Rock and Roll Portrait Lighting Workshop Follow-Up

Last weekend, I held my Rock and Roll Portrait Lighting Workshop at Eagles Nest Studios in New York City. We had a great group of shooters come out and I managed to keep them awake for seven hours or so while I gave away all my secrets.

To demonstrate different lighting scenarios, I did a live shoot with cool rock/pop/electronica band Cruel Black Dove. I warned them that they were going to hear everything that goes on in the mind of a photographer during a shoot but normally isn’t said out loud. Things like, “I have no idea how this is going to look but I’ll try it anyway.”

Fortunately, I was able to make a decent image or two in a very short amount of time. Everything was lit using only Nikon Speedlights.

This frame was made with two SB-900’s in a large softbox. The white walls supply the fill. I went way overboard with the post-processing, but wanted to show how much you can do to the image after the fact.


(Nikon D3, 24-70, ISO 200, 1/250, f/8)

For the next setup, I used a Honl snoot to focus the light on Anastasia (in white) and also had two VALs (Voice Activated Lightstands named Josh and Mike) holding strobes with Honl grids on them.

Thanks to Peter Preston and Mike Wren for the behind the scenes pics.


(Nikon D3, 24-70, ISO 400, 1/250, f/11)

If you want to experience the workshop yourself, I’ll be doing it again at Adorama in New York, NY on February 21, 2010. More info on the workshops@adorama site. I’ll have another live shoot with a different band so I hope you’ll join me then.

I’ve also had a few inquiries about bringing the workshop to other cities. If you are interested in helping organize one in your area, contact me and we’ll set it up.

Metallica In the Square

It was my first time shooting Metallica and they didn’t disappoint.

At the beginning of the show, James Hetfield was lit only from below. This is traditionally called “monster lighting,” and you can see why.

Metallica
(Nikon D700, 70-200, ISO 1600, 1/500 sec, f/4)

The only tricky part was that the show was in-the-round so we photographers had to chase the guys around the stage. It was in the middle of the arena but wasn’t a circle, so technically you could say it was “in-the-square.”

Luckily, there was plenty of time to shoot and the light was great. I only got hit by Lars Ulrich’s water one time.

Metallica
(Nikon D3, 24-70, ISO 2500, 1/400 sec, f/4)

Location, Location, Location

After 1) subject and 2) lighting, the next most important aspect of a successful portrait is 3) location.

I recently photographed the band Every Time I Die in Chicago. They were playing at the House of Blues and I knew they wouldn’t be able to leave the venue for the shoot.

I got there early and scouted as much of the cavernous club as I could. Besides the main stage area, there were lots of VIP rooms, but the walls were covered with artwork and it was simply too busy.

Then I stumbled into what I can only describe as a gothic conference room. I tend to be picky about locations, and this one just jumped out at me.

I lit the scene with two Nikon SB900’s in the front, cross-lighting them with no light modifiers. On the ground in the back, I put another SB900 with an orange gel so it would look like there was a fire in the fireplace.

One of the band members hopped up on the mantle and I had my photo.

Every Time I Die
(Nikon D3, 24-70 lens, ISO 800, 1/250 sec, f/5.6)

To Be Frank

It’s always fun to work on a day-in-the-life piece. A few months ago, I spent the day with British folk/punk singer-songwriter Frank Turner.

He was playing at Roseland Ballroom, so I got him walking around Times Square after lunch. Is the Abbey Road reference too cliché?

Frank Turner
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO 640)

Of course, I took the opportunity to make a portrait while we were outside. Simply lit with one Nikon SB800 off to camera left. Background provided courtesy of New York City vandals.

Frank Turner
(Nikon D700, 70-200, 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500)

I have a thing for set lists. I always try to get a shot of them on stage, but if I can get the artist actually writing it out… even better.

Frank Turner
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/40 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250)

Even though Frank was the support act at this show (opening for The Offspring and Sum 41), he gave it his all and made a bunch of new fans that night.

Frank Turner
(Nikon D700, 70-200, 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500)

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