Portraits Vol. 3

For this set of portraits, I had the privilege of having my friend, Ara Arellano, in front of the lens. Since publishing my last set of portraits, Ara contacted me wanting to collaborate on this little passion project of mine. I was surprised and honored that she contacted me to take her portraits especially since she was doing as her last project before her eighteenth birthday!

On the onset, I knew it would be a great idea to showcase Ara's theatricality because of her involvement in the theatre scene within the university. For her more emotional portraits, I decided to shoot with a plain background and make the photographs black and white because I wanted to really highlight the emotions in each shot. I've always loved black and white portraits because I felt they were even more impactful and effective in drawing the emotion from both the subject and the audience.

There's a window past our department's hallway that caught my eye that afternoon we were taking portraits. Because of the rain, the sky was gloomy but just the right amount that the shadows on the window made it the perfect scene for the next set of portraits. I wanted to focus more on Ara's vulnerability rather than her emotions for these shots and the lighting was really in our favor that day. I kept the color for most of these photographs because the colors were just too beautiful to turn into blacks and whites.

I'm so grateful to have been able to work with Ara for her birthday portraits. It was a delight and an absolute honor collaborating with her for this birthday project of hers. Thank you, Ara, for doing this with me. Until our next collaboration!

Makeup and Modeling by Ara Arellano
Photography by Luis Abesamis

For collaborations, you can contact me at: whatdoesluissay@gmail.com