The photo shoot actually happened in June but the mom just recently finalized and received her order…

“When was the last time you had your photos taken?” “Never.”

So began my portrait session with Gavin M. on a day when the sky resembled a giant softbox. The location was the beautiful Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park, allowing me to utilize some unique photo backgrounds to showcase this young man the day after he had graduated from high school, and a few weeks before he was to leave for his National Guard training.

Before the session Gavin’s mother said she was feeling so depressed after talking with other photographers because they weren’t offering what she was looking for which was someone who could bring out Gavin’s personality in a simple and authentic way. Suggested to her were photo shoots with props and dramatic backdrops where the image was as much about the surroundings as it was about the person in the image.

During the session I asked Gavin: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how much are you enjoying this/how much fun are you having?” Gavin: “10”! After the session Gavin’s mother said that Gavin hadn’t had one photo taken since he was a baby that he had liked! After I sent her my favorites from the shoot she said she really liked all of them and the natural expressions and she loved the location. Narrowing down her choice to just one image became a challenge (she ended up choosing 3 different images). “You captured him and that was what was most important to us.”

I feel honored to have had the opportunity to photograph and capture this young man (who was the winner of this year’s SIFF’s Emerging Filmmaker contest) at a significant juncture in his life, and to have used my photographic skills to be able to create a treasured lasting presence via photograph for his loved ones while he is off training and serving in the National Guard and wherever else his journey takes him. (Final image: Gavin gangnum style…)