Five-Minute Pit Stop CASE STUDY #17
CAMERA:
Hasselblad 503c
LENS:
50mm
FILM:
Fuji RDP 100
EXPOSURE: LIGHTING:
f/8 at 1/60 second Norman 200B through a white umbrella
Assignment
rescent lights in the background were a happy acci-
Sports figures were also a key group I gathered for my
dent; they suggest the idea of movement.
“fathers and sons” project. I can’t remember who gave me Mario Andretti’s number, but I was sure grateful.
Tips
When time is limited, you must have everything in The Story
place so you can concentrate on shooting. Of course,
Mario’s schedule was so busy that the only opportu-
this is easier when you are working for yourself and
nity for a session was with his son Michael—and it
don’t have to satisfy a client. In instances like this, I
would have to be right before Michael’s trial run for
use the tripod to restrict me from shooting too many
the Indy 500. I said “no problem”—totally disregard-
angles. This lets me concentrate on getting the right
ing the logistics of getting there.
pose and looking for the right moment.
When I met Mario, he was friendly and told me to
This is a good example of underplaying the fill
find a place to set up; Michael would be there in
flash. I metered the flash at f/5.6, a stop under the
twenty minutes. I quickly saw the racecar hoods sit-
ambient highlight exposure, to lighten up the shad-
ting on end (6 and 6x) and thought they would make
ows. This reduced the contrast but didn’t give the
a great frame for the father and son. I set up my light,
“flash” look. It gave the image a grittier feel, which is
set my camera on a tripod, and took light readings.
what I wanted for these road warriors.
When Michael arrived, we had five minutes for the shoot before his time trial. I went through about four rolls of 120 film and it was over. I thanked them for the time and wished them all the best. Mario gave his son a kiss on the lips and turned to me and said, “I always do that since I know I may never see him again.” Posing
I wanted to build on the symmetry of the racecar hoods and have Michael and Mario mirror each other. Having them place their hands on their hips showed confidence and portrayed them as heroes. The fluo56
50 LIGHTING SETUPS FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS
white umbrella
