Seeing Red at a Photoshoot
Not all shoots go according to plan.
When I first saw the red–very red–hallways at the Seattle Public Library, I knew I wanted to do a shoot there sometime.
Over Thanksgiving (while visiting my sis, brother-in-law and nephews), I set up a shoot. I found a willing and very capable model in Shanzay, and the day after Thanksgiving, we went and shot.
The first problem was that there were far more people in the narrow, red hallways than when I had been there before. So our shoot was constantly interrupted as people–sightseers, primarily–wandered around and marveled at the redness of it all.
Secondly, the red threw off the color balance. I knew it would, so I was shooting on manual white balance, and I even filtered my flash to match the light bulbs, but color was still a problem (you’ll notice a few of the pictures look more orange than red). And trust me, Shanzay’s skin tones are far more pleasing in person than they appear here.
Finally, the light itself was tough. The hallways are dark, so it was difficult to use the ambient light. But the strobes would cast wicked reflections on the glossy walls. I was satisfied with neither.
It was something of a photographic nightmare. I was tempted just to box these pictures up, but Bonnie thought they were pretty interesting, and there is no doubt that Shanzay did a great job. So in spite of my disappointment and misgivings, here are a few (far from perfect) pictures. Armed with a little more knowledge, maybe I’ll go back and give it another shot someday.
