Day 360

360/365, a photo by Aaron LaRue on Flickr.

This is my mom, Theresa. 
 
My parents are the people I love most in the world. Hands down. My mom and I have been through a lot, and she one of the most incredible people I have ever met (I will admit though, I may be a bit biased).


I've learned a lot from my mom. I know that, no matter how busy I am, she manages to be busier. She decided (along with my dad) to adopt a baby this year. To try and compete, I decided to graduate. Then she decided to open a salon, and I realized I was out of my league. She is fearless in the way she approaches things and it's inspiring. I've seen her switch careers a handful of times and now she's come back to what she loves. She isn't afraid to fail and she's willing to take a risk for what she wants, and those are two big lessons I need to learn right now.


And at the same time, she handles everything with grace and aplomb (God I love using the word aplomb!). While juggling the salon, the baby, and the house, she still manages to be there for me, my dad and my brothers. This has been, without a doubt, one of our craziest years as a family, and we're all spread thin. My mom is the glue that keeps us together, I don't know what we'd do without her. 


For this one, I started by metering the ambient. I wanted the background to be about a stop darker than my mom. The background is busy, so I knew that I could use light to build my mom up and make her stand out from everything else. I used an SB24 camera right with an umbrella as a key, then I added a 430ex II with a dome diffuser to the left to fill in the shadows. We actually did this while the shop was open (you can see a customer's blue purse hanging by the chair on the far left), so we worked quick. I eyeballed the flashes and thankfully nailed it the first time, and my mom's a natural in front of the camera. I think I took less than ten pictures total and I'm stoked with how it turned out. Looking good Ma!