Jessica Rainey + The Story Behind

Black and white images can sometimes paint a portrait that colors never can. When we saw this image on Jessica’s feed, we were immediately drawn to it. The way the highlights and shadows do a dance to lead the viewer right to her little one’s gorgeous curls had us swooning. Read on to see The Story Behind Jessica’s image. We think you’ll be an fan of her work just like we are.

IG Handle:.
@jlrainey

Where was this photo taken?
Austin, TX.

How did the location add or hinder to your image?
We were visiting Austin for a few weeks, so it was inspired by finding new light in the place we were staying.

DSLR, iphone, instant or film?
DSLR and edited on iPhone.

What were your camera settings for this image?
1/200, f2.0, ISO 100.

Can you tell us “The Story Behind” this shot?
I love my daughters curls, and my mom used to always recite the nursery rhyme “there was a little girl…”, so when I noticed that perfect curl hanging down on her forehead, I knew I needed to document.

What speaks to you about this image? What specifically made you press the shutter?
I truly believe photographers are the keepers of time. And I knew this needed to be kept, because she won’t always have those chubby cheeks and perfect baby girls.

What was your composition technique with this shot?
I knew I wanted the focus on her hair, so I chose the dark wall to create negative space so your eye was drawn to only her.

Did you have any lighting challenges/How did you light the image?
This was shot only using window light. Originally my white balance was way off, because I didn’t have much time to set up the shot (hello, toddlers!), so I had to make some adjustments in post.

Did you use any special techniques – freelensing, prism, etc?
No special techniques were used.

Was this photo happenstance or did you visualize it prior? If so, how did you envision the image and set up for it?
A little of both! I noticed her hair was particularly curly that morning, so I knew I wanted to take a photo, but she’s extremely active and busy and it’s hard to get her to sit for a photo. So I set up dolls for her to play with in front of the wall where I wanted to take the photo and asked her to sit and play. Then I was able to capture the shot.

Did you use a preset to edit this image, your own selective edits or a combination of both?
This was all my own selective edits.

Do you have any addition information you would like to share with our readers?
We were traveling, so I didn’t have my desktop. I had to download the Lightroom app on my phone to edit the photo. I used the Canon Connect App to transfer the raw image to my phone, and edited it on there.