2 minute read
Take Five9
CASE STUDY #9 Take Five
CAMERA: Hasselblad 503c LENS: 50mm
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FILM: Kodak Plus X
EXPOSURE: f/11 at 1 / 8 second
LIGHTING: large Chimera light bank OTHER: tripod
Assignment If you haven’t figured it out yet, working on a personal portrait project allows you the opportunity to meet your heroes. For my “Fathers and Sons” project, I had photographed Alan Arkin. He was friends with jazz musician Dave Brubeck and suggested I contact him for the book. Score!
Visual Objective Capturing the family dynamics is always one of my visual objectives; each son has their own identity and relationship to their father. In truth, though, the portrait is as much about me as it is about the Brubecks. Once I was happy with the placement, I would “let the camera roll” and try and capture their dynamic.
Posing When I arrived at their home, I noticed that Dave and his son Daniel were wearing black shirts. That started me thinking about a keyboard—black keys surrounded by white keys. This concept, although not obvious, was the driving force of my placement of the family. (It also helped that Dave was wearing a white belt.)
I also used the steps behind the family to stagger their heights. Then, I had them bend their knees to create a more casual look. The final touch was hand placement—and the key was having Dave crossing his arms. This set the tone for the rest of the portrait’s family dynamic.
The Story The only time Dave and his family were all free and in the same place was a week before Christmas. Fortunately, Dave only lives a couple of hours north of New York City and I was free that day. By the time I got there with my assistant, Jo Caress, it was dark and the home was filled with holiday lights. It was very festive and the Brubecks were gracious hosts.
Tips When photographing a large group you need a large light modifier. Because four of the sons wore glasses, I used a boom stand to raise the light about three feet above the subjects to avoid causing reflections.
To capture the ambiance of a large room, try dragging the shutter, as I did here. Once you focus, turn off the modeling light to avoid recording subject movement, unless that is the effect you want.
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LIGHTING CASE STUDIES 41
