This is going to come as a surprise to no one, but I’ve been talking to a lot of photographers in the past week about what makes for good photos. I’m talking about the things that go beyond lighting and posing and aperture and shutter speed. All are important, but I grew up reading newspapers. I love them. Specifically, I love the New York times photo staff. Their images tend to just amaze me, and for the longest time I didn’t know why. I guess I just assumed they are amazing photographers and it’s hard to define why a photo affects us but some of them clearly do.
And then one day a light bulb went off. I knew what it was about their photos that always captivated me. It was their access. They were always taking me places I had never seen. It could be backstage at a concert or inside a hut in Afghanistan with a sliver of light coming through the lone window. Access was everything. You can’t tell a story without taking people there.
So how does this relate to senior portraits? Well, I didn’t think it did until we did Matt’s senior pictures. Matt’s a junior at Dunmore and on the football team. We were fortunate enough to get access to the locker room at Dunmore. I know I’ve never seen it and I’m thinking most of you haven’t either. Don’t get me wrong, the photos that we took in there are not about the locker room. It is just the setting, but it provides that little extra to the photo that makes it special. Plus, in the case of senior photos, it put Matt in a place that clearly means a lot to him.
So here are some of Matt’s shots from the locker room and other places about town. Enjoy. And thanks to Matt and his parents for inviting us to take these shots. It was a great day!
