I met with Todd at the front terrace of the New York Public Library facing 5th avenue, where we spent a good while doing portraits. I kept that location in mind since my previous session with NY model and fashion blogger Lissette Melendez just a week earlier. (Click on this link to learn more).

The more I get to do street portrait sessions the more I realize the enormous potential there is to obtain dynamic compositions around a city like New York, so any street corner or public place makes for good backgrounds that supplement a visual narrative. In addition to NYPL and Bryant Park, we also photographed around Madison Avenue and completed this shoot near the Rockefeller Center well over an hour after we started.

My lenses of choice were a 24mm F2.8 and a 100mm macro F2.8. With a portable speed light, I intended to darken up the background as I meant to render hard contrasting shadows and diversify the ending results.

Although I enjoy the casual aesthetic I get from these portrait sessions; I’m working on finding a way to increase the quality of light so I can quickly fill shadows, bring more life onto the subject and be able to move fast, because carrying a lighting kit to a NY sidewalk is just not an option.

Click here to Follow Todd on Instagram