Shawna Lucey

 

"Shawna Lucey is an opera and theatre director, as well as the General Director and CEO of Opera San José. Shawna is known for her feminist staging’s of classic and modern pieces, bringing passionate new resonance to the warhorses of opera and grappling with contemporary works through a feminist paradigm..."*

I was asked to provide a photo to accompany a Q & A piece for the Journal. Since these articles are usually about local artists, I usually try to learn about my subject's background, looking for inspiration for how I might make my photographs less headshot and more portrait. Ms. Lucey is known for injecting classic opera with a more contemporary outlook. In addition, she loves nail art!

I wrote ahead to the Opera's publicist, requesting that I have access to a parking space in the roundabout for one hour. I planned to arrive at 2:00 pm, set up for 30 minutes, and meet with Ms. Lucey at 2:30 for a 15 minute shoot.

Afternoon At The Opera:  I arrive at the roundabout at 1:30 and checked in. I was thankful for the convenient parking because I had a rolling duffle bag full of lighting equipment, a camera bag on my left shoulder, a flash bag on my right shoulder, and my tall light stand. Covid protocols were in place, so I was required to show proof of vaccination and boosters, fill out an on-line inoculation summary, and  take an antigen test. While waiting for the test results, I would be taken on a tour of possible locations for the shot. The testing process took longer than I would have wanted, which ate up valuable setup time. I decided to use on of the lounge areas on the second floor, mainly because of the warm, red décor.

Lighting: While I had access to a softbox, I decided to use a standard umbrella as a beauty dish. Zack  Arias used this technique in in One-Light Video series, and I liked the effect he was achieving. In this environment, the setup gave me a relatively soft light source that was tightly contained in a "cylinder of light". This eliminated an light spilling out and washing over the background. The flash I used was a Godox round headed speedlight with a full CTO gel attached. In retrospect, I should have used a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel to keep the skin tones more natural. Come to think about it, I don't know if I have such a gel in my kit, but I will be sure that one is available in the future.

One thing that you'll notice is the position of the speedlight. To prevent light spilling onto the background, it should be placed deep inside the "cone" of the collapsed umbrella, creating both the round, concentrated light of a beauty dish while containing it, as you could using barn doors.  This was a little problematic with the folding umbrellas I normally carry, so in the future I may strap a full-sized umbrella onto the light stand, just in case.

Julius Studio Flash Shoe Bracket: Last year I found this odd, reticulated umbrella bracket on Amazon. I like its reticulated mounting system. I paid about $22.00 for a pair of brackets, cheap by all standards. Had I thought to pack it, I would have had even more control over the light distribution of this setup.

The actual product was priced fairly, which is to say that it wasn't the sturdiest bracket I own, nor the most reliable. The pivoting adjustments had retention teeth to prevent slippage when tightened, but they didn't hold very well. The sliding clamp arms seemed like a bit of overkill until I saw  how much force was required to securely lock all the parts in position. Still, this bracket is a viable solution to a problem I've had with several of the unusual lighting setups and adaptations I've made in the quest for a perfect light source.

You can see from this photo that it is possible to position the speedlight very close to the umbrella axis. This works for a variety of situations where one needs to keep the light source as close to the umbrella axis as possible. As ungainly as it looks, it does work, providing all the adjustments are locked tightly in position. 

I'll be sure to add one of these reticulated umbrella brackets to my rolling bag. I'll also add a 1/4 CTO filter for times when I need just a smidge of warmth instead of the full-on, incandescent look seen in this shot. If I had more time, I might have been tempted to experiment more, but Ms. Lucey had a busy day planned, and I was thankful for the precious minutes she made for me.

* Click here for source.

Body WORKS

Final Photo with the shadow on the painting eliminated.

 This photo was made at a reception for the four painters featured in Body WORKS, a collection of paintings including portraits and figure studies Luckily for me, there was convenient parking at the rear of the gallery because, as usual, I bring much more equipment that I eventually used. I had planned to arrive at the studio at 4:00 pm, and have everything ready to go for a quick shot at 4:45, just before the reception's 5:00 pm start.

My go to key light was a Godox AD200 flash with a bare bulb in place of the usual reflector mounted in an Adorama copy of the 24" E-Z-Box, The only reason I use the knockoff over the original is convenience - The Adorama version is much more compact when collapsed. For a fill light, I used a speedlight in front of the camera aimed directly at the floor. The fill is minimal, but may be more effective if I cover the floor with a large piece of bleached muslin, which for some reason escaped my bag.

I chose this setting for a number of reasons. First, I thought a street-level view would be a novel background. Second, there was already a large painting available as a contextual element. Also, they was room for my subjects to sit just below the bottom of the painting. Finally, the afternoon sun provided a shaft of light that I might use to accent one of my lucky seated subjects.

You can see from this preliminary location shot that there was a puddle of direct sunlight reflecting off of the hardwood floor, and I knew that if any of my subjects could she their own shadow on the floor they would enjoy the benefit of this free highlighting from behind.

The original plan was to photography the artists in a two sitting, two standing arrangement. However, when I arrive I learned that one artist couldn't make it, and another wouldn't arrive until 7:00 pm. The photo couldn't wait until then, so I started arranging the shot with the two subjects that were already there.

First Attempt - Notice the shadow on the left edge of the painting.

I would have been quite happy with this shot taken early in the session were it not for the shadow cast on the left edge of the painting. I moved my key light to be closer to the lens axis to give a more "top lit" effect, and told my standing subject to move slightly to his right. This did the trick, but I must admit that my seated subject's smile was slightly less charming that it was in the first shot.

Since the lights were already set up, I offered to photograph the individual artists next to samples of their work. I did this photo of Hugh Leeman using the same E-Z-Box clone, but positioned for a steeper angle to minimize the glare on his paintings and to position his shadow away from the outline of  his head. There was some light falloff, but it was corrected in post production. I wish I could have arranged for a kicker light to separate his left arm from the dark painting in the background, and I would have, if I had more time and freedom to work. But the guests had arrived, and i thought it best to capture the shot as quickly as possible.

I was happy with both the results and the actual shoot. Convenient parking, cooperative subjects, interesting backgrounds, and some time to experiment.