root canal
pieces of the set.
Caleb joined me as a guest Art Director, the other day to help produce an image I have had in my head for quite a while. We talked through the image a few times over the past couple months, and he helped pull together an amazing set. The set, our friend Gabriel’s garage, just happened to have 2 vintage dentist chairs being stored in it, that belong to another old pal. The shot stemmed form the chairs. I saw them hiding in there one day, and knew I had to use them for something. After talking through the image with Caleb a while back, he offered to come out as an honorary Art Director (something he did for a long while, but since abandoned to focus on the music.) Caleb then strummed up all the smaller tools and instruments from another prop-man friend. This guy’s prop-house is unbelievable. To the untrained eye it looks like piles and piles of miscellaneous miscellaneousness. got it. But Tom has it all organized in his head. He took us from one aisle (narrow opening between towering piles of props) to the next digging out all kinds of medical/dental equipment form god knows when. It was perfect. The shot dressed up so well with all these extra props.
This shot was unique for me for two reasons.
1- It is rare for me to shoot something that mimics so perfectly what I had in my head.
2- I rarely shoot something that comes out of the camera so close to being finished.
I can’t see very much retouching being done to this image. The set was perfect, the lighting is exactly how I want it (6 hours of pre-light) The actors both nailed the expressions/emotions, composition was locked in long before we pulled the trigger. I may use an expression form one actor form one frame and the other from another frame, but there wont be much beyond that. I really enjoy the post process, but It’s kind of relieving.
I’ll post the final image once I sort it all out.
Here’s Caleb and I enjoying the comforts of the dental chairs after the shoot. 
click image for larger
grianghrafadóir - noun, photographer 