I met Rafa at Phillipes in Los ANgeles, the home of the Original French Dip Sandwich. I was there with a young lady friend, and in line behind us, complaining loudly, was a man in a black plastic jumpsuit, carrying a plastic bag of possessions. He had just been released from Folsom Prison, and wanted his first meal to come from Phillipes.
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this is definitely about the tattoos...the complementary background, even though sharp, gives dimension...the tilt and what is going on above his head could be distracting...you have captured a bewildering expression and still connects regardless of being off camera. 7
I received a variety of suggestions regarding expression and background. I have several shots of Rafa (He later asked that I refer to him by his street name Huero), who is a Tattoo artist both before and during his incarceration, and yes, the Tattoos were what drew me to him as a subject, but the powerful symbology of the Tear under his eye was not captured in most of my shots. He chose to wear a cap for many, and it was mid day in downtown Los Angeles when I shot him, so the shade that the store fronts afforded was my only refuge from the harsh light of the mid-day sun.
I asked Huero specifically about the Teardrop, so although in all all the other shots of him he is directly addressing the camera, this pose was meant to highlight that one tiny but powerful bit of symbology. Is the background distracting? Yes, but beter than the unedited image I think, and to bring out the detail in the Tattoos it was necessary to bring out some detail in the beads. I played with cropping the tilt, but it seemed to intensify rather than diminish the effect, so I left it alone.
All in all it was one of my favorite challenges, I took some better portraits I think, but I think Huero had the most interesting back story.
this is definitely about the tattoos...the complementary background, even though sharp, gives dimension...the tilt and what is going on above his head could be distracting...you have captured a bewildering expression and still connects regardless of being off camera. 7
The light looks very flat. There isn't even a shadow under his chin. The beads behind him are slightly distracting since they are so detailed, and they also contrast too much against his expression.
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