I Shot My Family

One of my goals for 2010 was to photograph the members of my immediate family and I recently completed the project. Since my brother, mom and dad are scattered throughout the Midwest it took a few months to pull those together but it was well worth the effort. It’s rare that my side of the family get together in the same place, especially since my mom and dad divorced several years ago so spending time with everyone while making these photos was nice.

Father Knows Best

I photographed my dad first, primarily because he had joined Facebook and wanted a cool avatar photo ahead of an impending high school reunion.

Yeah, my dad’s on Facebook.

I lit his photo with a single Nikon speedlight in a small softbox just out of frame to the left of the camera. He’s a smoker, so he had a cigarette going hence the smoky background. I really like the simplicity of this photo and the way it really brings out his Native American heritage.

I owe a lot to my dad, besides the whole genetic contribution thing.  He’s an accomplished drummer and is the main reason I started playing all those years ago.  If it wasn’t for him and his record collection I probably would have played something lame like basketball or the flute.

Stop! Or I’ll Shoot!

My baby brother is a professional shooter too, but I’ve shot way more people than he has.  Then again, I shoot with a camera.  He prefers a Glock .45 caliber handgun.

To be honest, he’s never shot anyone: he’s a cop.  Actually he’s a detective now.  He’s kind of a big deal.  At the donut shop and Starbucks, anyway.

He’s a good cop, though.  He treats folks with dignity and respect unless they really get out of hand, in which case he is fully capable of handing out a mighty smackdown.  He’s a BIG dude.  In fact he’s recently recovered from a shoulder injury suffered in a struggle with a wannabe MMA fighter that decided not to cooperate during fingerprinting. It takes a special kind of moron to provoke a cop, let alone a room full of giant ones.

Keeping my brother in line and a little soft around the edges, my sis-in-law is an admissions rep at the university where they met.  If it weren’t for her I’m sure my brother would be living in squalor and still picking his butt in public.  He’s the kind of guy that really benefits from a woman’s influence.  Both of them are studying for masters degrees, too. Brainiacs.

Their dog Rufus is slightly less ambitious.

Lit with a shoot-through umbrella, camera left.

The Rock

Growing up, my mom ruled the roost.  That’s not to say that my dad wasn’t around or influential in our upbringing but when it came to discipline she could bring the thunder.  I don’t blame her, either.  My brother and I could be a major pain in the ass.

She’s also one of the strongest people I know.  She is a selfless caregiver whether taking care of her ailing mom or the residents at the Alzheimer’s facility she works at.  This is also a fault of hers though, as she routinely ignores her own welfare for the sake of others.  I’m certainly not gonna tell her though–she’ll kick my butt!

Truth be told, my mom is responsible for my self-reliance and ambition.  She always told us that we could do anything if we worked hard enough and not to care what anyone else thought about us.

My Lovely Bride

Simply put, I’m a lucky man.

She endures a massive array of annoyances caused by yours truly, yet she still finds reasons to stick around.  I don’t get it either.

Her support for all of my lofty artistic ambitions is limitless yet tempered by old-school German practicality.  After all, someone has to keep me rooted in reality otherwise I’d drift off into the stratosphere.

And she puts up with all of my childish crap AFTER dealing with truly childish crap all day: she works as an academic advisor at a college.   She spends most of her time dealing with slacker college students so I try to take it easy on her when she gets home.  Hell, sometimes I even run the dishwasher!

Her photo was lit with two sources.  The first is a DIY beauty dish placed high camera right, the second a small softbox placed low camera left.  I’ve been wanting to try this “clamshell” configuration for a while now and it worked well.

So there you have it.  Photos of the most important people I know.  I’d love to photograph your important people too, so get in touch.