I had some good hunting and some better. Lucked out and didn't run into anything bad. The people were all nice, easy and fun.
The first shoot was a job I had for SiTV in LA. Marcus Best rang and let me know they'd weeded out the choices and I'd gotten the job. Which no matter how much you claim you don' t care, you do. Thanks, Marcus!
The task was to cover the grand finale of this season's Top Model La Latina, a tv show run on SiTV similar to Tyra Banks' show America's Next Top Model but running only hispanic/Latin women. Mi Gusta!
This couple came out of the crowd for a nice portrait using a wood trimmed column as a backdrop. Here, because the tv crew had swiped the velvet curtain, we posed this up against a column and the lighting is solely a single light, behind a collapsed brollie camera left. I love the collapsed brollie not only for its less predictable hot spots but also for its effect on the subject, who generally wonder if I am really too broke to buy one the stays open!
The simpler the lighting for portraiture I think the stronger is the result. But my urge is to light it up and I can see many places I'd like to see a little more light. But then, sometimes it's the darkness which is created by the light which speaks to us. Oh yeah.
The show was coming to Miami and was taking over the 14th Floor of the astoundingly cool new building/Hotel, the Epic, downtown Miami. They even had their own labelled H2O.
"Cover the runway" (ie deal with flash placement so the TV guys don't get anxious) and "get us a few group portraits of some of last year's, this year's models/contestants/judges/producers/hair and make up/affiliates/managers/tv crew/cleaning lady. etc.". 2 Hour job went to 5 instantly.
When you're shooting on a TV set, you ought to be prepared to use powerful lights as their placement won't be convenient to small ones. Luckily I brought 4 heads and a D4 profoto Powerpack. Along with my road kit of 2- B600R Profoto pack and battery powered heads, I felt 6 or 7 heads would cover things nicely.
Lucked out, the gang had a velveteen curtain set up for me to shoot groups in front of so I set up the battery packs there and went into the runway room to set up the D4 lights. Since this is fashion and the women start out looking great and young and wrinkless, I nail them with bare bulbs, setting the lights up to catch the girls ate the end of the catwalk. Bang! I put some barn doors on the two offset lights to spare the tv cameras and obviously run no modeling lights. Plus, no way to slave anything as there are flashes firing everywhere and would have fired my lights blind. Channel 26 on the wizards and synched to the camera.
In the cocktail/party room, where we hang between contestants (there are only 2!), I have the battery packs and the velvet background set up and ask gangs to copme on over. Marcus is working the crowd to incorporate all last years' contesatants, producers, judges and so on and on we go. I like the 2 light look, it's easy with the key light to my left and a snooted head up and behind to the right, no grid. Again, since these are beautiful youngsters, I hit them hard and use a skimpy umbrella on the key light. Otherwise it's mostly bare bulb shooting.
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