My friend Cindi (she's the one with the Marge Simpson hair) at Borel Hair Care asked if I would make a photo of all of the stylists on Halloween. I guess the theme could have been "Scary Hair", as every one of them was "Trick Or Treat" ready. I knew I would have only had only a few minutes to make the shot, so I kept things as simple as I could.
Since I would be working in a public thoroughfare, I knew I couldn't have a light stand, so I opted to mount my speedlight on a monopod, as I usually do. When it came time to shoot, all I would simply raise the monopod/speedlight combo over my head and shoot away. I chose this particular spot because it had stairs, and the salon's sign high above. I could have played with my vantage point the get the sign closer, or larger, but as it turned out, this particular composition worked out well. Besides, time would be tight.
As soon as my talent started filing out of the salon, I began arranging them. Again, there really wasn't enough time to fine tune the composition, so I basically grouped them by size. Two talls in the front, two mediums on the second stair, and my three petites at the top level. What I didn't plan on was how easy it would be to stagger their positions so I could show off most of their costumes. And while I didn't get every left-to-right detail on all of my subjects (one stylist move slightly out of place), you can certainly see enough to get a good idea of how each costumes looked.
One could argue that it would have looked better if the petites and the talls were reversed, and that the black costumes got lost in the darkened hallway behind them. However, symmetry trumps trickery, and for the most part, a well balanced photo will always play well. Yes, I could have added another speedlight or two with Halloween orange gels, but there wasn't any time to get creative and it could have resumed raining at any moment. Quick and simple, everyone was please with the results.
Runnin' and Gunnin' at it's best!
