my cousin, the model
I took these pictures when my cousin was visiting the U.S. to see if she wanted to pursue a degree here. She had finished high school in an unusual way — she’d been recruited to play professional basketball, so she finished up while on the road and then took college courses sporadically as she played ball around Europe and worked full-time for the phone company off-season.
And, she modeled. Not sure when she slept.
I had never shot anyone who genuinely liked to have their picture taken before and knew what they were doing. It was so much easier.
I put a sheet on the floor in my living room and used a single lamp for the lighting. Then, I basically shot whatever pose she gave me. Her tattoo was brand new at the time and the swirly words traveled across her back, too. After she got her PhD here, she returned to Greece, started a business, and has become a superstar in her field of expertise, giving TED talks and breaking all kinds of barriers.