The Best Portrait I’ve Taken

I’m not exaggerating. It’s the best.

And who else would it be?

Kaila.

Because of course.

It’s seriously a beautiful shot. Kaila and I were messing around outside during the snow storm (see The First Storm if you haven’t read that one yet! It’s awesome!) but after getting cold we retreated to her house. She told me I would like a couple rooms in her house and would perhaps enjoy shooting indoors. I’m not sure what it is with me and shooting indoors, but I’ve been doing it more and more often these days. And I don’t like shooting indoors, so it’s getting me out of my comfort zone. And also, it led me to this incredible shot…so, ya know…

She took me down to her basement for whatever reason and honestly, I fell in love with it. It’s just a concrete basement, something you might see in an old film. But to me, it was a perfect location. I walked around in awe and found this little nook by a window and noticed the natural light shining through. I took the first shot (above, left) and was absolutely amazed with the result. It was almost as if it was a fine art portrait! I could get down there and shoot some “old timey” photos and would have an absolute ball with it.

I don’t do dramatic things like this, either. I’m not one to try to make an insane splash in the photography world because I think simple is superior. I like well light portraits with depth, particularly outside with golden, white, and blue tones. But, if I could go down an alley like this, i absolutely would. I already know I will shoot here again with her because these shots were stunning. The harsh light, the texture of the walls and the shadows created were mind boggling, something I’d never seen before.

And now, the shot.

I had an idea to have her whip her head up, hopefully revealing her hair as if it was floating in zero-gravity, as if she were being suspended like an astronaut. I set my camera to high-speed so I could continuously take pictures while holding the shutter down. The lighting was utterly perfect, shining in just the right amount. Kaila bent her head down, and whipped it back up. *cursh cursh cursh  cursh cursh* went the shutter. I went to image review and scrolled through.

Eh. We got it. I was happy. Let’s go to the washing machine now.

See, we moved on quickly, and sometimes I don’t realize how good a particular shot is. I need to see it on my big screen when I’m editing. I knew it was a good shot, but that’s all I thought it was.

Just good.

She wanted to show me her little nook upstairs, so we headed up and again, I was a little kid at a candy factory. She has this little corner on the top floor with a fuzzy blanket sprawled on the floor, lights hanging from the ceiling and books galore. I was honestly beside myself.

It was what you might see in a movie made a reality! I was full expecting her to take me to a wonderland when she opened a book, the two of us transported to a world of wizards and magic with warring armies. But alas, no such luck unless she is saving that for later. Are you Kaila?

I shot a few different color styles indoors, mainly because I wasn’t sure what I liked better. It’s hard for me to find a rhythm with something I don’t attack quite often. I’m experimenting, and you’re right here on the journey with me.

Honestly, it didn’t help that I changed my camera settings indoors a couple of times either. It’s hard to edit two photos with two different color schemes exactly the same, but I suppose it helped me find my rhythm a little bit more. I settled on a whiter, golden look, similar to what I generally do outdoors. It was still different, however. Different, but still warm and cozy.

Since we had these fantastic lights, we of course had to make it a little bit artsy. The two of us do this better than anyone else I know, and perhaps it’s because of the relationship we’ve built over the past (almost) year. I actually can’t believe I’ve known her nearly that long!

Kaila couldn’t hold back anymore and the goofiness started to come out, in it’s wildest form. I, of course, am there to capture it all, and it’s these moments that make me realize why Kaila is one of the greatest people I’ve met and why she’s one of the greatest friends I have. We always have the most meaningful conversations; long, detailed conversations about relationships and life. I don’t have that with anyone else I know. And then there’s these goofy moments. I live for them all.

I left shortly after these were taken because she had to get going to a hockey game. I was going to attend but I instead went back to my room, took out my memory card and inserted it to my computer. We had, of course, also shot in the snow and there were lots of photos to go through! I got through the snow photos with relative ease, enjoying each photo.

And then I came to the basement portraits.

The ones I featured first in this blog.

And I came across a specific photo…

…and my jaw dropped.

I couldn’t believe it. It was just…

It’s the one on the right. Click on it. Now. Go click on it, open the full size version, and take a long, solid look at it.

Because of this shot, this one shot, I created a folder that detailed my best photos of 2019. I’d wanted to create it earlier because I had taken two photos I thought were solid, but this was the final push. As of the publishing of this blog, I have five photos in there.

And I bet you know which one is my favorite.

No contest.

Parting shot:

Next blog: One of my closest friends returned from studying abroad in Australia.