New pictures and portable studio project

[Marc Jutras]

Last night, I finally managed to upload the pictures from Spetember 2nd event that was part of th Montreal Fetish Weekend. As usual, I announce this here instead of puting pictures in my gallery since this material is not for everyone but many members seem to enjoy it.

It was the celebration of Polymorphe's 10th anniversary. Polymorphe is a latex clothing company that does amazing work. The club was packed with people. It was impossibe to move during the show so I had to shoot from one location.

This time, I wanted to make sure I had sufficient light. So far I had been shooting Delta 3200 at 6400, hoping to have enough light. But the lighting was not constant and often too low. Since I wanted to keep the effect of the stage lighting, I decided to attach a flash to the lighting grid with a Manfrotto Super Clam, extension arm and ball head. I used a small radio slave system to trigger it. It worked well except for one AA battery that dropped its charge big time in the middle of the show. I had another flash with me as a backup. I used BW400CN for the portraits and the show.

As usual, I took some portraits before the show and they came out really well. I post here one of the very few that I think can be shown here. It's my friend in her Lara Croft latex suit with leather holsters. All hand made by her and some friends (for the parts that were adjusted on her).

Talking about portraits, I decided to try something new for the next event. Since there are other photographers shooting the shows (with DSLRs), I figured I could concentrate on something different: portraits. Most people who attend show up with very nice and sophisticated outfits. It's sad that when they get a picture of it, it's only a regular snapshot. I thought I'd bring a portable studio kit and do it properly.

So I got two heads (to attach a flash and umbrella to a light stand) and two umbrellas. I'll use those with my Vivitar 283 and 285. I'll set up in a corner of the club and shoot whoever feels like it. Eventually, I'll get a portable backgroud, probably a collapsible muslin.

The new pictures, if you're interested, are on my site. Go to the galleries and click on the "ClubSin 2005-09-02 10e anniversaire de Polymorphe" link. As usual, there's a little warning to make sure you really want to see the content.

Comments on the technical or artistical aspects are really appreciated. Constantly iimproving is the goal.

 

[phototone]

As usual, I find your content quite entertaining, however the lack of fill light seems to make some of the shots more confusing. The black costumes and props blend into the background.

Wish you could set up a back light on the stage up high, to outline the performers in a rim of light, which would give the separation to make the shots more clear in subject material.

 

[Marc Jutras]

I though of a back light on stage. My problem with this idea is that I have only one receiver for my radio slave (which is giving me headaches this afternoon). Using optical slave cells would work in theory but since I'm not the only one shooting, my flash would be firering constantly, and probably not for me!

The black outfits don't help at all. I tried to pick the ones that showed the most detail.

These lighting issues on stage are one of the reasons I want to work more on portraits. It's a project I've been thinking about for a few months and I think it should work. We'll see.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[jlw]

Interesting to see how uncomfortable people are willing to be for their pleasures! (Although I shouldn't talk -- I'm sure my race-car-driving friends are just as uncomfortable in their fire-resistant suits.)

This portable-studio technique seems to be working very well for you, although I agree that a back light or rim light would help both with separation and atmosphere. A thought: Often you can make an optical slave cell much more directional by putting a small tube over it, so it's shielded from all light except what's coming from the master flash. This might let you cut down on false triggering somewhat.

While I don't want to discourage you from using a muslin background, I have to say that the ambient backgrounds seem to be working very well. I understand all too well about wanting to eliminate distractions, but you also don't want to eliminate atmosphere! Something to ponder as you evolve your approach...

 

[Marc Jutras]

Strange, my reply never showed up. 😕

Interesting to see how uncomfortable people are willing to be for their pleasures!

Indeed! You should have seen the "vacuum latex bed" they had during the latex seminar before the show.

The idea of reducing the "field of view" of the cell is nice. I'll look into it. Having a back light would help with the stage shots.

I haven't tried the portable studio kit yet. So far, my portraits, like the one shown above, were shot with a single Vivitar 283 with OmniBounce on a 6ft PC cord.

The portrait kit would be used for real portrait, not stage action. That's why a backdrop would be nice. The whole thing would be set up n an other corner of the club and people could get their picture taken before and after the show on stage. I might use some of the location decors for different looks but we want a more fixed solution because the club is not too large and there can be a lot of people.

Thanks.