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Location photography – In the airport

Location Photography by Michael LoBiondo

Location Photography by Michael LoBiondo

 

I seem to be in a lot of airports these days and it reminded me of a location photography assignment we had inside an airport.  I have photographed at airports before and when the airport is your client, things are easier.  You get your bags checked but you’re in a line of one.  Then you can go many places the public can’t because you have a security person attached to your hip.  Many things have changed over the years.

This assignment was for Black Enterprise Magazine and Keith Haywood is an executive for this Bojangles at the end of a concourse at this very busy airport.  A perfect application of using small flash.  The logistics were tricky because I had to go through the TSA check-point and they put my two bags through the ringer.  I had packed light (no pun intended) but it still took 15 minutes.

The question was how to show busy airport concourse, restaurant, subject, and not get run over by the crowd.  I positioned my light stand in the middle of the concourse loaded with the small Canon EX580 flash with small soft-box and had my assistant stand next to it in the wave of oncoming people.  I found a pole to kneel behind.  Wait for the crowd, shoot a bunch.  Reposition, wait for the crowd,  you get the idea.  We did five positions in about 40 minutes during the ebb and flow of passengers coming and going.  No one ran over the light, my subject, my assistant or me.  Couple of close calls with folks on their phones!!  Then, on to chicken and biscuits.

Gotta’ go and catch my flight.  More later….ML