I describe myself, when asked, as a 'militant non-smoker',
so the reason why I wanted to glamourize smoking in this way escapes
me now completely. Actually I think the visual aspects of smoke
are quite interesting as long as you don't have to smell the stuff.
I spent quite a long time setting up the background for this shot,
making sure that the join in the paper came in the centre of the
girl's head. When I entered the photo in a local competition I had
to smile when the judge, in his comments said "If you're at
a group photo session and you can't get a good position, wait until
you can get round to the front."
This raises the question of intention. If you're intentions are
not clear to the viewer then, to some extent, you have failed. Don't
be too disheartened though if every viewer doesn't get
it, as long as some do and, most importantly, the people whose opinions
you respect. As the old saying goes 'you can't please all the people
all the time'.
Lighting this type of picture also takes a little patience, you
must balance the intensity of the backlight with the frontlight
carefully to get the right effect. Multiple meter readings and test
shots are essential.
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