Shooting actors at Cabaret Maxime Premiere
Recently I was hired to photograph two former cast members from the five-time golden globes award-winning TV show “The Sopranos”. These were the actors Michael Imperioli and John Ventimiglia. They came to Lisbon for the launch of a new film, “Cabaret Maxime” from the director Bruno Almeida.
Christopher and Artie from The Sopranos
Bruno de Almeida, director of Cabaret Maxime
The Photoshoot
At the film premiere, I set up a mini studio and had One Minute to shoot each subject in a very complex environment. I had a portable 6×7′ backdrop from Westcott with black and white sides. Here my choice was the black one. If you are not going to shoot full body portraits, these are a perfect solution.
I almost always shoot portraits with my camera on a 3LT tripod which enables me to have a better way of communication with my subject. Communication is really important when dealing with actors because they tend to be shy, which was just the case here. To keep the lighting portable and fast to mount, I brought only one Profoto B1 flash with a Westcott Rapid Beauty Dish. I positioned it a bit on the side and above the subjects, to give that loop shadow. Of course, if the model moves their head around it changes a lot. With the light prepared the only drawback was the time I had with them. For such a short amount of time, it is really hard to make camera-shy subjects get comfortable enough and open in front of the camera.
I used the Fujifilm GFX 50S with the GF 120mm F4 Macro lens and a Profoto Air remote. I had everything except the background packed in my ThinkTank Naked Shape Shifter V2 backpack which made everything easy and compact for transportation.
The Premiere
Besides the portraits, I was there also to take some shots at the step and repeat and the launching ceremony of Cabaret Maxime. Funny this was what I was initially hired for. Shooting the portraits was an extra I really wanted to do. After all, some cool portraits are much better than the usual step and repeat photos.
Gear List
Camera: Fujifilm GFX 50S
Lens: Fujifilm GF 120mm F4 Macro
Flash: Profoto B1
Softbox: Westcott Rapid Beauty Dish
Tripod: Three Legged Thing Albert
Tripod Head: 3LT Air Hed
Trigger: Profoto Air Remote
Background: Westcott Illuminator Background
128GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SD Memory Card
Bag: ThinkTank Naked Shape Shifter V2
