I like to think of these handsome characters as my boys. I've known one or two since they were little kids. Of course they are not really mine, but they all go to the same church that I attend and I've been tasked to work with them off and on over the years. Right now my wife and I provide activities for them twice a month. Last night I decided to talk to them a bit about photography and the stories they tell. To do that, I took some time to show them some of the images I have hanging up and asked them to guess their stories. Next I took them into the studio and created a portrait of each of them. I kept it very simple because we didn't have a lot of time. I used a one light setup for the key light and a white panel to provide just a little bit of fill in the shadows. They were meant to be dramatic because I knew the boys would get into looking cool, and they did! I've known the boy who is showing off his muscles, for a long time. They all got excited to see their Portraits on the back of the camera. When I took a close look at his portrait it screamed, "Black eye" so I gave him one (Using Photoshop.) The whole event was a fun time. Looking at these portraits makes me proud to be a small part of their lives. Yep - I still think of them as my own!

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