Chelsea Nye

Behind the Scenes

Midsummer Night's Dream

The image was concepted as part of a personal project series of 'Dream Spaces' 

I collaborated with stylist Tommy O'Donnell on set design, propping, and overall direction for the shot. The goal was to create a dream space in the sense it is somewhere you can rest after a weary day and also has the fantasy element of a place only created within a dream.

Here is the final, edited image and below is a behind the scenes look into how it was made.

The Set

For the shot, Tommy and I both agreed we needed depth to the set. Foreground, middle, background. Having depth brings dimension and interest to the space, here we have a faux stone wall in the foreground (made from foam insulation board!), wood column in the middle, and faux ivy wall in the background. 

Lighting

I designed the light to feel like a clear night illuminated by a full moon. I recalled a few evenings where I was walking around at night and saw that it was so bright out because the moon was shining and the sky was free of clouds. The moon light was so intense I could see my own shadow. I wanted the quality of the light too be cool (so I added a CTB gel for effect). I knew the cool blue from the gel against the warm glow of the incandescent lights would make for a nice contrast. 

I used a single beauty dish to light the scene and added a 25 degree grid to keep the angle of the light narrow (otherwise it would have lit the entire set versus just being focused on the hammock).

I also added some black cards to focus the light even more, I blocked off most of the area being shown behind the hammock including the wood beam.


Rigging

Hey thats Tommy! 

Tommy is finalizing the styling details in this image and I wanted to show how we rigged up the chandelier. 

Luckily the light wasn't that heavy and didn't require me to rig with a truss so I secured it using a weighted boom arm. I also used a basic electrical connections so we could turn it on. Let there be light! (note: do not attempt any electrical rigs unless a licensed electrician is there to guide you)

As always, we had fun!

Tommy and I had a blast creating this image!

Check out Tommy's Portfolio here!


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