This shoot was a bit of a departure for me, but man, I sure love it! It felt good to do something different that stretched me creatively, and make this mom’s dramatic vision come to life. On a technical level, to get the images to be both dramatic but still maintain a softness, I had to use flash and a very high f stop. Where as I usually shoot at an f stop of 2.8-3.5 for a group of four people, for this I was at f11. Because I was using flash, I had to limit the amount of light I was letting through the lens. It was fun to stretch my photography brain and change my approach for a new look.
But the more meaningful aspect of this session is that I knew it needed to display a good amount of gravitas. The family was going through something very heavy together and these portraits may possibly have been the last of all four of them together. So, I knew that important did not even begin to describe what these images would mean to the family members. I couldn’t do anything to make things better for this family, but I could damn well make sure I did everything I could to make these images as beautiful and meaningful as I possibly could. I want the family to look at these in years to come and their hearts to fill with love. I know mine will.
![Long Island Studio Portraits head of the family](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0003-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits mom and dad](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0004-684x1024.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits leslie renee photography](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0006-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits dad with kids](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0001-1024x767.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits family](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0007-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits serious](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0005-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits fancy](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0011-684x1024.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits siblings](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0002-1024x767.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits dad and big kids](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0008-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits black backdrop](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0010-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits suits and gowns](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0009-1024x684.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits family of four](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0012-684x1024.jpg)
![Long Island Studio Portraits formal](https://lesliereneephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/05-8571-post/Long-Island-Studio-Portraits_0013-684x1024.jpg)