Jazz
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2006
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- 147
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- Location
- NYC
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
Shortly after 9/11/01, I invited everyone in my apartment building to come to our studio, which is in the building on the first floor, and have their portrait made, one apartment at a time. The concept was to hang all the prints of everyone in our building, at one time, in one space. We normally only see each other in passing or on the elevator for a few seconds. It was a rewarding project, and people seemed to appreciate the effort. Here's a couple of the photos, along with a digital poster I eventually made of the whole group of 29 separate photos.
I wanted the same exact lighting setup for everyone, so that the lighting would get out of the way and not be an issue. We would all be out there, exposed, with no shadows to hide in. So I decided on a white background with medium softbox for main light, a small softbox with soft grid (above) for hairlight and two background lights, one on each side. Four lights total. I shot with a Hasselblad (150mm f4 lens) on Ilford Delta 100. The exposure was at f11 (incident reading from face) and the background exposure on white seamless was f16.5 (reflective).
Of the 43 apartments in our building, the residents of 29 apartments agreed to participate. Some are just a single person and some are entire families. When they arrived for their shoot, I gave them very minor instructions. I told them where to stand, and that I wanted to see their hands. This was important, as I think the way people hold their hands can be revealing and even a little artistic (uh-oh). I guided them through a few poses, but each shoot was no more than 15 minutes or so. It took about 6 weeks to photograph everyone.
I developed the film and then made an 11x14 b&w fiber print (selenium toned) of each negative, and mounted them on foamcore, and velcroed them to the wall in our basement hallway, which leads to the laundry room and recycling room (hey, space is hard to come by in NYC!). We had a photo show opening in the basement in February of 2002 with wine & cheese and lots of people showed up.
(The pregnant lady in the 2nd photo had a delightful little girl who turns 5 tomorrow.)
All comments are welcome.
I wanted the same exact lighting setup for everyone, so that the lighting would get out of the way and not be an issue. We would all be out there, exposed, with no shadows to hide in. So I decided on a white background with medium softbox for main light, a small softbox with soft grid (above) for hairlight and two background lights, one on each side. Four lights total. I shot with a Hasselblad (150mm f4 lens) on Ilford Delta 100. The exposure was at f11 (incident reading from face) and the background exposure on white seamless was f16.5 (reflective).
Of the 43 apartments in our building, the residents of 29 apartments agreed to participate. Some are just a single person and some are entire families. When they arrived for their shoot, I gave them very minor instructions. I told them where to stand, and that I wanted to see their hands. This was important, as I think the way people hold their hands can be revealing and even a little artistic (uh-oh). I guided them through a few poses, but each shoot was no more than 15 minutes or so. It took about 6 weeks to photograph everyone.
I developed the film and then made an 11x14 b&w fiber print (selenium toned) of each negative, and mounted them on foamcore, and velcroed them to the wall in our basement hallway, which leads to the laundry room and recycling room (hey, space is hard to come by in NYC!). We had a photo show opening in the basement in February of 2002 with wine & cheese and lots of people showed up.
(The pregnant lady in the 2nd photo had a delightful little girl who turns 5 tomorrow.)
All comments are welcome.