Light Painting a Musician & His Instruments

Tom Fairbairn was another musician who agreed to collaborate on my personal light painting project. The shoot took place at one of his friend’s flat in Edinburgh.

After a little tour of the premises, I was really intrigued by a glass table in the living room. I could see reflections in the glass, and I thought of having Tom sitting at the table with reflections of himself and his violins. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a compelling composition for this set up.

Tom suggested the couch, and after a bit of thought, I figured I could make this work. It turned out to be my favourite photo of the session.

Musician Tom Fairbairn sitting on a couch with two violins
You can make a scene look much more interesting by only lighting part of it.

Since I wasn’t going to give up on reflections that easily, the second set up used the mirror in the living room.

Musician Tom Fairbairn and his reflection in a mirror
I love reflections.

At that point, I felt I had exhausted the possibilities of the living room and for the last photo, we moved to the bedroom. I  combined the night atmosphere created by the “practicals” (lights in the room) and the light painting effect.

Musician Tom Fairbairn sitting with his bass guitar.
The only light in the room was the lamp on the cupboard.
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