A R Harvey Blog

The Official Secrets Act at Koko

Last Friday I was at Koko to photograph headliners The Official Secrets Act.

The building used to be an old theatre. Now though all the seats have been removed to make way for bars, sofas and a massive dance floor; its stage has also become a platform for the most exciting bands and performers in London. Koko is special.

Getting in therefore required a little more preparation than just arriving at the venue with a bag stuffed full of expensive camera gear. I needed a press pass. Fortunately the band's manager was kind enough to put me on the list, and so after strolling past the long queue of scenesters, I joined the empty guest queue where my name was ticked off.

The special yellow band I was given allowed me entry to the photo pit at the foot of the stage. Behind me was a robust steel barrier erected to hold the crowds at bay. I could wander back and forth from one side of the stage to the other without having to trample on people's feet and mutter false regrets. Even the security guard looked upon me benevolently. It seemed myself and the other photographer belonged to an exclusive club, one where the prerequisites for entry were a firm handshake and a monstrous camera.

Soft Light Portraits

Last weekend my housemates and I hosted another party. I thought it would be a fun idea to set up a small portrait studio in my bedroom and invite people to have their pictures taken.

My hope was that the alcohol would lower people's inhibitions. I wanted to catch fleeting moments, rare insights - something to remember a person by. 

Very few of us have immaculate skin. Nor are we likely to possess the hand of a professional makeup artist. The challenge was to rig a lighting setup that would flatter normal, everyday skin. I certainly had no appetite for retouching blemishes and dry patches. My solution involved two studio lights and a giant light box constructed out of 8ft x 4ft polyboards. The idea was to bathe each subject in a wash of soft light.

One strobe was positioned just left of camera and fitted with a beauty dish. Although I was creating a wash of light, I still wanted to preserve a hint of definition. The clean, even light of the beauty dish is great for pricking moist eyes and teasing out the structure of the face. On shiny skin it produces gorgeous, rounded reflections (see photo above.) The second strobe rested on the floor by the foot of the rear polyboard, tilted upward. It's purpose was to simply blast the background area with light.

It all felt rather odd. Usually I find myself fighting spill light; yet here I was doing everything possible to encourage it.

The soft-light studio.

Portraits of Liya, Retouching

Just finished retouching some portraits of a friend.

I first met Liya years ago when I was working at The Hampstead Theatre. After the production ended we all returned to our own lives and fell out of contact.

Then, a few weeks ago, I had the impulse to do a series of portraits. For some reason I thought Liya might like to be part of this. Fortunately we were both on Facebook, so I messaged her. A short while later she got back to me and agreed.

The post-work is deliberately subtle. I wanted to present clean, healthy skin while remaining within the bounds of credibility. An obvious, ultra-glossy airbrush finish would be a little too much. Besides, it would only make the numerous strands of stray hair stick out even more.

We are only human. Retouching the cheek, before and after

I individually removed every spot, blemish and fleck of dead skin using Photoshop's Healing Brush. I told Liya not feel down about this - there is not a single person on Earth with perfect skin. The polished images we see every day in magazines and on posters have all been manipulated to convey some impossible ideal. What's worrying is that lots of people think this is how their pop idols and film stars really look...

Remodelling the flesh, lightening shadows and darkening highlights.

Every face has a certain amount of unevenness, and I smooth this out by countering light with shadow and vice versa. Subtle applications of black and white to a Soft Light layer filled with 50% grey usually suffices.

After trimming stray hair strands and applying a little creative sharpening with the Unsharp Mask filter, my work was complete. A proper fashion or beauty photo would require a lot more work though - several days even - depending on the finish.

A R Harvey on MySpace

Seeing as how I have been photographing so many bands recently, I thought it wise to elevate my presence on MySpace. My brand new page can be found at www.myspace.com/andrewrharvey. Unsurprisingly, it focuses entirely on live music. The fashion and beauty work is just a click away though.

The Klaxons, Losers: A Week in Rock

Tom Bellamy and Eddy Temple-Morris."Losers." Proud, London. 2009.

Wow. What an incredible, rock'n'roll week it has been.

On Tuesday a friend tipped me off that The Klaxons were playing Madame Jojo's in Soho. I had only an hour or so to get ready and race into The West End. The event had tight security, so I knew it was pointless trying to smuggle my camera in. Whereas new bands playing small, gloomy back rooms love having their pictures taken, big acts are understandably wary of photographers with beefy cameras. Still, the gig was absolutely brilliant: The venue was intimate and the band completely unhinged. Fishnet stockings and tutus flew about the stage. The showmanship was undeniable.

Thursday saw me return to Proud Galleries in Camden, where I photographed the Midimidis, Doll and the Kicks, Trash Fashion and Losers. Losers are XFM DJ Eddy Temple-Morris and Cooper Temple Clause guitarist Tom Bellamy. Armed with a battery of keyboards, mixers, laptops and even an electric guitar, they stormed Proud with a rock and dance mashup.

Eddy Temple-Morris. "Losers." Proud, London. 2009.

The next evening I was again pushing my way through the cold streets of North London, this time to a pub called The Cross Kings on York Way. The two solitary PAR cans did a poor job of illuminating the stage, blasting whoever stood stage-right with light while consigning everybody else to darkness. I measured at least a three stop difference, sometimes four. My solution was to use a long lens; by going in tight I could focus on areas that had more consistent lighting. Even then, I still had to crack out the flash.

"Doll and the Kicks." Proud, London. 2009.

Impromptu Winter Fashion Shoot

Today snow fell in London.

One would think such a cold and dreicht country would be used to a few snowflakes. Yet buses remained in their terminals, and trains sat stationary in their sidings. Significant parts of the working population switched the telly back on, brewed another pot of tea and decided that on the whole, it was wise to stay home.

Two of my house mates, Mariko and Keri, did just this. Since I didn't have a job on today, the three of us ventured out into the snow for a spontaneous "winter fashion" photo shoot. Snow was still falling, so I wrapped my camera in a makeshift cone of polythene plastic to protect it from the elements. The cone's apex was cut to allow the lens hood through. A few strips of tape served to fasten everything in place and form an adequate seal.

The girls had great fun playing in the snow, and we got some great shots. Obviously this was just a bit of fun. Proper fashion shoots involve a great deal of planning and many more people. Nonetheless, it was very liberating to just pick up a camera, head out into the snow with two girls, and shoot some photos. The spontaneity of the afternoon lifted the burden of stifling preconceptions. We were free to kick snow in the air, lobb snowballs, and jump high above the ground. I wanted to capture genuine moments.

Mariko and Keri are really happy with the photos, and that pleases me no end. Now they have a permanent record of this snowy afternoon, and the two of them together.

Gig Photography

The Official Secrets Act, Proud Galleries, London. 2009.

Gig photography involves a very different set of challenges to say fashion or beauty. In the interests of spreading knowledge and goodwill to all men and women, I have written down some thoughts on the subject. These are simply things that have worked for me. But who knows, maybe they can work for others too!

The article is aimed at other photographers and gets pretty technical. However, I have made sure to fill it with loads of pretty photos. So even if don't know your f-stop from your ISO, there should be something there for everyone.