When I first crash landed into the burlesque and cabaret scene all those years ago with my camera, I was lucky to find myself in the company of some of the most talented UK based performers. One such performer was Mat Ricardo, a multi-talented variety legend who has recently been gracing some of the most prestigious stages around the globe with his award winning one man shows. Having worked with Mat back in 2013 on his promotional images for the Showman tour, it was a real privilege to have him back in the studio again this January to create a brand new set of press and promotional images for 2015.
The shoot was actually split into two halves, with the morning session on location in Fontaine’s, East London’s most decadent art deco cocktail bar. Suiting up, the idea was to create a selection of images of Mat relaxing ‘after a show’ in the bar area. These were shot using my normal Elinchrom Quadra lighting gear, using one flash head to compliment the ambient light already in the bar. The originals of these images were shot in colour, although I felt they lender themselves well to black and white in post production.
Later that day, Mat and I headed round to the corner to Murder Mile Studios, where I was keen to have another play with the Elinchrom ELC Pro HD heads I still had on loan from The Flash Centre. The last time Mat and I worked together, we had experimented with a range of juggling techniques in single still images to varying degrees of success. I was really keen to see what we could achieve with the delayed and strobe modes of the Elinchrom ELC Pro HD heads. It was also a great opportunity to test out the lights in a blackout studio, where I had complete control over every aspect of the lighting. (You can read more about this aspect of the shoot in my Elinchrom ELC Pro HD heads review)
If you can juggle it, we pretty much tried it out in front of the camera that afternoon. From generic juggling balls to cigar boxes, wine bottles, canes, bowler hats and even yo-yos, we spent two hours going through all the items in Mat’s suitcase of props. These are just a few of my favourite images from the day, although there were plenty more that I could have chosen to appear on the blog!
For those of you who haven’t seen Mat Ricardo perform, I highly recommend booking yourself tickets. All the latest tour and booking information can be found on Mat Ricardo’s website.
Inspired? Book your own shoot with me today – drop me an email with your preferred date. I can’t wait to hear from you!
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