Superstitious: A Narrative Character Portrait by Angelica D'Augusta (2015)

My character is Jackie Harold, a superstitious woman in her early 20's. Jackie is one of those girls who is always checking her daily horoscope, carrying a lucky pen, and never opens her umbrella indoors.

During the weekends Jackie has a routine of going to a restaurant then taking a walk in her neighborhood park, this weekend her destination was a new Chinese restaurant. In in the moment of the shot, Jackie is reading a fortune cookie that states; ''For every act of evil you do not stop, an act of evil will unveil itself to you.'' Her reaction is being depicted. This scene is essential since what is revealed by the cookie sets up the rest of the story.

I used a straight shot with three point lighting to create shadows in the background. I kept my character's makeup minimal to show that she is matured and older. Props were the biggest factor in my image, I really wanted to set the scene of the restaurant and have little things on the table that you would usually find when you are wrapping up your meal: a to go box, chopsticks, a bag, napkins, and most importantly a fortune cookie. The issues that I ran into was any slight movement that my model made, the light would change completely. Also, trying to get my model to create the exact facial expression I wanted was difficult. By showing my model the photos as soon as I would take them, I was able to explain to her any adjustments I wanted to be made.