A few years ago I was contacted by a company specializing in cycling apparel worn by elite athletes including riders of the Tour De France. One of the athletes, George Hincapie, was a preparing for the tour in his hometown of Grennville, SC. George is well known in the cycling community and was the only teammate on all seven of Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France victories. I was informed that due to his specialized training schedule, George would not alter his schedule for the shoot and we would only have a short period of time to capture these images. Northwave’s ad concept was to feature professional riders in a funny ad featuring the rider wearing the apparel in a movie poster. The ad was to show George in the hybrid of various Matrix poster designs.
After many years of editorial experience, I approached this shoot with the same energy and preparation I would for a wedding at a new venue. Prior to landing the job, I did my homework and realized that George was 6’4″ tall and would require a set with high ceilings in order to pull off the lighting concept from the original Matrix poster. We would be shooting at Hincapie Sports and in scouting the facility, it was clear the only place we could shoot was the front lobby near the large west facing windows. I was prepared for every possible lighting condition and the shoot went off without a hitch. George was very accommodating and professional during the quick shoot and we nailed it within five clicks of the shutter.
The principles used in this shoot were exactly the same as any family session or bridal portrait. Light is light? Briefly, one of the main considerations was creating sculpted and masculine facial features . To accomplish this we used a small silver umbrella roughly three feet from George and positioned camera right. We used subtractive lighting technique’s and brought a large black “flat” on set and positioned it camera left very close in order to further darken the shadows. As one would expect, George is very fit and lanky and by turning his face away from the light, we created what is known as “broad lighting”-this style adds depth and “roundness” to the face rather than slimming it even more? On the contrary, short lighting works great for slimming faces and, when used effectively can shed ten pounds from the subject being photographed. By knowing these concepts prior to shooting this image, we were able to execute the shot within minutes-much like the timeline given at a typical wedding.
I am often asked by photographers new to the industry, which lens or camera is the best. These new art school graduates or aspiring photographers are often in awe of assignments, such as the Northwave job. These advertising or an editorial shoots have a mystique because they are considered “real photography”. We get an expense account and spend the night in a fancy hotel. The truth is that the best advice I can give these “newbies” is to dust off that light meter and buy a copy of “Light Science and Magic”. So much of the industry is focused on toys that the real skills and knowledge of light are often overlooked. This assignment was a perfect example of how understanding light was the key to the success of the job. Not only is a imperative to do your best to “get it right in camera”, understanding these concepts can make all the difference in creating that perfect ad, or more importantly, an extraordinary bridal portrait.
On a topical note, I just finished watching Lance Armstoring’s Oprah interview. This reminded me how impressed I was with George’s passion and dedication to his sport. In addition, from all accounts, George’s respect within the community of cycling and his decision to “come clean” was a major factor in Lance’s long suspected admission. As a major factor in Lance’s seven tour victories, this commendable decision will surely benefit the health of younger riders with dreams of duplicating Lance’s now tainted accomplishments. I understand the issues within the sport and the drama surrounding the deception and fall of another beloved athlete, but racing up and down the sides of mountains for thirty days in a row is still a remarkable endeavor!
Lastly, in order to address some of the talk about my photography, I feel it necessary to go on record and state that none of the images contained in my galleries were captured while under the influence of performance enhancing substances except caffeine, Red Bull and Advil?
