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Rick Wenner Photographs Strength and Determination

Nov 10, 2011

There are certain people in this world that are able to walk into any room and brighten it with their personality. They can easily approach anyone with a huge smile and love. You can’t help but absorb the vibe they’ve let out and you almost immediately feel great being around that person. Lindsay is one of those rare people that I am fortunate enough to have known for many years. Although she moved away from New York about 4 or 5 years ago we have kept in touch with each other via emails, Facebook and traveling to each other’s side of the country.

When Lindsay was diagnosed with Alopecia, a skin disease that causes hair loss that affects approximately 2% of the world’s population, I knew that she was very upset and it was going to be a stressful obstacle in her life. You would never know any of that though thanks to her strength and determination to be herself. Nothing has changed for Lindsay since her diagnosis. She’s still the same lively, soulful, and loving person she’s always been. She hasn’t let this disease define who she is as a person and I am damn proud of her for that.

The first two portraits that I’ve posted here are how I see Lindsay’s strength and soulfulness. I wanted to portray that although she’s obviously been diagnosed with a disease that many people try to hide from others because they may find it embarrassing, Lindsay stands strong and is proud of her looks, no matter what. The third portrait below is a perfect depiction of Lindsay’s personality in my opinion.

Lighting

The lighting that I used for these portraits was very simple. I only used one light, an Elinchrom BXRi500 in an Elinchrom 39″ Deep Octa. I kept the power very low so that I can open up my aperture to get that shallow depth of field. The light was to camera right, basically in front of Lindsay but more behind her…if that makes sense. A white v-flat was used on the second and third photo to fill in the shadows a bit.

-- Photographer Rick Wenner

Copyright 2011 Rick Wenner
Copyright 2011 Rick Wenner
Copyright 2011 Rick Wenner