When Mariska's mom Stephanie had posted an image of these two, I jumped at the chance to photograph them together. I quickly learned that snakes will do what they want to do and that they are not slimy! hahaha
My vision was to maintain skin texture much like a beauty portrait while showing off Mr. Stuart. A challenge we faced was keeping the scene and feel of the images age appropriate for Miss. Mariska. I asked for the look a queen would give and she delivered.
Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun and I can now officially say that I have worked with a snake!
When was the last time you had a portrait taken with your beloved pet?
Mariska & Stuart | Portraits
© Tora Anne Thompson
Photographers:
Scroll to the bottom for technical details on how we achieved this look.
Equipment Used:
• Canon 6D
• Canon 50mm f/1.2 (Set to: 1/160 | f/9 | ISO 100)
• Paul C. Buff AlienBee 800
• 43-Inch Fotodiox Umbrella Softbox
• Savage Seamless - Pecan and Thunder Grey
The Setup:
For this session, we placed a single light source 3 feet in front of our client and raised it just above her eyeline. A white reflector was set up over her legs at waist height for a soft fill and black v-flats were used on each side of her to eliminate light bounce at the edges. The client was seated around 4.5 feet from the backdrop for that rich deep color.
Credits:
• Models: Mariska Lee and Stuart the Snake
• Agent, Body Guard, and Mother: Stephanie Ann
• HMUA, Photographer, Editor: Tora Anne Thompson
• Studio: Tora Anne Imagery
Springfield, MO Portrait Photographer