Maggie loves books and fell in love with The Mercantile Library in downtown Cincinnati after attending an event there. Visiting is like stepping into another era, as the library was founded almost two centuries ago. They have an incredible 10,000-year pre-paid lease and the oldest known consistent land line number, dating back to at least 1896. You can visit it for free, and memberships are affordable, but photography sessions need to be arranged in advance for a fee, and one needs to respect that this is foremost a working library for thinkers, writers, and book lovers.
The main space is very open and airy, so sound travels very easily. We did our best to be quiet, and conducted most of our session in mime, especially as sometimes I would be shooting from a loft several yards away. Fortunately, Maggie is good at charades.
As beautiful as the space is, the natural lighting in the morning wasn’t flattering for portraiture in many of the most interesting corners, so I pressed her mother into service holding the light and softbox. She shares her daughter’s ability to interpret nonverbal directions, and has surprisingly good reach for a woman of modest height.
Maggie plays both piano and viola. I would have loved to hear her play the beautiful Steinway, but I was pretty sure that would be considered disruptive, so we had to just imagine it. I’m hoping that one day I’ll get to hear her play both the piano and viola sometime before she graduates!
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