I intended for another set of photos for this post, but my assistant really wanted me to get these done first so here we are.
My assistant saw this guitar and immediately got inspired for a rocking session outfit. So, while she was getting ready, I was setting up the lighting for it. I ultimately went with one speedlight overhead with a snoot aimed down this would give more of a performance look. However, that light alone would just create shadows everywhere below her head, so I also threw in a strobe with an octogon softbox. I didn’t want to wash out the overhead light, so I dropped the octagon softbox low, aimed up, and had it set low. This created a nice fill light without overtaking the overhead light.
For posing, she just sorts of got in character and played around. She did look at me like I was crazy when I told her to jump with it, but she went for it. Had I noticed the platform shoes I probably wouldn’t have suggested the jump, but it happened and it worked out well. The rest were pretty easy “act like your playing” and she had seen the Elvis movie recently, so I told her steal some of his moves and she went for it.
Finally, I also wanted to be sure to get the instrument. A good rule of thumb when working with artists is that you also capture the tools of their trade as they often have as much character as your human subjects, and I can pretty much guarantee your human subjects will appreciate that you went that extra mile. Give their tools a closeup or two as well.