Jennifer Beals – April 2013

The Gear

Lens: Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux

Camera: Leica M (Typ 240)

Settings: 1/250, f/1.4, ISO 320

Technique: Brenizer method (3-shot panorama stitch)

Equivalent field of view: ~35mm at f/0.75

Lighting: Natural window light from both sides, Safer Chemicals step-and-repeat banner used as white fill reflector (camera right)

The Goal

Document actress Jennifer Beals during her visit to the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families offices in Georgetown while she was in Washington to lobby Congress on toxic chemical reform.

The Vision

The main portrait is a Brenizer method composite… three shots with the 50mm Summilux at f/1.4, stitched together in post. Left panel, center panel, right panel, with the overlap roughly around the nose. The result is a field of view equivalent to about 35mm, but with the depth of field characteristics of something closer to f/0.75. You get that creamy medium-format bokeh from a rangefinder.

The lighting was all natural… windows on both sides of the room. I positioned their step-and-repeat banner on her left side as a white fill reflector, which opened up the shadows just enough to keep the light balanced. You can see the difference if you compare the two sides of her face… slightly more contrast on camera left where it’s just window light, softer fill on camera right where the banner was bouncing light back in. The brick wall behind her creates this warm, textured backdrop that falls off beautifully at that effective aperture. Her eyes are tack sharp while everything else melts away.

She was genuinely excited about the whole process. I’d MacGyvered together the lighting using their own event materials, and she was into it. But what really got her attention was the Leica. There’s something about shooting with a retro-styled camera that changes the dynamic. People feel like the stakes are higher, like they’re contributing to something more deliberate. It’s similar to what happens when you shoot film… the subject becomes more invested in the moment. The Leica M9 isn’t just a technical tool. It’s a conversation piece that can build trust.

The Story

Jennifer Beals was in Washington as a spokesperson for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition of over 450 health, environmental, and business groups pushing for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The organization had recruited her through Twitter, and she’d become one of their most visible advocates.

This was one of her early trips to D.C. that year. She’d later lead the famous “Stroller Brigade” to Capitol Hill in October 2013, marching with hundreds of parents to senators’ offices and delivering that now-famous line: “I am a mother and I am tired of feeling like I have to have a PhD in toxicology in order to be a competent parent.”

Her involvement with the cause started simply enough… she opened a 3-D Star Wars puzzle and was so overwhelmed by the chemical fumes that she nearly vomited. That moment sent her down the rabbit hole of researching what’s actually in the products we use every day. Synthetic turf fields, cleaning products, children’s toys, cosmetics… all of it largely unregulated under a law that hadn’t been meaningfully updated since 1976.

I’d been working with Safer Chemicals for a while at this point, shooting other celebrity advocates like Rachael Leigh Cook and Jessica Alba… all connections that traced back to my work at the National Press Club and Women Deliver. The afternoon was spent documenting her time in their Georgetown offices overlooking the C&O Canal, meeting with staff, and preparing for her meetings with lawmakers.

What stood out most was her curiosity. She asked questions constantly… of everyone she interacted with. Not the surface-level celebrity engagement you sometimes see, but genuine interest in understanding the issue, the people, the work. She wanted to know the details.

The Lesson

Gear choice isn’t just about technical capability. A Leica rangefinder and a modern mirrorless might produce identical files, but they create completely different experiences for your subject. The retro aesthetic, the quiet shutter, the deliberate manual focus… it all signals to people that something meaningful is happening. Sometimes the psychology of the camera matters as much as the optics.

And when you don’t have professional lighting gear, look around the room. A step-and-repeat banner, a white tablecloth, a piece of foam core… anything can become a reflector. Use what’s there.