I’m not ready.” She twisted the rod to tighten it and locked the
leg supports into place. Then she attached a reflector umbrella, a
light softener she needed for the day’s second photo.
The more she thought about the workshop, the more certain
she was Maria was right. Now was the time to take her skills to
the next level. Most studio professionals were using LCD light
meters and integrated strobes that flashed from their tripods,
but she was still using her analog Sekonic meter and continuous
lighting. It wasn’t just the technology that was leaving her behind.
Ordinary portraiture had become fine art, with the cutting edge
photographers mixing ratios for multiple fill lights and creating
color and texture effects she had never imagined. Her father had
kept current through seminars and workshops, but she no longer
had the benefit of his training.
A car door slammed outside and she hurriedly peeked around
the blackout shade. “There she is, Maddie.”
She started backward down the ladder, giving her makeshift
studio one last glance. With all the preparations in place, her
excitement about competing for the workshop was growing at a
fever pitch. This portfolio would be her best work ever.
Claudia grinned broadly through the screen door. She wore a
long blue turtleneck over a black leotard and gray leggings. “I’m
here for my close-up, Miss Westcott.”
“Come on in. I meant to leave the door open but I got
sidetracked upstairs. I have everything ready.”
“Great T-shirt,” she said.
Leo tugged the hem downward to display her design, the
UC-Santa Cruz mascot. “I thought you’d appreciate my Banana
Slug. You want something to drink?”
“Better not. You’ll get me perfectly posed and I’ll have to
pee.”“Good point, but I’m more worried about things going wrong
on my end, like when the camera jams or the lights go dead.” She
led Claudia into the downstairs studio and gestured toward the
stylist chair. “Hope you don’t mind a little pancake. You can wash
0
it off before you leave.”
“I already put makeup on,” she protested. “I’ve hardly been
outside since July, and I’d look like a ghost without it.”
Leo looked closely at her eyes, which were lined with brown
pencil and dusted with a soft taupe shadow. It was subtle, just the
right amount to highlight her natural features. “Your eyes look
fantastic, but I need to polish your cheekbones and flatten your
forehead a little more.”
“Excuse me?”
She chuckled at Claudia’s feigned offense. “Makeup’s good
for covering up blemishes and blending in the skin tone but
we need a little texture too so you won’t look like you’ve been
airbrushed. But first”—she spun the chair around to face the
mirror and handed her a clip—“I’d like to see your hair up. It’s
gorgeous the way it is, but I think we’ll get more contrast from
the contours of your neck, especially with the low lights.”
“What does that mean?”
Leo looked around the studio and found a black flag she
used to create shadows. Holding it up behind Claudia’s head,
she asked, “See how the edges of your hair get lost against this
background? If we pull it up”—she swept it upward—“the light
skin of your neck makes a clear line. That’s going to make it easier
to achieve the different effects I need in these photos. I’d leave it
down if we were using a light background because it would have
the opposite effect.”
“I get it.” Claudia deftly spun her hair into a twist and clipped
it in place.
“That’s lovely.” Striking, actually. With that simple sweep
Claudia went from a girl next door to an elegant ingénue. Taken
aback by the transformation, Leo suddenly realized she had been
staring.
“Something wrong?”
She shook off her lapse in concentration along with Claudia’s
question. “No, let me just…” She brushed powder onto Claudia’s
forehead, then took a cotton puff and gently swabbed both
cheeks. “I think that does it, but I’ll take this stuff with us just in
case. You ready?”
“Let’s find out.”
They wound up through the house to the attic, where Leo
held out a hand to help Claudia off the ladder. She was pleased to
see the wide-eyed reaction to her improvised studio. She hadn’t
realized until just that moment how important Claudia’s approval
was. “I’ve been busy.”
“I’ll say. Look at all of this.”
When she pulled the chain to turn off the light above the
stairs, the tidy set came clearly into view. A small lamp on the
floor illuminated Miss Murphy, who was positioned before a
black backdrop and side wall. The camera and light stands were
silhouetted in the foreground.
“It’s so dark.”
“It won’t be once we get started, but I’ll keep the studio lights
off until we need them because it gets hot up here in a hurry.”
She picked up Miss Murphy and set her off to one side. “The first
two shots are as simple as it gets—one hard light, one soft light.
Same pose if we can get it.”
“Since I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ll just try to
do whatever you tell me.”
“First I’ll set one of my studio lights a few feet back and shine
it directly onto your face from the side so it casts shadows. That’s
hard light. But most of my studio portraits are soft light, which
means I bring the spots closer and bounce them off something
else to spread the light around. When I light both sides of the
face it cuts down on the shadows. Normally I use more light on
one side than I do on the other, or maybe I’ll shine it from the top
or bottom. What I’m trying to do is highlight certain features.”
“That makes sense, but why would anyone ever want to use
hard light?”
“It’s more dramatic. Remember me talking about Maria’s
exhibit, the one with all the elderly people? She used hard lighting
to emphasize their wrinkles. Every line looked as if it had been
chiseled by a sculptor. Very vivid.”
“Great, so you’re going to highlight my wrinkles.”
Leo rolled her eyes. “You’re twenty-two years old. You don’t
have wrinkles. But what I want to do is try to cast a perfect
shadow on one side of your face with the first photo, and then
erase most of the shadow on the second by moving the light back
and adding a fill light. This is an exercise in technique. I’m not
trying to capture anything candid or personal, so when we take
this I’d like you to show as little expression as possible. All I want
to do is demonstrate that I understand the concepts of hard light
and soft light.”
Claudia shrugged. “I’m ready. Except that Miss Murphy is
still wearing my shirt.”
“These are just head shots, so I left a few tube tops over there
in the changing r
oom.” She pointed to the opposite corner where
she had hung a curtain diagonally. “They’re all black. Just pick
the one that fits best. Would you mind taking your jewelry off
too? You can leave the ring. I won’t be showing your hand.”
“Help me with this.” Claudia turned her back and pulled her
collar from her neck, exposing the chain of the jade pendant.
“This is pretty.”
“Burmese jade. I bought it when I was in Bangkok.”
“I would have guessed it was a gift from Mike.”
“Pfft. If Mike had picked it out, it would be as big as a cowbell.
He isn’t much on ceremony, but he likes to make a splash.”
Necklace in hand, Claudia disappeared behind the curtain to
change.
Leo turned on the studio lights and oscillating fan, and busied
herself with making sure her extension cords were secure. There
was only one power outlet in the attic but it was enough for her
immediate needs.
“This one fits as long as I don’t sneeze.”
She tried not to stare as Claudia walked into the light. The
leotard and tube top drew a perfect outline of her petite figure,
accentuated by pronounced collarbones that would cast elegant
shadows across her chest. She forced herself to concentrate on
the task at hand, setting the mannequin aside and scooting an
adjustable stool into its place. “Hop up here and I’ll get to work
on the lights. It’s going to get warm in a hurry, but this should
only take a few minutes.”
That proved to be an understatement, as the temptation
to capture a Rembrandt triangle on Claudia’s cheek proved
irresistible. Perspiration rolled down her back as she made
countless adjustments to the camera, the light and to Claudia,
who patiently endured her quest for perfection.
“I get embarrassed about this ring sometimes. I didn’t want a
diamond this big, but Mike didn’t want anyone thinking he was
cheap.”
“It’s very beautiful.”
“Yes, it is. But since I’m the one wearing it, I wish it said more
about me than him. I don’t care what the people in his office
think of it.”
Finally, Leo got the angle she wanted. She turned off the
fan to still the strands of hair and stepped onto a wooden box
to look down into her viewfinder, where Claudia’s upside down
image was centered inside the frame. Her expression was one of
slight annoyance, probably because she was still thinking about
her too-flashy ring.
“Now look directly at the Banana Slug and empty your
mind of everything.” She drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly,
snapping off two photos. “Perfect. Now try not to move.”
“My nose itches.”
“Think about what you’re going to order at Isabella’s when
we get finished.” She adjusted the aperture higher then lower,
taking four more shots to bracket what she thought would be the
perfect exposure. “That was great, but I need you to sit still for
just another minute.” She swung the umbrella into place with its
fill light and held her meter to the cheek that had been shadowed.
After eight minor adjustments she got the ratio she wanted and
stepped back onto her box. “I want six more shots just like the
last ones. Look at Mr. Banana Slug.”
Claudia stared back at her chest, her expression vacant.
Again, she clicked off two photos, adjusted the aperture
twice, and clicked again. “That should do it. I don’t think we
could have started off with two more perfect shots. I can’t wait
to see them.”
“Me neither.” Claudia immediately held up her hand.
“Except I know you’re not going to show them to me until we’re
all done.”
“Just trust me. If they aren’t fantastic, we’ll shoot them
again.”
“That’s a deal. Now let’s get out of this oven.”
Chapter 13
“…and our dog bit my brother right on the nose.” Katie
Theroux, standing at the front of the classroom, turned the page
of her journal and continued, “We had to get rid of the dog, but
I wanted to get rid of my brother instead.”
Claudia stifled a laugh, thinking she couldn’t wait to share
that story with her family and friends. The escapades of her
third-graders, told through their weekly entries in a journal, gave
her valuable insight into their personalities and the support they
received at home. “Okay, we have time for one more. Who wants
to go next?”
A dozen hands shot up and she zeroed in on a boy who rarely
volunteered. As he finished his reading, Sandy entered the room,
clearly bursting with news. “What’s up next? I’ll get them started
while you go talk to Larry,” she whispered with a mischievous
grin.
Larry Hirsch was their principal, and Claudia couldn’t
imagine why he would want to talk to her. “What about?”
“Just go.”
“Orbiting the sun. Page forty-one.” She handed over her
lesson plan book and the teacher’s science text. “I’ll be right
back,” she told her class.
Walking down the deserted hallway, she chuckled nervously
to recall the ominous feeling from her childhood when she had
about this, whatever it was.
“Miss Galloway.” The school secretary looked up over half-
glasses and smiled. “Let me tell Mr. Hirsch you’re here.”
She waited nervously until she was directed to enter the
paneled office, where Larry acknowledged her with a nod as he
finished his call. A man of about forty, he was slightly overweight
and balding. Pictures of his two sons, one of whom was in
Claudia’s class, stood in frames on the bookcase behind him, and
it crossed her mind that Leo had likely taken those photos.
When he hung up, he jumped to his feet and rubbed his
hands together as though preparing for a feast. “So how do you
like teaching, Claudia?” he bellowed.
“What’s not to like at a place like Melrose?”
“Lucky, aren’t we? Smart kids, active parents, dedicated
faculty…and the best cafeteria on the whole peninsula”—he
patted his stomach—“as you can see. Anyway, that’s neither here
nor there. You know Joan Palmer?”
“Yes, of course. She teaches fourth grade out in the portable
classroom.” Sandy had made certain she knew everyone on the
staff. “That’s right. She was in here this morning. Said her husband
was getting transferred to New Jersey. You interested in teaching
fourth grade next fall?”
Claudia was floored by the question. First-year teachers
seldom won coveted assignments at schools like Melrose. “Are
you kidding? I’d love it.”
“Hold on, there’s a catch. I can’t promise anything now
because we have to advertise the opening and interview all the
applicants. But it usually comes down to my recommendation
and I’d love to get a little new blood in here. Sandy tells me
you’re getting a lot out of her students.”
“I certainly can’t take the credit for that. Miss Irwin did a
super job getting her students ready to learn.”
Her head was racing ahead to what might happen if his
tentative offer actually came through. If she took a job in Monterey
next year while Mike finished up his work in Taiwan, she would
have a year’s experience under her belt when she moved back to
Cambria. They could even set a firm wedding date for the end of
the school year.
“Sounds like you two make a great team,” he said. “I’d love to
have you on board.”
“Absolutely. I love it here.”
“Excellent. If you need something to do between now and
then, you might consider going down to the district office and
signing up as a substitute.” He came around his desk to grasp her
hand in both of his, beaming with satisfaction at their new pact.
“I bet I could keep you busy until summer.”
She walked out stunned, both thrilled at the opportunity and
overwhelmed at what she would need to do over the summer to
get up to speed on fourth grade curriculum. Now that she had
made friends, it would be fun to stay another year in Monterey,
and Mike would probably be relieved that she had something to
keep her busy while he finished his project overseas.
Most photographers got their biggest thrill in the darkroom
upon seeing the image for the first time, but not Leo. She didn’t
allow for such excitement until the final print. As far as she was
concerned, everything before that was merely an extension of
the studio process. According to the application guidelines, the
additional lab steps—things like toning, burning and dodging—
were moot, since post-development enhancements were
prohibited. They expected her to get the lighting right the first
time.
Her lips turned upward in a satisfied smile as she rinsed the
last of the soft light images. Not only had she captured exactly
the light she wanted in her very first shot, the minute differences
in Claudia’s pose rendered this one better than the others. In
particular, her eyes were wider, such that a barely perceptible
crease appeared above her eyebrows, a subtle sign she hadn’t
emptied her mind of her annoyance with Mike over the ring