Behind the scenes feat. Cyd Sailor & Laura Viaud
Let’s call it a bonus video… I had enough footage to make a last Behind-the-scenes video from these sessions. Plus they are a little different from the other pictures we made there, so it would have been a shame not to share them. Some of these images were already shared on my Instagram and others were sleeping on my hard drive. I don’t share everything, I even sometimes take pictures from different sessions to illustrate whatever topic I decided to talk about for a video. This will be a mix of 2 sessions, 2 very different photoshoots, that was not easy to set up. Shooting performers anywhere, in places we would not expect them was kind of the motivation of all my dance and circus work the past years. The Challenge of using the space and physical abilities of the performer to make a visually striking image was my main motivation and goal when I started. And that’s what was the base of our meeting with Cyd sailor and Laura. They came in last minute, we didn’t have time to discuss the shoot prior to the shoot, and once on set, we let the magic happen.
Cyd Sailor (Château la Tour Carnet - France) Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 30mm F3.5 R LM WR 1/30sec f/3.5 ISO 200
Pole dancing was always a challenge for me, and it still is. I’ve shot a lot of pole dancers the past years and stopped brutally last year. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. The time it takes to set up a pole, to move it, and the limited amount of time one can stay on the pole to perform a few moves makes it hard to develop a full series with an elaborated concept. So every time you have to work quickly, almost in a hurry, and you have to simplify your ideas to make multiple images or just make a few if not only one or 2 depending on the complexity of your images. If it’s for a brand, a company, with a comfortable budget, then yes it’s worth the hassle. Personally, if a pole dancer/ performer contacts me now, I am not sure I would accept. They just don’t have the money if they pay for their personal private shoot. That’s why you don’t see them in my feed anymore, and this was kind of the "goodbye session", the end of an era. We didn’t make a lot of images, but it reminded me why I loved to photograph these artists in the beginning, and why I stopped recently.
Cyd Sailor (Château la Tour Carnet - France) Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 30mm F3.5 R LM WR 1/30sec f/3.5 ISO 200
Cyd is notoriously known for her crazy outfits and costumes, so we had to make a few portraits… Mermaid style!
Cyd Sailor (Château la Tour Carnet - France) Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 110mm F2.0 R LM WR 1/50sec f/2.0 ISO 50
The 2nd artist that Joined us, has worked with me multiple times in the past and is used to my colored smoke grenade obsession. We were not sure of the weather during her stay so we made this first photo first to make sure we had it.
So With or without smoke?
Laura Viaud (Château la Tour Carnet - France) Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 23mm F4.0 R LM WR 1/125sec f/4.0 ISO 200
We then headed inside the Winery, and she just did her thing. We used Atmosphere canned smoke for a few shots. I’ve used these a few times, and I am not a fan. It does do the trick in small spaces, but I don’t really get the texture I want.
Laura Viaud (Château la Tour Carnet - France)
Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 30mm F3.5 R WR
1/30sec f/3.5 ISO 50
I mentioned this in a previous video, a lot of the content I share here is from sessions where we experimented with stuff, tested gear and concepts, or just had a bit of fun. This allows me to reduce the chances of making mistakes on a shoot for a client. It was great to create in such an amazing place! With such amazing people. I can now turn this page and start a new chapter.
Laura Viaud (Château la Tour Carnet - France) Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 30mm F3.5 R WR 1/125sec f/3.5 ISO 100
A little question for you guys, do you do test shoots? Do you regularly test new ideas and concepts? Or do you just put your mind to it when the situation arises? Tell us in the comments below! New gear review video next Thursday, I may have found my go-to microphone system for my YouTube videos.
