BTS - Studio Lighting

Future Music

I shot a new Zoom Arc for Future Music at their studios in Bath a few months ago. We had to get through an opening portrait, which allowed room for the page furniture, and a bunch of details. Art Editor Phil wanted to give it a club look to mimic how the Zoom Arc is used so we set about creating a mock DJ desk with stage lighting.

We ended up with the three light setup below. Behind the slatted wood are two Profoto Acute D4 heads with Zoom Reflectors and medium grids. I gelled each light and brought the green light slightly away so it fringed the red light rather than overpower it. From the left is another D4 head with a gridded Zoom Reflector, this time with a blue gel. This was used to give enough detail in the headphones so they weren't lost in the darkness. The only other light is coming from the Zoom Arc itself which came out using a 1 second exposure. Finally I used a silver reflector to pick up the central display.

This detail shot shows how the outer ring can be taken off and used. Pretty straightforward shot, long exposure for the light trails (again 1 second) and then two of the gridded and gelled Zoom reflectors aimed side on to the ring. I triggered the lights remotely after moving the ring across the frame.

And here's the final result!

Photography studio lighting BTS by Bristol photographer Adam Gasson. Images shot on Canon 5D III cameras with Profoto lighting.