Before their performance at the Pageant supporting Killswitch Engage, Alternative Press' 2009 band of the year, The Devil Wears Prada, got a taste of the bright lights. Or my Chinatown Special DIY beauty dish, at any rate. Six great guys, a few speedlights, and here are the results.
Photographer's Notes:
First off, all the guys in The Devil Wears Prada were great to work with. We had 15-minutes to knock out this portrait shoot, and the guys got it done.
With six or more band members, it can always be tricky to position people for a group portrait. I always prefer to stagger the guys loosely to break up what can often be a wall of people.
Lighting:
For the key light, I used a Nikon SB-900 fired into a 18″ beauty dish positioned camera left, with fill from an SB-900 fired into a 45″ reflective umbrella. For accent lighting, I used two snooted Nikon SB-600s.
Overall, I thought that the beauty dish worked perfectly for this shoot, throwing out a middling soft/hard look which I thought suited the band well.
One thing I always try to do is show the band the shots on the camera's LCD while shooting, just to give them a sense of the lighting I'm using and the mood I'm working with. I often find that this is a nice icebreaker as well, as the process and results are made more transparent, and the band can rest assured that they're looking good.
End Notes:
Big thanks to Julie and Heidi for helping set this up, and of course to the solid guys of The Devil Wears Prada for being great subjects. Thanks also to their TM R. for making it all come together on-site, too. I want to bro down and eat BBQ with all these guys.
Sincere thanks to DJ and Allyssa for assisting on short notice.
If you haven't seen the live photos from the Devil Wears Prada, you can see the full set from their show here:
The Devil Wears Prada @ the Pageant
