Photo by Trent Bailey
www.trent-bailey.com
Portraits and couple shots are deceptive. On the surface, there only seem to be so many options, making it difficult to make them stand out. This has lead many a photographer to shoot wider and wider. The result is striking, but in many ways, unsatisfying – it turns what was once a shot about the people into a shot about the environment. In the end, successful images of people are all about nuance. They are about a dozen imperceptibly small things that add up to something much more.
Trent has done a beautiful job making this image work. On the surface, it’s a textbook example of a well-taken image. Great lighting, perfect backdrop, and good composition, but these traits aren’t the essence of the image. What Trent has done is much more subtle. The image is delicate. It breathes. It’s the curve of her hand on his shoulder, the subtlety of her smile, and even the position of her back. And most definitely, it is her right arm, suspended and weightless. Is it pulling her hair back? Resting against her cheek? We don’t know, but it connects us. It is the type of image you can dwell in, stirring the imagination.
It is a lovely lovely image indeed. I did read it though as being one of his hands, touching her cheek?
Yes, I think you’re right. Ah well, that works too. Thanks for pointing it out!