This past weekend I did a workshop in Chicago. We spent the first day working with light in the studio and out. The second day was all on location. I rarely shoot at workshops - that I leave for the students attending. I believe they have that honor, while I have the honor of teaching.

Sunday afternoon found us on a little street in the warehouse district. We were doing a lot of shooting with multiple lights, smoke bombs, big strobes and 2 incredible models. While setups were being created, the students got a chance to shoot with only the sun and talent. I joined in to get a few natural light shots of my own.

Using the natural, low sunlight, gave everyone a chance to work within the confines of gesture and posing. Expanding the pallet of the model's ability to pose, the light helps define the shape, pose and gesture of the subject. I decided to let everyone see a little of what is going on as the model goes through a series of poses while the photographer makes the decision to capture or not. Catching the gesture of a model makes the photograph more interesting than a static pose.

Tension and release, subject and background, light and dark... all lead to that single moment I call gesture. Fleeting in its very nature, the subject's natural approach to the world and the way the photographer wants to present it makes the gesture of a photograph so much more interesting to me. Here are four images, with corresponding contact sheets, that show what I mean when I describe the gesture of a photograph.

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