The Non Traditional

The Black & White Portrait
- Classic -

One of my favorite commissioned Family Portraits [of all time]

 is that of Inigo Zobel's and Maricris Cardenas' four children.

I'd put it way, way above a lot of my present digital portraits, not only because it was taken with Kodak Black & White Film [which I personally processed and made prints from], but because it goes against the idea that a family portrait has to be idealized all the time - As in when the subjects play down their "imperfections" and flaunt their "assets", in a manner of speaking, when the subjects put their best foot forward and are all,

 hopefully, in the best of moods.

Anyway, who would want their children to quarrel while the

hired phorographer is doing portraits ??

Suffice it to say, the Zobel kids were not in the "ideal" mood, that afternoon in Ayala Alabang.  It was an uncomfortable scenario.  I knew there are certain situations when I would have to make critical judgements, such as deciding to hard sell [take full control and tell them what to do] my subjects or soft sell them [as in letting them do their "thing" while I wrack my mind to find an "artistic solution" to the predicament] in order to create GOOD images. 

I also knew, somehow, that I didn't want a reshoot.  Probably, my years of portraiture paid of, because the decision [based on instinct]

 was to simply go with the flow.  It came naturally.

Anyway, why try to show their [the kids] "social stature" in a portrait ?

Whatever for ??  I was hired to do MY OWN photo interpretation of the kids by Mrs. Zobel, not some Editor-in-Chief for Town and Country or Tatler or
 Lifestyle Asia.  So, why not show their humanity instead ??

Wealth is cool, a high Economic/Social Stature is cool,

even Hunky Dory and Fine and Dandy can be cool to capture,

 but that is not what I usually look for when I do portraits.

It's something else.

Do I need to put it into words ??

Whatever For ??

brosi gonzales