Hello.
And thank you for stopping by!
Please allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Nina A Padilla and I am the creative director, owner, and CEO of Vignette Portraits and Motion Arts Media, LLC. I am also on staff with San Antonio Woman Magazine as their Production Coordinator and one of their photographers.
The journey to Vignette began almost 10 years ago but my love and obsession for light, story telling, movement, and design have been important aspects of my life since I was young. From music to movement, museums, and the theatre, the arts have always been a staple in my life and now all of those entities have come full circle in my work and I could not be more excited!
As a former dance educator and choreographer, I absolutely adore movement and the stories that it tells and incorporate it as often as I can into my work. My love for and experience in the theatre heavily influences my light and scene designs, and now, I have begun to add modeling to my repertoire as an act of self love, body positivity, and to continue to combat my experience with depression (more on that later).
Below, you will find images from my most recent portrait project with perspectives on how and why it began and the beauty and love that it has led to; not only as a gift to myself but as a gift to others.
I sincerely hope you enjoy.
Tank top provided by local artist and clothing line Steady Beastin' in San Antonio, Texas.
Self Portrait Project
Like most wonderful things, this self portrait project was born out of necessity.
It began as a way to keep my skills sharp during a time when the world was shut down but developed into a life saving experience while battling a depression that seemed to bubble sadness from every pore and consume every thought.
I won't go into too much detail as I have another self portrait project in the works based off of this experience but what I will say is that in the end, a clap of thunder and the need to be released of the lament of 2020 brought me back to life; a phoenix resurfaced.
First Attempts
My first attempts began as stills from videos that I recorded as a movement exploration in my 2 car garage that we later converted into a studio space (thanks, pandemic!). All of the images that you will see on this page were done in this space either on my 11x12 sprung floor or the 4x4 black box corner that I created. I ran into many challenges with these first attempts especially with nailing focus and being in front of the camera in general as it is not something that I do often.
These images were mainly an exploration in light but also provided a valuable lesson for me in posing as I was now the model, too. The "black dress" that you see in the last few images was actually a piece of black stretchy fabric that I had left over from a previous project.
Artist credit: Images 3 & 4 feature paintings by the talented Jessica Ramm of The Abstract Geek
Eye lashes by Becca Wright of You Little Minx Lashes
Video still
Ring light plus natural light after teaching a dance class
ring light and natural light
1 light set up
Test Shot: 2 light set up, f 2.2, 1/250, ISO 200 Sony GM 85mm
2 light set up, f 2.2, 1/250, ISO 200 Sony GM 85mm
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
2 light set up, 1/250, ISO 125 Lens Baby Sweet 50
Scenes & Color Harmony
With a couple of self portrait attempts under my belt, I decided to test the waters of color harmony with set design. I used only what I had on hand so all of the furniture, jewelry, and clothes are from my home and private collection as well as pieces that I had from previous shoots.
Featured images:
Bourbon & Pearls: photographed in my tiny black box corner, 2 light set up
Strawberries & Red Wine: black box corner, 2 light set up
Epic Dog Portrait: staged on my sprung floor, 3 light set up
Zebras & Sequence: black box corner, 2 light set up
Artist credit: Eye lashes by Becca Wright of You Little Minx Lashes
Moods &Vibes
I love moods. Especially ones that brood and dramatic lighting is my most favorite to use in the creation of portraits so in addition to some moody lighting, I also pushed myself to utilize high key lighting.
Artist Credit:Eye lashes by Becca Wright of You Little Minx Lashes
Black box corner, 1 light set up
Black box corner, 1 light set up
Black box corner, 1 light set up
Black box corner, 1 light set up
Sprung floor, 1 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Sprung floor, high key, 2 light set up
Branding
Branding!
One of the loves that I have found through photography is the power of branding through imagery and content creation. I love that I am able to help other businesses tell their story through powerful imagery and simple, yet effective ads.
For these images I wanted to create a more commercial look with a moody feel. I also included the ads that were included in the last 3 issues of San Antonio Woman Magazine. If you haven't checked them out already, please do!
Fun Fact: The red bar stool in some of the images is an original piece of furniture from a bar that my husband's father used to own back in the late '70s. I think it cleans up pretty well!
Featured Artist: Steady Beastin' clothing line. I purchased this tank from local artist, dancer, gymnast, educator, and entrepreneur Anthony "Ninja" Grant of Steady Beastin'. I'm not an official brand ambassador but I really do love this tank and shirt!
Tank (front): Dance is Not a Sport (back) Cause We Don't Play Games
White shirt: Make Dreams Reality
Eye lashes by You Little Minx Lashes
Next Steps\
This exploration into the art of self portraits has been eye opening, helped me become a better photographer, and has opened me up to other wonderful possibilities in my art.
Wonderful things are in the works for 2021 and I would like to invite you all to bear witness to my journey as things continue to develop.
Please follow me on my socials at the bottom of this page for more updates and creative imagery or send me an email to learn more about collaborations and commissions.
And as always, thank you for your continued support, love, and positive affirmations.
Best,
Nina
