I got a last minute call from the choirmaster at Wakefield Cathedral to see if I would be able to help them out with some shots of the choir for the cathedral and for any individuals that might want a photograph. The brief was to go along at Sunday teatime, just after evensong, and get a shot of the whole choir, then the male choir with the boys and then same again but with the girls before shooting individual shots. As this was the first meeting back after the summer break, all the choir was there together which is apparently unusual, hence they were keen to get some shots.. So, I happened to be free at the appropriate time and had the Bowens travel pack charged up and so I went along to shoot something different to my usual work. I used too 500w monoblocs for the lighting to make sure I wasn’t going to lose anyone in the shadows and to spread the light further, I used a couple of 24″ silver reflector brollies to punch the light out.
After the big groups, I set up in the choir stalls and did some really nice individual portraits but I’ve been asked not to post those so you’ll just have to take my word for it that they were very good :¬) I dragged the shutter to around 1/8 to bring in the ambience of the candle light and the patina of the remaining old wooden pews (only the choir stalls remain original, all other pews have been sold off!). An enjoyable end to the afternoon and I know they are pleased with the images which is great. Apparently the last ‘professional’ photographer 2 years ago tried to shoot the whole choir in the choir stalls using only a single speedlight on top of his camera and ended up supplying a series of very dark images! If you need some great images for your club, choir, society or business, don’t hesitate to give me a call on 01924 229800
