Today we are going to take a look at an image that I (Zach) shot for new Squint recording artist Joel & Luke. These guys are really amazing and shooting them was a blast! Joel (who is in the shot below) and his brother Luke are incredibly talented and have an amazing sound. We will do a full post on their shoot soon so stay tuned for that!

The image below was a complicated shot done with 3 lights on-location inside Healthways company in Franklin. This is simply an office space that we turned into a studio for the shot.

Here is the set up.

HOW WE DID IT:

As you can see from the behind the scenes image, there were offices, signs, and tons of junk in the background that we did not want in the shot.  Also, you could also see right through the chains, so just lighting it from the front would not have been sufficient. I knew that lighting the back of the gold chains would create this highlighted effect with light shooting around in the background and would make the shot look like it was right out of the studio.

We set up one light in the front that was almost straight on (glamor lighting) and used a huge light source that makes the light super soft  and gives it that painted on look. The soft box above is 5 feet in diameter and that is why the shot has this look. We then added two kicker lights (or separation lights) at 45 degree angles coming in and hitting the background to light it up, and then also lighting Joel’s shoulders and face. These lights are bare bulb which is why they have that contrasty effect and make the image really pop out.  It makes the background look the way it does and also makes Joel look very 3 dimensional.

We metered the main light at f/11 which gives it tons of depth and makes the shot look super sharp (there is no sharpening done in post on this shot), then we metered the background lights so that they both also metered at f/11 which makes them very obvious that they are there and makes the shot very “high-key” looking.

This is the actual JPG of the image and there is no post-production done to this shot. After metering the shot, I had Joel hop in for a few and this was one of the first three shots I took with no lighting adjustments (that is not always the case, but knowing your lights and the style you want can make things go very fast).

GEAR USED: Canon 5d Mark 2, 100mm macro 2.8 lens, ISO 100, f/11, three 500 watt powerlights (front light has 5 foot Octobank, back lights have 7 inch reflectors attached), all powered by the Vagabond 2 from Alien Bees

Below is one more image from the shoot that has both brothers in it. This shot has an in-camera texture that was applied by shooting through the chains to give it this effect.

We hope that this post was inspiring! It is amazing what you can do with just some cool light! Happy shooting!!

Last weekend had some amazing friends come into town from Kansas City, MO to do an artist shoot with us (and of course hang out, eat out, and watch movies for a few days!). Dan and Amy Cogan are an amazing couple who we love dearly and Dan is a singer/songwriter that I (Zach) have worked with in the past on the Rebuild My Heart album that we did a few years back. Dan has a new worship record coming out and he needed images for promo as well as CD packaging, hence the artist session!

Check out the shoot!

Visit Dan on his MySpace, become his friend on Facebook, and check out his blog!

Thanks so much Dan (and Amy) for letting us shoot your record cover! We can’t wait to see you again and want you to move here really bad!!

We will also be showing off some images that we took of Dan and his lovely wife in a later post so stay tuned!!

PS.  Happy Labor Day!

One of the great things about being in Nashville is we often have the opportunity to shoot artists – which we absolutely love doing!

Jody and I had the privilege of working with an incredibly cool country artist this past weekend by the name of Emily Riesen. We shot all of her new promo and had an absolute blast working with her! She is very sweet and gracious and was fun shoot.  Emily is an artist here in Nashville (endorsed by Baden Guitars), and actually goes to the same church as us and works with the youth kids (so cool!).

We scouted an awesome location near our place that won’t be there for too much longer, so it was great to be able to shoot in a unique location that no one else can replicate.

Check out the images from the day – and if you’re wondering why her makeup looks so amazing – it’s because of the superb Amy Lynn Larwig who is our #1 go-to gal for great makeup for any occasion- artist shoots, weddings, whatever you may need :)

Here is a behind-the-scenes shot on this first set-up with our amazing assistant Walt helping to diffuse some of the light hitting Emily!!

Here the behind the scenes set up on the two shots you just saw above … a multiple lighting shot.

This is the last set-up we did just as the sun was setting. These shots turned out awesome and were just the look that Emily was really wanting for her shoot.

Thanks a ton Emily for letting us be a part of this shoot! We had such a blast and are super excited about your music and your career!!

Become a Facebook Fan of Emily’s!

As many of you know, I Zach, really enjoy artist shoots.  We recently had the privileged of photographing Angie Carr for her new promo and press kit. Angie is a classical singer whose voice has been heard locally as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and has traveled as far as Japan (of course have to mention she was a top 15 finalist for the Smithsonian’s “O Say Can You Sing?” National Anthem Contest).  Not only does she have a great voice but Angie is super cool and laid back and was really fun to work with!

Angie wanted some classy shots inside a church and then some with a more urban feel, so we headed out to downtown Nashville to our studio to prep for hair and make up (by the Amazing Amy Lynn) and then headed out from there!  The first set up was in a cool church across the street from the studio on the main strip off Broadway.

Angie wanted stain glass so we went for something that was classy, but definitely non-traditional.

Then we went across the street again for a quick grab shot of this really cool building!

Here is a behind the scenes shot of this set up with me, the make up artist Amy to the far right, and our awesome assistant Alice Lee holding the light. My incredibly hot wife is taking the picture and watching so that no cars run me over!!

Then we got a few city looking images while we were in the neighborhood.

We then headed to Bi-Centennial park for some earthy looking images and shot into the sunset. Ahhhh….

It was a great shoot and a really fun time! Thanks Angie for being so cool and so laid back!  Keep on singin’ :)

We have been dying to post more on this artist shoot we did but have been holding off so we can simultaneously release it with a free download being offered (more info on the bottom)!!

As mentioned a few weekends ago on our Twitter as well as on a previous blog, we did a photo shoot of these amazing artists Joel & Luke. It was an absolute blast and started in our studio and then concluded at Vanderbilt Hospital. Yes, we said Hospital. No, we weren’t shooting in any operating rooms – we were on top of the building shooting on their Emergency Helicopter Landing Pad as you will see in the below video!

We know you just want to see photos and the video so we’ll have additional commentary at the end :)

The exhausted stylist with the boy’s clothes strewn all about. Ha ha!

Onto the heli-pad with the help of the amazing staff at Vanderbilt Hospital and Life Flight. Thanks again guys!

And a little behind-the-scenes rockin’ video of the day

The day was totally blessed! It’s a bit hard to tell but it was cold and rather cloudy but that actually turned to our advantage! We were forewarned that if a helicopter was to land, we would have 5 minutes notice and would have to get all of our camera gear as well as their bass drum and piano (yes, piano) out of the way for the copter to land. However, because of the clouds, the helicopters were grounded and we were able to shoot for quite some time up there uninterrupted! The staff was amazing and the shoot was phenomenal. For those who skipped the video, we had lights, extension cords, cameras, old film cameras, a pro video camera, 2 Flips, a couple of iPhones, and I think that just about covers it! Even with the cold, the day was absolutely perfect. After we packed up our stuff and headed out of the hospital it began to rain… any sooner and we would have had to stop shooting. Amazing!

Some other props go out to super stylist Jenni Enno as well Steven Lester capturing professional B-roll (nothing compared to our little Flips). The day was amazing!

If you liked what you heard on the video, read the special message below from Joel & Luke!

Follow Joel & Luke on Twitter
Visit them on their Facebook Fan Page

Enjoy!!!

We had mentioned on our twitter a few weeks back that we were shooting a charity event (follow us on twitter – GrayPhotography!) and we wanted to share some of the photos with you! To be a little more clear, we weren’t shooting the event per-say but the suh-weet band playing at the event.

Introducing The Nashville Blue Tones! These guys have been wanting to update some of their images and we were more than happy to oblige!

The Nashville Blue Tones is a fantastic group of keyboard, bass, guitar, drums, male & female vocalists, tenor sax, trombone, and trumpet and can add more horns and vocalists for any specific event, budget, venue, and entertainment needs.

These guys & gals put on a great show and we have seen them in action at weddings we have shot as well. David Nuding is the music director and owner of the group and of Blue Tone Music USA, and is a great guy to work with (he is seen below on the drums). We can’t say enough about these guys!!!

Enjoy the rest of the pics :)

Thought it might be good to mention that this particular event had a Moulin Rouge theme for the first set these guys played (hence the attire) .

SIDE UPDATES:
- Thanks to those who leave their comments – we love reading them!
- We are still accepting applications for associate photographers – read down our blog for more info
- Vote for Tenth Avenue North for New Artist of the Year! Go to Dove Awards Voting
or by texting the # 72648 and sending: ‘Dove Avenue’ (u can vote 2x).

Yesterday we did a shoot for our dear & sweet friend, Mel. Mel is an amazing photographer and person and has such a kind heart and sweet spirit. Mel specializes in high end portrait photography for babies, children, etc. and her images are amazing!!! Here are some of the shots we took of her for her site/publicity.

We started the shoot off at SOL in downtown Franklin with only about an hour and a half of shoot time…

Then we ended up across the street….

And finally we ended up on the top of a parking garage! Here is a “behind the scenes” shot of the setup:

The camera position:

The shots:

Doesn’t she look amazing??

Thanks for stopping by!