ModestGeniusXL: Top Captures of 2013

Figured I should probably do something geared toward Christmas for this point in the Top Captures. Thanks to the last minute rush on Christmas themed shoots that I had late in the year, I probably could have used one those images. I may still do it. We'll see. Instead, this one came to mind. Cara doing a shoot in angel wings is sort of close to Christmas since it's the whole angel look and all. Yes, I realize it's reaching. It's my list. I do what I want.

I met Cara thanks in part to another photog in the DMI area a couple of years ago. He had done a couple of different shoots with her that showed up in my news feed. She clearly appeared to be a professional who had been doing modeling for a while. Definitely longer than I had been shooting at that point. I didn't think she would be interested in working with someone so green, but thought I would take a shot anyway.

It turns out Cara was a very down to earth individual. She may have projected a bigger than life image with her poses in what I saw; however, her personality was quite opposite. It worked out very well for me as it it made her much easier to work with. So when it came time to collaborate ideas for shoots, I never had to worry about ego and/or her not being open to ideas. In fact, sometimes she would come up with the theme. Like in this instance.

I had actually been wanting to do a fallen angel type shoot for a while. What I had in mind was a much larger set of wings though. I had no idea where you could even get wings like the ones I was envisioning. But the ones that Cara already had weren't that difficult to obtain. Plus, they worked better on her body type since she is a little dainty. Not sure wings with a seven foot wingspan would look quite right on her.

The original idea we did was her laying down amidst a pile of disheveled feathers as she was looking expressionless. The thought being that she was a fallen angel per se and the photo had caught her at the end of her descent. It came out rather amazing. So much so that it was an honorable mention that some of you may have recalled from earlier. That capture inspired other ideas using the same look. This one would more or less be considered the before shot. We see her basking in the a surreal innocence as I intentionally made the scene as bright as possible to add to the aesthetic.

One thing that is definitely worth noting about Cara and why one of her photos is here is because of what she brings to a shoot beyond just her photogenic exterior. It's the way that she is able to put aside serious health issues so that it doesn't affect her work regardless of how she feels inside. Cara suffers from a disease known as Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). I had never heard of it before meeting her. It's basically where her joints are causing her constant chronic pain. Apparently, doing a photo shoot is one of the few things that allows her to take her mind off that and actually makes her feel better.

Cara is another one of the people that I know can fill in for a shoot if someone has canceled last minute. Both of us end out coming ahead. She gets a period of time where her AS won't bother her. I get an experienced model who I KNOW will produce top quality images every single time. She always shows up on time and already prepared. You would be hard-pressed to find an individual as reliable as Cara. So whenever I have the opportunity to work wtih Cara, I always take it.