Scott Kelby recently asked me to write a piece for the “guest blogger” series on his popular photography blog.
I normally talk about the nuts and bolts of a shoot, but for this special post, I went deeper into my thought process.
You can read the article on Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider.
It’s never easy to photograph a band when they’re working on a new album in the studio. They’re usually very busy and don’t want to be bothered with a photo shoot. Also, the studio itself is rarely a glamorous place so it’s tough to make a picture in there.
Luckily, the guys in Gaslight Anthem couldn’t have been any more accommodating. We had to move some gear around and it was still quite cramped, but I was able to make a fun portrait of them.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/250, f/8, iso 400)
I had two Nikon SB900’s in a big softbox to camera right, two more with no modifiers behind the red panels for separation, an SB800 on the ground in front of me bouncing off a gold reflector panel (a la Joe McNally), and one more in the back with a blue gel. I didn’t think I’d be using six strobes in this tiny space, but it all worked out.
There are some great films on the web that showcase the amazing quality of the new HD-DSLR video cameras. Some of them have a credit roll that’s longer than the actual video.
Late last year, I got an offer to do a music video for Taddy Porter‘s single “Shake Me.” I wanted to show what a photographer could do with only a camera and a bag full of lenses.
I packed up the Nikon D3S hybrid HD-DSLR with my 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200 lenses and spent a week on the road shooting documentary footage of the band traveling in their van, staying at Motel 6’s, and performing night after night. Everything is shot hand-held with a crew of one.
The talented David Szarejko did the edit and we made something I’m very proud of.
Turn up the volume and take a look.
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Sometimes you have to work really hard to make an interesting portrait. Other times, you get to photograph Emilie Autumn.
Emilie is a classically trained violinist who has the rare musical gift of perfect pitch. She’s been through a lot in her life, including spending time in – as she puts it – an insane asylum. She has toured with Courtney Love, worked with Billy Corgan, and released three solo albums and a series of EPs. Her lyrics are dark, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her stage show is fun, sexy, and ridiculous.
I met up with Emilie on her tour stop in Brooklyn to do a portrait for Kerrang Magazine. In one of our pre-production emails, she asked me, “What do you think of rats?” Unfortunately, her pet rat turned out to be sick so she didn’t bring him on the road this time.
Instead, at Emilie’s suggestion, we decided to photograph her in her stage outfit – including the pasties – while climbing out of a dumpster.
(Nikon D3, 70-200, 1/125, f/4, iso 320)
With a shot like that, there’s no need to go overboard with lighting. I had two Nikon SB900’s in a softbox for the main light, and two SB800’s on the sides and slightly behind to create a separating rim light. The hardest part was moving the dumpster into the alleyway so that it was lined up properly with the construction site in the background.
After we got enough of those shots, we moved over to the blue wall across the street. I did a straight up glamour shot using the Orbis ringflash on an SB800.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/250, f/5.6, iso 400)
Near the end, I traded screams with her to really bring out some emotion. The construction workers walking by didn’t know what to make of a photographer screaming back and forth with a pink-haired woman wearing heart-shaped pasties.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/250, f/4.5, iso 400)
From what I could tell, they didn’t seem to mind. And neither did Emilie.