xyloshop

I got the opportunity to do a photo shoot for my buddy John Hayden last week. He's one of the most talented and witty art directors I've ever worked with. John now works for a bank in Lincoln, NE - heading up their in-house design department. He's a 'Husker by birth - but he earned his Jayhawk stripes living in Lawrence for 5-6 years. He called and said he needed a shot of a xylophone for an arts ad he was working on. Of course, I said yes.

We've worked together so long - we don't need much explanation or tight shoot layouts. John sent an simple layout, we discussed it quickly - and we were off. Finding the xylophone proved harder than expected. But after a some pleading and bartering - I found a xylophone that didn't require a van to transport to my office/studio. Too bad I can't play because it was a really cool xylo.

I decided to go with natural light and reflectors. I wish I would have taken a shot of my set-up because it would have been amusing to see me using a rolling shelf, window sill and radiator to prop my tripod and stand on as I shot down on the xylophone (and hold the reflector). I managed to get some very different looks with minimal work (and not fall off my shooting perch).


I uploaded the selects for John, he did some nifty photoshop magic, and the ad was completed in several hours (start to finish). I look forward to many more photo shoots with John.