Belle De Beauvoir got in touch with me and requested my presence at Village Soho to take portrait pictures of some performers. I gladly accepted the opportunity to do so, as I had recently completed a quick photo shoot at the Leaky Bar upstairs and was eager to further hone my skills.
Having previously shot Sibyl Grimm's one-woman show at Village Soho the previous year, I was familiar with the layout of the room and had a few concepts in mind for the upcoming photo shoot.
Upon meeting Belle, we made our way down to the room and requested that a few flickering lights be switched off. As soon as the first performer arrived, we began capturing shots. Having surveyed the area, I chose a spot just in front of an open door that provided some light as the room was rather dimly lit.
Following that, we proceeded to the bar where I asked the performers to lie across it facing a light in the top corner. We then moved on to a chaise longue and subsequently to a booth adorned with red seating and mirrors. There was limited space in the area so I used this routine for each performer rather than trying to think of something different each time.
I was using the Sigma 20-70mm f2.8 lens for this shoot, at f2.8 I was getting enough light in without having to up the ISO so much as I was also using a Rotolight Neo strapped to the top of the camera. This provided enough extra light for the shots, especially good for close-up portrait work.
There was an abundance of yellow light in the room, in some shots it added but in others, it cast a tone which I did not like, I added some blue to the shadows to compensate. I enjoyed this quick shoot in a small limited area, makes you think about the available space and which shots to take on the fly. It was also a chance to meet and chat with some new performers!
