Marcia Mitchell: How do you say “passion” without the color red?

Marcia Mitchell: How do you say “passion” without the color red?

How do you say “passion” without the color red?

Two tango dance instructors, Marcia and Harby, wanted a portrait that said “passion.” When I searched for “passion” and “tango,” all the images either used the color red or they were in black-and-white.

My slogan is “Portraits between Branding and Art.” Some people may hire me because they want to use their portrait to help visually express their brand.

The dancers, however, didn’t want to use red because their color is blue. No problem! Harby and Marcia are very passionate about tango dancing and I think their poses show that passion.

I decided to photograph them at dusk as the sun was setting because it seems more romantic (and I got some red in the photo J). Since they would have appeared as silhouettes against the sunset, I brought my battery-powered studio strobe, light stand, and diffuser to light Marcia and Harby. I wanted a clean background—no trees or buildings—so I used a tall parking garage as the location. This particular garage, however, had a concrete and wire safety “wall” around the perimeter, which would appear in my photographs. On top of the “wall” is a 3-foot-wide flat concrete surface. I thought about posing Marcia and Harby on this “stage,” but it was too dangerous. Instead, they “danced” while sitting.

While photographing, we saw a shooting star. It wasn’t in any photograph, but I added it later when editing. 

Marcia Mitchell said, “I loved working with Keith Kenney on our art portrait. Keith is very creative and artistic and is able to help you visually express your message in an innovative way. He took the time to understand our vision, had great communication throughout the process, and the finished print was stunning – highly recommended!”