That peculiar tradition and teen rite of passage known simply as "Prom" took place in Wells Commons at the University of Maine last night.
While it's true that my daughter, a Senior at Orono High School was in attendance, my involvement this year, like last, was more than just a protective dad meeting the daughter's date at the door with his trusty Sig Sauer 9mm pistol holstered in plain view spouting friendly reminders about just how much she means to him. I was the event photographer. Events such as this frequently challenge us photographers because no matter how well you plan, there is always something to make you wonder why you agreed to take this assignment. I am pleased to report that I was not faced with that last night to any large degree.
I got a good spot to set up, there was power, the ceiling was high and white and I had room to maneuver. Now the reflective DOTS the organizer gave me to hang up on the backdrop as part of the "CANDYLAND" theme gave me a moment of, "oh no," but in the end they added nicely to the photos - photos that as I compose this sit unprocessed. (be patient, I'll get them done and posted by the end of the week)
Here's the set up. White muslin backdrop (I know, I know......WHITE! Don't they know black is a much better choice and really makes the colors of the dresses POP?) Alien Bees AB800 in an Octa in Rembrant position. Key light here and everything else works off of it. Another Alien Bees AB800 into a shoot through umbrella for fill on camera left. Good Right?
No.
Keeping the notion in mind that white backdrops almost never look white because of the quick fall off of the light in the foreground (thank you David Hobby and Joe McNally), I placed two Nikon SB-800 flashes on stands with Honl flags to light the backdrop and make it appear white.
There it is, as simple four-light set up. Fire the Alien Bees (1/8th power into the Octa and 1/16th power into the umbrella) with Pocket Wizards and the SB800s in SU-4 mode on 1/32nd power and we're good to go. Looks something like this:
Okay, let's face it, only the photographers reading care about this stuff. What about the kids?
Below is the photographic evidence of the good time had by all.
I even managed a Softball Dad moment when I was able to pose all of the Class of 2012 Varsity Softball players - a photo sure to re-appear in the slideshow at the end of season Banquet.
And finally, the highlight of the night came when my beautiful and smart and awesome daughter Andi was voted the PROM QUEEN by her classmates! It was a terrific gesture that is one more piece of evidence of how special it is to live INORONO. The support we have received from our community ahead of Andi's surgery on Tuesday has been overwhelmingly touching and something for which we are extremely grateful.
Thank you - I'm so glad and proud to live INORONO.
