Musician, composer and producer, he has been the lead guitarist of hard rock and heavy metal bands such as UFO, Scorpions and Michael Schenker Group. I was lucky enough to be hired by his German record label to photograph the concert he gave in Madrid a few months ago, as well as to take several portraits for the DVD that would be released on the occasion of the concert at the Joy Eslava concert hall.
Interviews
The assignment basically consisted of three parts. To take portraits “in some quiet place” that we could find, in the center of Madrid, on a Friday afternoon; plus photographs of the rehearsal and the concert. Thanks to the invaluable help of Lens, School of Visual Arts, where I have taught, I was able to work with Juan Francisco Gómez, a student of the school, who was my assistant that day. Juan Francisco suggested working on the roof of The Hat hostel, who very kindly let us work there and so began the intense day.
© Juan Francisco Gómez
On the roof there is a bar with good natural light and many mirrors. The sunlight was very harsh and the mirrors, which at first were a nuisance, became an idea, playing with the reflections they produced. On the other hand, the walls were matte black and this would help me to blend the tones of the musicians’ clothes with the background. Let’s not forget that hard rock and heavy metal people almost always wear black!
I used a Godox Octa window which is called a “rapid umbrella” as it is a light box that mounts like an umbrella and therefore very easy and quick to assemble. It produces light from a window, not from an umbrella; the name is given by the type of mounting only. As the plan was to be short, a diameter of 80 cm was more than enough. On the other hand, being surrounded by mirrors, the smaller the light source, the easier it would be to avoid reflections. We had to partially cover the entrance of the sun, to shade its beam and at the same time lower its intensity. Anyway, I let some rays of light into the frame, just for aesthetic reasons. The illumination ratio should be 0, so that the sunny parts are not overexposed. Luckily I had a powerful Godox Witstro 360 flash, with which I worked for the first time in this session. In another post I will talk more extensively about this flash, which has pleasantly surprised me.
To give unity to the portraits, the whole series was made in the bar, but I also looked for corners without sun where I could make close-up portraits that looked like they were made in a studio.
© Juan Francisco Gómez
Since the walls of the corner were not parallel to the light source, the reflection went outside the shooting angle and this facilitated the session. By placing the light box somewhat far away, I was able to make the light a little harder than what a window usually produces.
The trial
The second part was during the sound check, in the living room. It lasted only a short time and not all the lights of the show were turned on. Michael was wearing a cap with a visor, which made the photos even more difficult. I decided to quickly mount the Octa window, lower its power and bring its flare to a 0 ratio, at the exposure and ISO I was using for the stage environment. As it was a rehearsal I was able to use flash, something that is not allowed during any minimally professional concert. What I liked about these few photos is that his famous Dean Flying Vs guitar, designed for him, looked great. This instrument, originally designed by Gibson in 1958, is a classic of the genre. In the 60’s, Keith Richard, and Jimi Hendrix, among others, used it frequently and in Michael’s case, he used his brother’s, until 1972, when he joined Scorpions.
Guitarra Flying Vs
The concert
Since this blog is about Lighting Techniques, I don’t have much to add here. Large band concerts often have huge amounts of light and today’s digital cameras work very well at high ISOS. Therefore, the success of the result is more in the skill of the photographer to be located in strategic places throughout the show, to have a variety of images that describe the show well, than in lighting something.
The concert portfolio
© Juan Francisco Gómez
For many years, perhaps more than 30, I have been photographing rock, pop, jazz, electronic, etc. concerts. I am almost as passionate about music as I am about photography and architecture. It has been a privilege to work for record labels and industry magazines for so long. Concerts by Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, Robert Fripp, B.B. King, Prince, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Kraftwerk, Ennio Morricone, and a long etcetera, have given me great satisfaction as a photographer and spectator.
Prince and U2 concerts
In this opportunity that Inakustik has given me, the challenge and the pleasure have been great. Then came satisfaction with the result. A fantastic box, the one at the beginning of the post, with two CDs and two DVDs, full of intense moments.
Lighting scheme
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