A Salute to Cynthia

Don't let Cynthia's calm demeanor in these photographs fool you. This woman doesn't sit still for a minute.  The Montclair native is a Lt. Colonel in the Army and I was lucky enough to catch her in the studio in between her recent overseas assignments and an upcoming move to Texas. She's lived in dozens of places and had plenty of adventures along the way - AND she just had a milestone birthday. What better way to mark this eventful time in her life, she thought, than to have some professional portraits done? And so here we have... a celebration of Cynthia.

Cynthia, like so many of us, was mainly concerned about how her weight would appear in the photographs. The camera adds ten pounds, as everyone says. But what they DON'T tell you is that a skilled photographer knows all kinds of tricks - with lighting, with posing, with clothing - to minimize features that their clients are uncomfortable with and play up their best assets. Cynthia has a great smile and beautiful skin, so the goal was to draw attention to her lovely face and create some high-drama portraits.

"I'd hoped to lose some weight beforehand, but hadn't quite gotten there by the time my session date came around. But the photographs turned out great! I was nervous posing at first, but Phil made me feel comfortable and made it fun. It felt like the day was dedicated just to me. By the end of the session I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model!" -Cynthia, El Paso, Texas