Using some ingenuity with a flash, an AP photographer gets to the red, white and blue of a portrait

Why this photo?

CHICAGO (AP) — The Democratic National Convention spans four days. There are a lot of delegates in a large open space. Trying to create an impactful image can be challenging. This photo was part of a series of portraits and details, showing the variety of people in attendance and the merchandise they choose to wear to support their candidate.

How I made this photo

After spending several days covering very similar light and characters, I decided to try something new. With my Sony A9III, and 24-70mm lens (set at 35 mm) and flash, I took a spare white sheet of paper with a speaker’s speech printed on it and grabbed some gaffers tape I had attached to my battery bag and made a homemade snoot — I wrapped the white paper around the flash and secured it with the black tape. It created a very directional light source. That allowed me to show the character with an intense light. I told the characters not to look into the flash because the direct light was very bright.

Why this photo works

I had to get close to the characters in order to get the images. This draws the reader’s eye right to her with no distractions. It screams America and shows a strong and important demographic of voters, women.

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