Villains Series: Sweeney
The first in my series of ‘character studies’ of my favorite classic horror movie villains. I have spent months piecing together detailed costumes and resea...
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The first in my series of ‘character studies’ of my favorite classic horror movie villains. I have spent months piecing together detailed costumes and researching the best possible locations. I won’t be using blood or gore, but rather, expressing the essence of the character through the atmosphere, colors, props and lighting of my images. What’s the catch? I put a feminine pinup spin on their costumes, and they will be portrayed by ladies hand-picked for each persona. I call it my Villains Series.
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Dec, 2022Views
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Awards
Aperture Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the second floor of an abandoned building, located on the main street of small town Dallas, Oregon. The first floor of the building was occupied. But the second floor had been boarded up for decades, before the owner started, but didn't finish, renovation. Before they'd started renovation, they said t was like a time capsule, some of the former offices still had mail on their desks, and lots of furniture. We had permission from the owner to use the building.Time
Our shoot took place in the evening. But when working indoors with multuiple speedlights, the time of day is less important than when working outdoors or with natural light.Lighting
As part of my ongoing 'Villains' series, I wanted this image to convey the personality of the fictional character Sweeney Todd, and the feeling of the original play, but without any blood or gore. I used only one studio strobe to light the dark room and model, which allows the shadows to fall into darkness. The diffuser was a beauty dish with white sock cover.Equipment
This was shot a while back, on my Nikon 350D. I used a somewhat wide-angle lens. I actually can't remember the specific lens, as it was later stolen out of my car on a trip to Canada, but I do remember it was a generic (non-Nikon) brand. PocketWizards were used to trigger the one off-camera studio strobe.Inspiration
The second in my series of ‘character studies’ of my favorite classic horror movie villains. I have spent months piecing together detailed costumes and researching the best possible locations. I won’t be using blood or gore, but rather, expressing the essence of the character through the atmosphere, colors, props and lighting of my images. What’s the catch? I put a feminine pinup spin on their costumes, and they will be portrayed by ladies hand-picked for each persona. I call it my 'Villains' series. The model is also my friend and makeup artist, who was also excited about the project, and helped by contributing the vintage razor blade, as well as helping with some of the outfits for the other villains.Editing
My post-processing is usually fairly simple; I use Lightroom to make minor adjustments. I work hard to create my images as close to finished "in camera" as possible. For this series, it was a little more complex, as I did some dodging and burning to the shadows and highlights.In my camera bag
I always carry two Nikon D750 camera bodies. I primarily use a 50mm, a 24-70mm mid-range zoom, and a 100mm macro (my longest lens). Now that I'm traveling, I carry a Rokinon 24mm tilt-shift, for landscapes and portraits, along with a vintage Polaroid camera and a modern "vintage-esque" PaperShoot camera. My light bag contains four speedlights, each with various MagMod modifier options, two lightstands, and a (rarely used) tripod. Of course, I always prisms, extra memory cards, batteries, assorted bungee cords, gaffers tape, and other things that might come in handy. I use a BlackRapid camera strap, if shooting with one camera; and I use a HoldFast double camera strap, if shooting with both cameras.Feedback
First, be open to the idea of collaborating with others to create the visions in your head. I worked behind-the-scenes with my friend, who happened to be a talented model and makeup artist, to to create the first two characters in my 'Villains' series, and she was just as excited about the project as I was. Second, don't be afraid to work with lighting over and over until you can achieve your desired effect. Lighting is what initially drew me to photography, and I spent countless hours working with minimal equipment, to pull off some pretty elaborate lighting scenarios, on a budget. When you're able to pull off some creative lighting, with minimal use of post-processing, that's a great feeling!
