The Irish Lass
/Look into those eyes… Look at that sweet and innocent face… How can you not?
This is Tegan, an adorable little Irish lass I had the pleasure of photographing in the spring of 2006. Tegan’s mother contacted me after seeing some portrait work I had posted on one of my older web sites. She was impressed with my casual and candid style. She wanted to do an informal photo session with Tegan in traditional Irish dress inside their home.
The images I captured, though, were more than just a photo session commissioned from a proud mother. They were to be a loving reminder presented to Tegan’s father as a lasting memory of a moment in time. Tegan’s mother was suffering from brain cancer and was not expected to live. My images were her gift to both her husband and, in time, to Tegan.
Knowing this, I arrived at Tegan’s house determined and focused on capturing the best images I could. I love working with and photographing kids. Anything and everything can happen. The moment I met Tegan, though, I knew our session would be delightful.
Tegan was friendly and relaxed. She watched and played with her doll as I setup remote strobes around the family room. She was a natural subject and never gave a thought to the man with the camera. She was playing only to her mother. Her world was all smiles and joy for the woman next to me.
The session lasted about two hours. Tegan’s mother was thrilled with the color proofs I displayed on my laptop after the session. The images posted here are a few of the final images I delivered to Tegan’s mother. She loved them all. I loved that I was able to truly capture Tegan and bring her mother some happiness.
A few weeks later, Tegan’s mother told me her husband loved the images and was very thankful and appreciative. I corresponded with Tegan’s mother for a few months before we lost touch. I can only assume her condition got worse and she passed. I often wonder about Tegan and the girl grew into. She would be 12 or 13 now, a young woman beginning to make her own way in the world.
All the images presented here were captured with a Canon DSLR and a Canon EF24-105mm f4L IS lens. The remote strobes used were Canon Speedlites with their light bounced off a white ceiling. A custom white balanced was established for the photo session and applied to all images. Originally processed in Photoshop as monotones back in 2006, all images have been tweaked in Lightroom for clarity and sharpness.
Enjoy!!
