Portraits of my nearest and dearest/Week beginning November 18th

Well another week, another blog... Here in Blackrock, Co.Dublin, the weather has been pretty dreary and overcast, to say the least. Luckily I actually quite like photographing in lowlight, and here in Ireland the light can be stunning, even in winter. However my blogpost here has little to do with Irish outdoors light. These black & white portraits were taken of my nearest and dearest extended family in England. The light in the kitchen was low and flat, but I made use of a little light coming from the kitchen window to the left of the scene. I was looking out for expression and gesture in these portraits, and I was pleased to be able to get the catchlight in his eyes. He has a lovely intense painterly gaze in some of these, where you are left to wonder... well, what is he thinking? I now want to redo portraits of the children around the kitchen table. By pulling the table back a bit, in direct line with the window light, I can take pictures with greater depth. I may introduce some simple props to lift the image a bit too. Just a white table cloth and some simple laid out food, with interesting shapes. Grapes, pears, perhaps round bread rolls - something a little reminiscent of The Last Supper by Carravaggio. Interesting shapes and textures can really enhance black & white pictures, adding a storytelling aspect. I will have will have to study the painting, get inspired. Many of my photographs come from a seed of inspiration, a dream, or a piece of art, music, sometimes something indefinable creeping in from my subconscious. Anyways, that's for next time, Cara x