I was glad to work with Elle in a music venue like "The Acoustic," in Bridgeport, CT. Our plan was to make pictures that bring context to her musical endeavor. We have worked in different public places convenient to us, mostly under ambient light (and always guarding social distancing). It goes without saying how excited I was to be given access to this music venue,' The Acoustic' is a place that pushes musical creativity for independent music artists like Elle, and taking her portrait under stage lighting was so much fun!
I carried most of my gear used in this shoot in a single backpack . I brought two short telephoto lenses, a wide-angle zoom lens, two modifiers, and a small C-Stand. It all starts trying to be portable and keeping things as simple as possible, so the rest depends on working within whatever limitations I come across, such as low and mixed lighting conditions.
It’s difficult working in Manual mode in a low light environment. Toggling between composition and camera settings is hard work, but aiming for that balance is why I love working with a camera! I’m now tempted to give new consideration to automatic modes. Auto ISO or aperture priority could make taking pictures in these sort of places a little smoother, but I’m grateful to have access to a full-frame camera with a 20-megapixel sensor that registers contrast in low light relatively well.
Since I wanted to make images with an editorial character, I scouted the place looking for interesting settings and noticed a mandala tapestry and a bare black wall next to a window that could work well as neutral backdrops.
On our sequence of portraits shot against that mandala tapestry, I used a mid-size softbox and realized a larger one would have worked better for smoothing textures and providing a larger spread to show the environment. Had I used a grid over that softbox when I photographed Elle against the black wall, I would have been able to constrain the light on the wall a little better and get a more striking result.
I really enjoy working in places with so much character as “The Acoustic“. For a novice photographer like myself, there’s only so much you can do in an hour’s time; it’s impossible not to get struck by all the fascinating elements that make the place so special.