Behind The Scenes at The Welsh National Opera

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A recent press day with The Welsh National Opera at The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, for which I was shooting the photography for all the attending publications from around the country, provided an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes to put on such magnificent and lavish productions as La traviata which recently opened in Cardiff. I’m no opera buff but being Welsh, I do appreciate a good voice and there is no doubt that the WNO ranks amongst the greats and the performers are second to none.

But what goes on behind the scenes to enable the cast to perform to such high standards. Last weeks tour highlighted the sheer professionalism and attention to detail that prevails throughout the company. The costume department demonstrated their skills and explained that every costume is as true to the original period costume as they can make it. Large casts, all requiring changes of some very complex costumes, particularly with regard to the corsets and supporting hoops that give the required shape and form to voluminous period dresses, as demonstrated by Judith Russell and her wardrobe team, cause some headaches during scene changes.

The whole scale of the operation is obvious as you wander through the stage area, the domain of stage manager Julia Carson Sims where the sets produced under the guidance of Darren Joyce at the nearby Cardiff Theatrical Services are erected to such effect. Company manager Ian Douglas’ enthusiasm was evident as he directed the tour party around the warren of corridors and stages that remain unseen to the general public.

WNO Chief Executive and Artistic Director David Pountney rounded off the tour before the dress rehearsal started.

I won’t try to review the performance as I’d only show my lack of knowledge. Suffice to say that it was magnificent, colourful, full of energy and a sheer joy to behold.

Production by The Welsh National Opera – La traviata 2012.

A Recent Lifestyle and Product Photography Shoot

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These images formed part of a recent full day shoot for The Glam Camping Company. The shoot involved both product and lifestyle photography for the company’s e-commerce website and for pr and marketing purposes.

The location was a holiday hut at Caswell Bay on The Gower where my client used her companies products to dress the property. Product shots formed the bulk of the work but later in the day as dusk came, two models were used for some exterior atmospheric lifestyle shots.

As mentioned in a previous post, the success of a shoot very much depends on the brief given to the photographer. Communication is the key. My client Ali always has a clear sense of what she wants from a shoot and prepares well for the day. We will have discussed her requirements well in advance, giving me time to anticipate any issues that only a photographer might identify. She will have developed a firm idea of what products to use in each set up and will have put some thought into what other items will show her products off and complete the image.

Working out the logistics in advance means that the shoot moves on at a pace on the day with little time being wasted on making decisions about what goes in what set up. The ability to review each image ensures Ali can quickly see that she is getting the photography she wants and again we can move on quickly to the next set. It’s not all about speed, but eliminating unnecessary delays can only make the shoot more productive.

More of these images can be seen on The Glam Camping Company site.

The digitaltog.

Pretty in Pink – A Fun Shoot for Tenovus

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A recent commission for Welsh cancer charity Tenovus proved to be a fun day for all concerned. The brief had been to create a set of bright, lively images on a pink theme against a white background, to use in their promotional literature for the upcoming Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October this year. The charities designer Amanda Pritchard had some good ideas for the pictures and had put in a lot of hard work to source her pink props.

The models were to be staff from the charity. This was a slight concern to me as experience has shown that working to tight deadlines with models unused to being in front of the camera could prove problematic and more often than not would not produce the required images. It does take a particular type who can pose and turn on a smile to order in front of a camera.

On the day of the shoot I set up my studio in the charities boardroom. A pristine white background lit by four Elinchrom studio Flash units….My trusty two old Elinchrom 500′s and two new Elinchrom BX 500 Ri’s. Two lights were used on the background to provide a clean white, whilst two lights lit and filled the subjects. Test shots were fine and then the models went in front of the camera. The law of sod came into play and one of my brand new Elinchrom BX 500 Ri’s refused to fire. It had only ever been tested and never used in anger before. Anyway a quick re set of the lights was called for, with just one flash in a 120 cm softbox now lighting the models.

We started slowly with just single shots and built up to the more complex groups. Pink feathers flew as Amanda directed and with a little persuasion from us both the models quickly got into the spirit of the shoot. All the volunteers were well up for it and had been well briefed on what was wanted and they came up with goods! Excitedly they came into the studio searching out their favourite props with which to pose and then came alive in front of the camera. As a photographer I couldn’t have asked for more from professionals. What a great bunch of people. Eager and enthusiastic, they all obviously wanted to do their best for the charity they care about and ultimately help the people the charity cares for. My concerns on this occasion were I’m pleased to say, totally unfounded.

I was more than pleased with the resulting images, as was Amanda, who has used the images in the various packs and promotional literature promoting next months Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’ve included a small selection of the images with this post but you can view the images as used or even get involved and support a very worthy cause by visiting the Tenovus BCAM site at: http://www.tenovus.com/get-involved/breast-cancer-awareness-month.aspx

From the commissioning clients point of view, the secret to getting what you want from a shoot lies in the quality of the brief that the photographer receives. It lies in communication between client and photographer, sometimes from inception right through to the day of the shoot. I’ve received briefs that are little more than diary entries, date and time, and been met with a quizzical look when I’ve asked for more details. From the photographers point of view there is nothing worse than arriving at a shoot with little or no information about what is happening and being met with the question ” What do you want do?” The client has probably been involved in setting up the event for weeks if not longer and knows exactly who is who and in the words of Nesa, “What’s occurring?” unlike the photographer. This sounds to me like a topic for another time so stay tuned and I’ll expand at a later date.

Suffice to say that I was kept informed of the requirements and expectations of the Tenovus shoot and I think the results benefited hugely from that involvement.

As an aside, the faulty Elinchrom is now working perfectly. The lights had been purchased on over a twelve month before and other than testing them they had never been used. They were still in guarantee and Elinchrom even repaired a wire I broke whilst swapping flash tubes to test the units, free of charge. Can’t fault the service there either.

the digitaltog.

The first of many

I’ve recently entered the world of  social media with some trepidation. I’ve had a business web site for around thirteen years and used e-mail, ftp and other online services as business tools but never felt the urge to socialise on the web. Having only recently realised that I was being left behind in the world of online networking and been given an excellent book ( The Linked Photographer’s Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media by Lindsay Adler and Rosh Sillars) on the subject by my daughter for a recent birthday I decide to take the plunge.

Hours have been spent setting up accounts with Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and Linkedin, uploading images to these sites.  I’ve not found it the easiest. I realise now I’ve taken on too much in one go. Far better to have tried just one platform and grown organically from there. Any way here we are and now I’ve gone one step further and set up the blog as well.

All that time spent setting things up and I’d not really thought about what to write about on the first blog, but then I thought I’d write about what’s been occupying my thoughts or the past three weeks, Social Networking.

I’ve yet to tweet but have uploaded a small portfolio to Flickr, Facebook friends are building slowly but Linkedin is where my connections have built most quickly.

I’ll see how things progress, as will anyone who choses to follow this blog or any of the other platforms but I plan to post again on subjects of a more photographic nature next time.

digitaltog