In February  I was excited to be asked to do the first press shots for the Prison Library. I knew some of the band from a few years ago when they were Spies in Limbo – we had worked together on a studio shoot. I feel I have learned so much since then.

It helped that the band had some ideas and I wanted to create a certain atmosphere and style with location and lighting. Therefore,before the shoot I sent the band location and lighting test shots, so I was sure that I was heading in the right direction. It is important that the style of the image fits with the style of the band. I even bought a second-hand pub seat that would fit four or five people – it will be great prop for future shoots.

On the day of the shoot I did a run through of the lighting set ups which saved time later on.

I still use a light meter to do my light readings

Lighting test before the shoot

Behind the scenes shot

The shots on the sofa were done using two separate exposures and merging them in Photoshop. I took one frame of the band with flash, and for the other shot I made a long exposure to accentuate the ambient lighting.I used a combination of Elinchrom flash heads with umbrellas,softboxes, and grids, for the three different shots. For my next shoot I will remember to get some behind the scenes footage.

More of my photographs can be found on my website

This shot was created using two exposures

I was pleased with results, and more importantly the band liked them too – you can see them on their website here  http://www.theprisonlibrary.com/

Prison Library Homepage