This natural light portrait of an archer and her bow was inspired by Hunger Games‘ character Katniss Everdeen. The model, Mariska, interpreting Katniss Everdeen sits underneath a tree holding her bow and arrow. This photo is part of a photo session inspired by the Hunger Games movies. The photo production took place in the Schinkelbuurt neighborhood in Amsterdam. It was organized by the Real Shoot Experience photography workshop series. I participated in this production both as a photography instructor, teaching fellow photographers portrait photography and photographic lighting concepts and, as a photographer with my own artistic vision and agenda.
For this portrait of an archer and her bow resting underneath a tree I used only natural light. Before setting up the scene of this Hunger Games portrait I scouted the location in search of diffused, soft light. After some time carefully searching the area I found a tree with a large canopy providing the shade and soft light I was looking for. What I liked about this location in particular was the contrast between the bright background and the relatively darker foreground. I thought that posing the model at the intersection of both would create an interesting effect. In addition, posing the model’s face in the shade created more flattering shadows.
I asked the model to sit underneath the tree with a relaxed pose and holding the bow and arrow with her left hand. One thing I was worried about when posing the model was the placement of the bow relative to the subject. I didn’t want the bow to create distracting lines that would guide the viewer’s eyes away from the archer. I tried different alternatives until I found the one that made the composition strong.
Other photos in the series include: Hunger Games Character Katniss Everdeen, Man Hiding in the Woods
Model: Mariska Mulder