Shooting it: Andy’s Imagine

Here is some backstage info for one of my favorite strobist shots I have! I shot this photo in the bar of my friend Andy, who is running it, and it’s one of the cool places to go for drink and have some fun in Kobe, you can check his website here: Andy’s Imagine!

This is seriously one of my favorite strobist works I’ve ever done! I got 6 lights involved in the shot, so it took some time to arrange everything, and then shoot if for 5 minutes while he was singing!

Strobist info:

Canon 580EXII with a Reflective Umbrella – Camera Left (Up)
Sunpak AF5000 with a Reflective Umbrella – Camera Left (Down)
Nikon SB-26 with 1/2 CTO – Under the “Jack Daniels”
Nikon SB-26 with 1/2 CTO – At the corner behind him
Nikon SB-26 with 1/2 CTO – Under the small window on the right side of the wall
Sigma EF-430 with a 1/2 CTO – Behind him 580EXII Triggered by
Pocket Wizard II Plus, All the other flash units triggered by Optical Slave

So, let me talk about the setup, first I was setting up the main light, and I used a reflective umbrella on his left-up side, then I added one more umbrella under the first one, so I can get a bit more even light in him.

Then I started working on the wall, the color of the was was a bit colder, as you can see on the setup shot above, so I used some CTOs to warm it up, and I put 3 more flashes on the sofa under the wall with gels so I can get a bit warmer overall feeling for the photo. And also Andy is blond, so I thought that the golden image of the wall will match him much better in this way!

In the end I wanted to set up one more bare flash as a back light for Andy, so I can separate him a bit more from the background, and I also I put some CTO on it to warm up his hair.

So for this shot I actually used all the flashes I had at that time, I am triggering the main light (Canon 580EXII) by Pocket Wizard II Plus, that’s what I usually use as a wireless trigger. All the other flashes have a built-in optical slave function, usually when I buy a flash that’s one of the first things I am searching for! That’s why I love the old Nikon SB-26s, already got a bunch of them, and I would buy another one anytime I see it available in some second hand camera shop! In this shot I’m also using a pretty old but powerful Sunpak Flash – 5000AF, and a Sigma EF430, not that strong, but handy when you just need a bit light somewhere!

Another thing I use here are the Lee Filters I put on the flashes to warm up the wall, basically in this shot I’m using 1/2 CTOs for the background walls, and one more for his hair!

This particular photoshoot made me think of something interesting. I am so surprised how this location is really suit for it’s owner, I tried also shooting somebody else there, but it was far from the result I got with Andy, like he has obsessed his own bar!

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