Waitress BTS

The Katharine McPhee WAITRESS shoot came together quickly.  I wasn’t able to do a full location scout beforehand (unlike many of the shoots, this one took place on location at a diner in Harlem rather than a studio). So when we arrived bright and early in the middle of February I went straight to work with the amazing art directors of RPM, solidifying as many varied shots as we could cram into a couple hours of shooting. •

With any location scouting, I do my best to view the space both with and without a camera (sometimes with a camera in hand I find myself limiting what I see). I started to walk outside the building and look through the windows.  I knew, if we were able to beat the sun moving down the block (which was entirely dependent on how quickly our star got through HMU/wardrobe), we could get a fantastic shot of Jenna gazing out the window of the diner, daydreaming.  If we didn’t make it in time, the light outside would be so overexposed by the sun that any details of the street would be lost without a major relight. •

Fortunately we made it with a bit of time to spare so we started the day with Katharine sitting in the booth, while I was outside shooting through the window.  This was an unconventional way to begin because I was only really able to communicate with her using Jedi-like gestures to direct positioning and gaze. •

The space was incredibly tight so we used some Westcott LED panels for lighting the first shot; one in the booth in front of her and one behind (giving us that highlight on her hair/cheek). Katharine is stunning in front of the camera, so we only needed a few minutes to get the shot before we moved on to some of the other setups that made the official campaign.  The real challenge of became positioning the street reflection in a place that would harmonize with our subject rather than overlap.

Hilariously, because of the nature of reflections, everyone at the shoot had to keep ducking and hiding on the street and behind counters/doors inside the diner to avoid being in the shot. 

In addition to our first press shot, it was important that we got images to work both as the Playbill cover, the front of house images, and the billboards that would be featured throughout Times Square. 

Each of these lighting setups included blended strobe with natural light.  In this instance I get my exposure for the natural light and then blend in the strobe (usually at a very low setting) and feather away the light from my subject to further soften the transition between the two light sources.  With a large reflector fill from below, this essentially became a three light setup. 

 Working with Kat was a true master class.  She’s incredibly experienced in front of the camera, so she really is aware of how to find the light and position her body in relation to the source to create the most flattering and dynamic image.  On top of that, we got to hear her sing through some of the show’s score.