangement. The photo posted here does not have any of this and is in B&W, I was not so satisfied with the result of the original idea but will revisit them again and see if I can make of them something I prefer.

I was a little unsure about this one at first, but several comments from other people convinced me that it’s actually not a bad shot, this does include some critical comments as well; sometimes having certain people not like something is proof positive that it has merit!

I think what some people are uncomfortable with is the strength of the image vis a vis how her tummy look; it does rather hit you and maybe it’s not the most romantic vision of pregnancy, but for me it has some truth and the ‘third person’ in this shot certainly has a presence. Also the way that Carlos is lit and Olga is almost a shadow is a different take on the usual soft  focus schmaltz of mother and child.

This image may not get me more work like this, but what the hell, I like it and am happy to own it.