The Gold Mine

There is a current trend in portrait photography to shoot with the background telling a story. Some backgrounds include farms, country lanes,  derelict buildings, graffitied walls and using an antique chair placed in a paddock full of flowers. I have been admiring the creativity of some photographers but have not had the opportunity myself to really try this out.

Recently, my family and I visited Ouro Preto, MG, in Brazil and spent a wonderful afternoon playing in the old slave gold mine. My Husband and four oldest children went underground and explored the tunnels that  travel under the city. My youngest and I went back to the front of the mine to patiently wait for their return.
It was while she played in the mine that I saw this image develop before my eyes. Independently, she had decided to wear her pink tutu, tights and boots that day. The background of the mine and the mud face painting were in total contrast to the clothes. I knew I had to capture it. It was technically very challenging to capture, as the  light was terrible and I truly need to stretch all my knowledge to make it happen. I had no tripod and I had to balance myself up against the mud wall( covering my own jacket in mud).  This is the image I captured.

In processing, I further increased the exposure, highlights and recovery  plus added a Lightroom preset to get the effect I was hoping to achieve.

Now its time to go shopping and find that antique chair.