Brooklyn - Black and White Series

January 2020

It goes without saying that, like all of us who remember, 2020 kicked off a time of great uncertainty, with the pandemic growing over our heads, especially at the beginning of the year when none of us could have expected where things will go. Yet, even as talks of shutdowns started to begin around this time, I persisted with my work and wanted to begin a series where I would shoot a lot more studio portraits in black and white with friends, family, and folks that I’ve worked for in the past.

While, as you’re reading this from a version of me in 2025, I would like to eventually pick this series back up, these set of photos with Brooklyn started it all. If you may recall, we had worked together a few months prior on another shoot and Brooklyn is an absolute pro in front of the camera. She undoubtedly understood the general tone and vision of the project in our pre-production talks, and on the day of the shoot, everything was so simple.

With the general lighting scheme, I wanted to go for something very contemplative and dramatic, with just one fixed light angled above her, while keeping the composition on a tight shot around her. What resulted were photos that captured that drama I was aiming for, with nice subtle highlights on some images of her face, and rich shadows to contrast. So, despite how bizarre the era of the pandemic will eventually become, this was still a fun shoot before everything would soon change.