A very photogenic quinceanera

During my last trip to Miami I went to Vizcaya Gardens. There I stumbled upon 2-3 wedding photographers, whom I couldn’t help but stalk just a little bit. I would “accidentally” end up within an eye and earshot away from them and greedily soak up what they said, etc. First of all, I’m just drawn to it all. Second, I wanted to compare their style to mine – I believe there is always more to learn.

But this entry isn’t at all about wedding photographers… it is about quinceanos photoshoots. About every 10 square feet seemed to contain at least one photographer, stylist and the subject – the quinceanera. As I was told, it is a latin tradition that when a girl turns 15 (not sure about boys) it’s customary to hire a photographer for a glamorous shoot, where she dresses and poses in beautiful gowns, some of which look like wedding dresses (which confused me a little initially). As I walked around with my heavy camera, I felt a little left out. I wished I also had someone who I could shoot. I really REALLY love photographing specifically people – much less so objects, architecture and nature. I needed sunlight hitting a skin… I craved to see texture.

Then… I saw her. She was sitting patiently on the stairs looking up at me coquettishly. She didn’t have to say anything. It seemed that I didn’t have to say much either. I kneeled down about three steps below her, and when she was at my eye level I clicked to the appropriate setting and started shooting. I think in the beginning she was a little shy. But with a little direction (chin up… a little to the left… now think about a happy moment) she really loosened up and became a stellar model. Here is my favorite shot : )