It's been quite a long time since I've had the opportunity to photograph musicians. Because of Covid, live music seems to be an unfortunate sign of the past. It's extremely unfortunate as I absolutley love music and incorporating the energy and passion of another creative in my own photography work.
Fortunately, I recently had the opportnity to catch up with an old friend and create some portraits.
This is Coley O'Toole (We The Kings & The Queen Killing Kings). I've known Coley for at least a decade now. I photographed Coley with his band The Queen Killing Kings, and as time went one, Coley has had a very successful road in music.
I reconnected with Coley and we thought it'd be a good idea to get together, catch up, and create some portraits of him in his home studio. During the shoot, we even relived some of the past pop-punk & emo bands we used to listen to in the early 2000's. Yes, we were totally dating ourselves and feeling like old men, but had a great time listening to the music we enjoyed so much during that time in our lives.
I brought along my Fujifilm X-T3, various prime lenses, and my Ice Light (in case I needed a little boost of extra light). I also brought my Canon A1 & Canon AF35M film cameras to shoot some photos on film (which I still need to get developed). All the images in this blog post were taken with the Fujifilm X-T3 (with various prime lenses, of course), and given (or natural) light. I emphasize "given light" because I used to be known for shooting most of all my portraits with various forms of "created light." Whether it was strobes or other speedlights (off-camera flashes), I could have been known primarily as a "studio" photographer. However, ever since I switched from shooting all Canon brand cameras to the Fujifilm systems, it's been mainly shooting with all given (or natural) light.
For a few images I did set up my Ice Light, but just for a little added light. By no means does it give the same experience or power as the strobes I used to use. The lighting I use now creates a completely new experience, almost cinematic.
It definitely feels great to get out there and photograph another creative again, especially in the music field, and I'm very much looking forwrad to getting back at it in 2021. I have a lot of projects in the works, some of which you'll hear about soon, and I can't wait to share the journey here with you.
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