This is part 2, my 2nd selection of the work I've done in Bordeaux. I will, like in the first part, explain how I built some of the shots we made. If you haven't read the first part please do!
This time we are leaving pole dance behind and we will concentrate on 3 dancers from the Opera National de Bordeaux! It was my first time and I have to admit, it was an honor for me to work with all 3 of them.
We worked at Darwin again with Etoile Sara Renda and soloist Claire Teisseire. We had access to another playground for Nicole Muratov and made a couple of pictures inside “la base sous-marine”.
I just couldn't be in Bordeaux again and not shoot with ballerinas... It has now become an important part of my work. Adapt, improvise and think quickly, this is how I work now! It can be scary and stressful, but it's also very exciting as you may create things you would have never thought of otherwise.
This is what happened with this shot, I only had one strobe and there was a window just in front of the piano. I decided to use the incoming light from that window as a 2nd light source and placed my SIROS L as a backlight. Here is the result:
A beautiful Piano was waiting for us there... how can I not use it! The lighting here is basic with a placement at a 90 degrees angle camera left.
I love this kind of picture! The environment plays an important role here. I needed a lot of power to light Claire and to not have the flash in the way. The 800w was necessary here to overpower the ambient light.
When I walked into this abandoned building, I knew that I had to make a few shots inside! The trick was to hide the flash somewhere! Here, Sara is posing in front of an opened door with the flash next to her simulating the sun sneaking in.
And here, the strobe is underneath the stairs just in Front of Sara!
Bordeaux is almost a 2nd home now! Thanks to the city, we gained access to another original location, far from the regular studio pictures dancers usually make. “La Base sous-marine” was perfect for us. I was supposed to visit the place a few days before to prepare for my shoot, but unfortunately, we couldn't sync our schedules. I ended up visiting the building 30 minutes before the session! This is actually the 3rd picture we made there, and it was an easy one to make. The light wasn't coming in as I needed and her face was underlit once laying on the floor. I really wanted the rail in my composition because I wanted to use it as a leading line. The solution was simple, we used the beauty box 65 and a Siros L 800W (camera right) placed perpendicularly to the handrail. I purposely slightly underexposed the environment for that dark dramatic look.
Again, using the location to hide my flash. To help Nicole "Stand out" in the center.
During these 3 different sessions, the Siros L was the perfect companion. Compact, with no cables/wires dangling around, we were able to move, and work fast without compromising on the quality of the results.
Down below is a selection of my favorite images from these sessions:
I must thank all the amazing performers for sharing their craft with me. Huge shout out to la ville de Bordeaux. Thank you DARWIN and “la base sous-marine” for welcoming us. Thanks to my lovely partner Marlène for her help and support.
We are on tour as I'm writing this article! New amazing stuff is coming up...