It’s been a while since I’ve shot anything of the dance world, but being able to work in the Teatro Juarez, a truly magnificent structure in Guanajuato, was so inspirational, we sought out a beautiful dancer to place in its environs. It was a twenty minute shoot, squeezed in during the lunch hour, but very worth the hustle it took to put the pieces together. Again, thanks to the PhotoXperience team in Guanajuato for helping me out.
Tough to place a light as close to the subject as you might like when using a 14-24mm lens, but this theater is grandeur defined, so I threw customary caution about super wide glass to the winds and shot with the lens racked out to 14 mil. Not a job for small flash, as by the time the light travels from the hot shoe unit to the subject it will most likely be a tad harsh. (Not to say this is impossible with speed lights, just would take some time, perhaps multiple units, and some broad based diffusion.) For simplicity’s sake we went with the Elinchrom Quadra, fitted with the 59″ indirect Octa. The key for the light to be decent here, again, given how far away it is from the subject, is not only the size of the source, but the indirect nature of it. The lamp head inside the box is directed away from the subject, into the interior, cavernous space of the light shaper, and really pushes out of the box in very soft fashion. So the distance factor is mitigated greatly as a negative thing. I’ve been using this light shaper like crazy, and really fond not only of the softness, but the evenness of the exposure across the face of the Octa. The indirect nature of the light really smooths things out.
Again, just really grateful to the folks here, and at the theater for allowing a quick shot done in the midst of all this architectural splendor. Thanks as well to Carlos Figueroa and Eddy Tostado who did the makeup, and of course, Aleli, a very beautiful and patient dancer, and Alex Sahagun, who assisted on the shot.
More tk…..
Beautiful shot and very well executed inside a 20-minute timeframe. Love the HSB (human sandbag) too. Very creative. 😉
I love the balance between flash and light ambient!
I think you used a very hight Iso… Didn’t you?
Congratulations!
There appear to be many incandescent bulbs lighting the theater, which leads me to the question- do you ever use filters on light sources you are diffusing, or does the diffusion material just cause the light to be white even if a filter is applied to the light source?
Hi Joe. If you had used 3xSB900 or so, would you have thought of putting 2500K colored gel for balancing the flashlight to be about the same as the light in the room?
Lovely shot, i really like the ambience balance whith the flash and majestuosity of the theatre nice Portrait pull Out in no timé
Big fan of your work i give me a lot of inspiration
Big hugs from santo domingo
Iván
Beautiful shot and very well executed inside a 20-minute timeframe. Love the HSB
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I was in that building 10 years ago shooting a Nikon 995 with an SB28 wired to it. ( ‘shooting’ is not the correct term, ‘Hoping for an image’ was more truthful)
My results were different than yours. 🙂
Good !!! I was lovely to help you get the place…
kisses Joe 😉
What a great week Joe, thanks again speaking for México !
This is what I love about super wide angles!
Thanks for sharing Joe, what a beautiful image.
One of many things I love about your blog is that you don’t just describe what you eventually did to get the shot, you describe options you *eliminated* and why. This kind of BTS peek into a master thought process is invaluable! Thank you for taking the time to share. Magnificent image!
Merry Christmas.