Womanwise - Lorna Henry

Lorna Henry’s story is a fascinating one. You can read the details of it here in this Express story, unfortunately, I can’t find the story I shot for on the Guardian’s website.

At the time of the session, Lorna’s home was being built in Morvant in an assisted self-help arrangement with Habitat for Humanity and that was the project that was filling her days when the story was scheduled to run in Womanwise.

The building is set into a moderate incline with a front door facing west. The light was great, soft and overcast, which was terribly useful, since the incline of the land made it impossible to bring any lighting to bear on a subject posed in the doorway.

That light; however, wasn’t getting into the building at all in any significant way, so here was an opportunity to give the image some depth by popping some light into the busy interior.
This photo was the one used on the cover, though there are a few alternates shot through a window space that show the volunteers from Habitat for Humanity working in the background.

Both images show the subject proudly in her space and the lighting, a pair of speedlights triggered by radio slaves, ensured that she wasn’t photographed in the doorway to a dark cave.
Sometimes lighting isn’t about lighting the subject, but about lighting the environment, subtly but effectively.

PhotographyWomanwise