Here are some more shots from the Arthouse at the Jones Center shoot I did for Rare Magazine. I handle each editorial shoot a little differently, but the idea is always to get the safe shots in first, and use any time remaining to get something special. Sometimes, you can only get a few minutes with a subject, either due to the demands of their schedule (or yours), or just because some subjects would rather not be photographed at all.
I needed to knock out this shoot in about twenty minutes. The first thing I did upon entering the venue was to let the receptionist know I was in the building and would be ready to photograph the curator, Elizabeth Dunbar, in a few minutes. I wanted to scope out some areas and get any lights setup if I felt they’d be necessary.
The typical shot is always easy. In this case just pose Elizabeth in the middle of the exhibit room and blur the background into a generic atmosphere of gallery space and pictures on the wall. I often go with the expected first to quickly get it out of the way. I generally detest doing those kinds of shots. But, I figure a photo editor, or whomever is handling the final picture selection for the layouts, might opt for something rather typical, instead of what I’d prefer they use.
Office/Conference Area Shot
Then I move on. And by then, I’ve got the subject relatively warmed up for the good stuff. In this case, I asked Elizabeth if there were any other spaces that might be a little more interesting than the main gallery areas. I asked about the office area and we did some shots there. Good stuff to allow for variety in a basic editorial. Makes the art director happy. But I think she sensed I was looking for something a little different.
Elizabeth showed me the upstairs space that was dark and rather industrial-looking. Yes! That would work. So after some quick shots in the office area, I told her I would setup my lights upstairs, do some quick test shots, and let her know when I was ready. I could have shot in that space all day.
Background flash hitting the ladder, rafters, wall. Umbrella for main.
I really wanted to make use of the background and bring in some foreground objects (the work table). Handing her the picture frame required for the shot, as per editor’s instructions, I told her to just pretend it was an unimportant object she might be about ready to put away. The rest was about variations on expression and composition, and allowing room for the layout artist to add text/graphics, crop, etc. Main idea was to set the illuminated subject against the dark side of the composition. Use those lines to help tell the story, and balance it to taste.
