The Picture Down The Hall Part Three

I love shooting family portraits. When you put together people who have a relationship and who love each other, you aren't the focus of their attention -- they are. So you get to be a kind of fly on the wall, watching them interact with one another, stealing (borrowing) moments from their day, their life. The picture of Gregg Edelman and Carolee Carmello with their children is one of my favourite stolen moments.

I also love shooting photos of gorgeous people and that picture of Chris has, long, been one that I love; not unlike the man, himself.

David Campbell is a famous singer and actor but when I met him he was a young man on his way to hit the heights. He always had star quality, as you can see in the Times Square photo of him in the rain. I have so many pictures of David - the file of Campbell negatives in my safe is probably two inches thick. He's famous to everyone else; to me he is just Campbell - my spiritual brother.

I have done so many photos of Brady in my life -- that's the great thing about having friends who are either artists or good looking or both; you can always count on them to be your models without pay. This headshot of him in his blue t shirt has always been on for which I had a special fondness; not just because I think it's a good photo (which I do) but also because I can see trust in his eyes when he looks at me.

For a photographer, that trust is the key.

While doing a photo shoot with a man and a woman in Central Park ( headshots for each of them), I had them sitting inside Bethesda Fountain (my favourite place to go). It was winter and the fountain had been drained; however, it had been raining and there were enormous puddles of water in the bottom of the fountain.

That is when I had this idea for the photo of Chris and Laura's feet and the puddle.

Ben Wright and Theo Clinkard were not a REALLY new couple when I met them - I think they had been together a couple of years at this time. I loved working with them because they had no pretenses, no wishes to hide who they were or the feelings they shared.

For a good couples' photo, a lack of pretense is paramount.