P#40: The Dreamy Cello Player

Change Your Perspective

Vik Orenstein: This is a senior portrait for a gal who is very serious about her cello playing. She actually went to Tanglewood, which is a very big deal for musicians. This is an example of what I consider a fine art portrait.

The unusual perspective (shooting down on her even though she's looking down at the same time) creates some visual tension. I used the rule of thirds but instead of having the subject placed all the way to the right so that she'd be looking into the frame, I had her placed all the way to the left so that she was looking out of the frame, again creating visual tension. (click the image for a larger version)

Instead of documenting all of the cello ,which was my initial thought in shooting her -- and I did get some full length shots of her playing it too which were also beautiful -- I decided to go in really tight and just get the scroll and almost nothing else. This is what we wind up with there.

Audri Lanford: Great. Was there any effect on the background or was that just how it came out?

Vik Orenstein: That's actually a hand painted look done on the computer.

In Summary

Vik Orenstein's photo of a cello player demonstrates once again how powerfully you can change an image simply by shifting perspectives and positions.