Color photography in my opinion is always a bigger challenge than black and white. However, when done properly, it may give good results. It is all about narrowing your color palette as much as you possibly can. It is all about making it duotone, similar to how we perceive images in black-and-white photography by just using two colors. Then all distractions that could occur – disappear. This will keep our viewer’s attention on the main subject.
This time a scene from the movie La Grande Bellezza inspired me. There were many carpets on the set, and that was the place where Jep Gambardella met Ramona. This clever decision made a colorful and painting-like background to the whole scene.
I have decided to put a girl with a pomegranate in a similar set. And make some portraits of how she peels the fruit. Sandra is an amazing actress and a person, so I was sure portraits would be very emotional. We have found together an outfit that would fit the palette I wanted to have. The last part were fruits that she could play with. What could fit better here than a pomegranate?
The first photos were taken with the Kodak Portra 400 negative. Later, I took one roll with black and white Ilford HP5+ and did some more. I thought the results in BW could be interesting in those light conditions. Light put deep contrast on her face and hands, while the transition between dark and light was subtle. It was so juicy that I thought it would go well with our fruity scene.
The photo shoot took place in 2019 in the photo retreat Michalowice.
