Monday, May 14, 2007

Posters and Composites

One of my constant inspirations is the art of the movie poster. Where else does the art of compositing come together to express the idea of a two hour span of time? It makes heros and villans larger than life. It conveys the central theme and drama (or comedy or whatever) to an audience through the common visual language. It is a dialog that happens in one composition.

For a while now, I have been exploring this art with a local community theater. (Yes, the same one that I just completed a 31 portrait series of its members. You can still order the book by clicking the link to the right.)

Once again, I was able to team up with Kristin MacDougall, on of the fine producers at the Footlight Club, and we brainstormed a poster design for Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Sleeping Beauty or Coma, two Charles Busch plays.

Principle photography took place over a few short hours, photographing the available actors, in costume, on a white background. Compositing and final design, however, took around 6 hours to put together the poster and banner to advertise the show.


This makes my sixth poster series for the club and I look forward to our next project together!

Monday, May 07, 2007

Real People - Education Ad


What can you do with "real people"? Well, anything you can with models, of course!

But, both the photographer and the creative who concepts the marketing piece need to keep in mind some limitations. Models and actors are used to being the center of attention and understand that what they are doing is part of a "greater whole".

"Real People" or non-models, often do not understand what we are working to create and may feel uncomfortable on center stage.

This means that the photographer and producers need to be very careful on how to handle and coach the non-model to get the best results. A photographer must be sensitive and empathetic to the person who gets put on the spot.

Of course, this is true for any subject in front of my lens! Models, non-models, C-level people or even products all have needs and desires that play into the dynamics of the production.

This, to me, is what makes this kind of shooting fun!

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