Recently, I had the opportunity to indulge in a photo shoot that I hadn't done in a while - an impromptu shoot. Years ago, I used to find random locations and take photos of what I found there. This time, I found myself on the floor above the Leaky bar in The Vaults. The area appeared to be a purpose-built dressing room on scaffolding, and the sound of footsteps from the bar below could be heard through the gaps in the floor.
I was struck by the unique look created by the curved walls and the mirror on the side, which I knew I wanted to incorporate into the shoot. I was accompanied by models Sibyl Grimm and Hot Rod. To start, I attempted one of my favourite shots - the mirror shot of a performer getting ready. A good tip for this shot is to make sure the mirror is clean. Although I didn't realize it at the time, I could have given it a quick clean for better results. Additionally, I asked for the performer's hand to be repositioned, as it can be natural for them to hold a make-up pencil or lipstick across their face, which would obscure the shot. In this case, we see the hands repositioned to avoid this issue.
Next, we moved to the bar, where I asked Sybil to pour a drink for Hot Rod. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Sybil's intense gaze conveyed much more. It could convey any number of emotions, such as "How dare you order a drink in my bar!", "Who let you in?" or "Enjoy your drink of nothing!" The exact reason for their laughter remains a mystery, but I always try to capture candid moments in my shoots.
We then moved on to some more dramatic shots, vastly different from the previous ones. The bar wall had a light green shade and unique texture, so I had Hot Rod stand with their back facing it, as their attire featured similar green accents. The initial shot was brighter, but using radial layers in Capture One, I deepened the shadows on the wall to create a darker halo around Hot Rod.
I have always followed the rule that "Anything that is not nailed down is automatically a prop", and so when I found a polystyrene head, I handed it to Sybil for an "Alas for Yorick" moment, complete with pearls, of course.
Next, I focused on utilizing the main room and as you can observe, the chair was not secured and was temporarily repurposed as a seat for Hot Rod.
After choosing the cleaner of the two glasses from the bar, I was pleased to see that there were no more incidents. However, it was also evident that the glasses were empty since the budget for the shoot was extremely limited.
I'll end this by sharing a few random photos taken during the shoot. After some time, I ran out of creative ideas and the clock was ticking. There might have been more opportunities for photos, but I was uncertain about how much I could freely move around.
