I’d been wanting to shoot in the Subways of New York for decades. And this shoot in particular. Unfortunately for me it didn’t work out exactly as I’d hoped but it was still fun and we did get good images. Despite the fact that my memory card became corrupted.
Never the less I was able to get some pretty good shots.
Given the permit laws in New York City I had to go very light in terms of the equipment I had with me as I highlighted in the video. So that meant not having my big lights. But we made it work.
One of the many challenges in the subway station was the lighting. To say it was horrible was putting it mildly. Plus, people in New York City give no fucks about what’s going on and will get in the way!
So a friend of mine, Tiger who lives in Brooklyn came up to help as did Bethany from Bethany Davis Photography who was able to get some wonderful shots in herself. All in all despite the insane heat in the station (you can see me sweating profusely in the video) it was a very fun experience.
It was great to have the subways come through the station as they provided a much needed breeze while we shot. Plus they provided an interesting backdrop for the shots.
What I got was truly a departure from what I had originally imagined making me thing that I will eventually have to go back and reshoot it. What I had imagined was having the model standing on the Platform along with all the other Wall Street suit types while topless reading the Wall Street Journal. Which is $4 these days.
The thing about doing shoots like these is there are a myriad of things that can go wrong and you’re not always going to get the shots you ideally want. But you have to make it work no matter what!
We happened to find a hallway that lent itself to getting some great images as well. I had lost my assistant Tiger who was holding my light while I shot and so had to use the available light that was there. It of course was my fault as I didn’t properly utilize the manpower I did still have.
That is a note for next time to say the least.
Please check out the behind the scenes video below. The additional images from the studio shoot with be posted in another article.
This is a censored version of the BTS.
Lighting Gear I Used
This is an uncensored version of the video.
