Probably one of the most photogenic families that I had the privilege of photographing. Deborah Asante is a renowned story teller and runs the highly regarded Asante Children’s Theatre. For this session I used a single softbox and a reflector. The softbox was on camera right and the reflector on camera left to fill in shadows. There was a big window to the left but it did not help much as it was pretty late in the evening. I used one of the walls of the living room as the background which worked out really well.
Posts Tagged: Classic Portraits
7
Dec 09
Asante Family Portrait Session
24
Nov 09
Mira’s first trip to NYC
Mira and I visited New York city this past week to see Julie who was already there for a meeting. From what I can tell Mira loved the city. We stayed at a hotel close to Times Square and pretty much walked around checking out the sights. We spent a whole morning in Central Park and could manage only to cover about 20% of it. The above is a photo of Mira at the Bethesda Fountain. Unfortunately the roll of film I shot got ruined by Airport X-Rays (my on fault) and only has a few usable frames.
13
Nov 09
Environmental Portrait Session with Paul Poteet
This week I had the opportunity to do some environmental portraits and head shots for a very popular Weatherman, Radio and TV Personality, and a new media maven Paul Poteet. I used a single Nikon SB24 Speedlight in conjunction with a shoot through umbrella as a light source and a reflector to fill in shadows. The only other light source was a west facing window. The studio was a bit small but we found a way to get the light where we needed it to be. It was funny watching Paul having imaginary conversations on the microphone with imaginary guest while I clicked away. Here are some selected images from that session. Hope you like them.
Paul has a new web based program “Paul Poteet’s Gotta Eat“. You should check it out.
24
Aug 09
Photo shoot starring a theater student, storm clouds, and capricious light
This past Saturday I worked with a talented young theater student who needed a portfolio before heading off to London for a semester abroad. We met early morning on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, a favorite destination for many professional and amateur photographers. Sunrise was around 7:00 am and I knew that by showing up at 7:30 we would have the grounds to ourselves. Pulling into the parking lot I noticed storm clouds to the east that were still lingering around. The rising sun and the dark clouds created an interesting backdrop. I quickly setup my strobe and started working with Bo, who like a seasoned pro knew exactly what to do. The clouds cleared within a few minutes, but I was able to manage a couple quick photos right there in the parking lot.
Yes, the Flare was intentional before you laugh at me for screwing up 
. We spent a little more than two hours taking photos at various spots on the IMA campus. But as predicted around 8:30 or 9:00 a bevy of photographers descended with families in tow. I probably was the only photog lugging around a light stand with a strobe and got some funny looks from other photogs . We concluded the shoot in my home studio with more portraits followed by some film photography with my Hasselblad as Bo had indicated that he liked to have a few traditional B&W photos as well. 
18
Aug 09
Deborah Asante – The Story Telling Woman
This afternoon I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Deborah Asante, Founder and Artistic Director of the Asante Children’s Theatre on her portraits. I first met Ms. Asante at the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library Glendale Branch where she was scheduled to narrate stories from the continent of Africa. Here is her official bio which can also be found on the Children’s Theatre’s Website:
“Deborah Asante is Founder and Artistic Director of the Asante Children’s Theatre. She has dedicated her life to teaching and sharing the value of culture and heritage through the performing arts. Deborah is an Actress, Writer, Director and award winning Storyteller. Her directing credits include Producing Director of
the Inner City Cultural Center at San Francisco Reader’s Theatre, Director of the San Francisco Children’s Radio Theatre, Director and Producer of the Bay Area’s Production of “Blue Jazz Cabaret”. She has also directed the Touring Productions for Freetown Village and “Black Nativity” for the Walker Theatre. As a writer and director, she is responsible for several of ACT’s biggest hits; “Motown Story”, “The Middle Passage” (with Crystal V. Rhodes), “Zora Tales”, “The Step And Stand Tall Blues” and her favorite “Abena and the Python”.
Throughout her career she has received numerous awards and recognition which include Aesop Cup for Tall Tales from the National Association of Black Storytellers, Youth Investment award from the Indiana Youth Institute, and the Achievement in Arts/Music/Theatre Award from the Center for Leadership Development. Deborah was honored as a Creative Renewal Arts Fellow by the Arts Council of Indianapolis. She has been recognized by the LINKS Inc. with its Civic Award for community service, and she was named a Breakthrough Woman in Arts and Culture by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Of her many accomplishments as a creative artist she is most proud of founding the Asante Children’s Theatre. In 1990 Deborah was a single mother who had recently moved to Indianapolis from San Francisco with her son Terrance Asante-Doyle. She came here to direct a season of shows for writer/producer Crystal V. Rhodes’ company, Performances Plus. In an effort to supplement her income she took on a theatre project that called for her to work with a group of local youth. This work inspired her and she found it very rewarding. It was evident that using the performing arts to explore history and culture was not only enhancing the lives of the children involved, it also encouraged and inspired hope and pride in the families that viewed the children’s work. As an artist Deborah was excited, as a parent she was overjoyed. Seeing the children, including her son, Terrance, responding to the creative challenges with growing self confidence and a deepening sense of self, it struck Deborah how important this work was. Her commitment deepened and from that commitment the Asante Children’s Theatre was born.”
Technical Details of the Shoot:
Camera Used: Hasselblad 500C/M
Lenses: Hasselblad 60mm Distagon and 120mm S-Planar
Film: Kodak 125PX rated at iso100 and Ilford HP5 Plus rated at iso400
Developer: Kodak HC-110 for 10 Minutes at 68ºF
Strobes: Key Light placed on Camera right and fill light placed on Camera left
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan 8000
Software: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS3
