After I got my first DSLR one of my first loves was on-set photography for films and TV. It almost feels like cheating as all I’m doing is turning up to have a play with my cameras on a fantastically lit set full of talented performers looking sharp, doing their thing in full flow for the rolling cameras. I mean obviously there’s a bit more to it than that but still… And thanks to my experience as a TV camera op myself I tend to fit in well without getting in the way, which helps.
All this to introduce my favourite shots from a pilot show I got to photograph towards the end of last year, a fun celebrity game-show sort of affair. Pilots are getting made all the time, some get made into full shows and some don’t, and this one was being made by the production company I work for but at an outside studio (Riverside, by Hammersmith Bridge in London) with a freelance crew. So, I asked if I could do some photos for them instead ;)
So as it’s unlikely the pilot will be aired even if the show is commissioned, here’s a look inside Greg’s Title Fight, featuring Greg James, Example, Pixie Lott and more. Enjoy the gallery below, and thanks for stopping by!
(btw there’s some technical notes below the photos if you like that sort of thing…)
Technical notes
UPDATE: I don’t use any of this kit any more – here’s more about the lenses I use, here’s more about my bags, and here’s a collection of accessories.
ORIGINAL POST: I got the chance to give my X100S a workout in a new environment and it did well although I was still experimenting with my X-Trans RAW processing in Lightroom at this point and preferred the shots I got from the Nikon mostly. It was useful to be able to flip between a reasonably wide shot on the X100S, and the 70-200 lens on my Nikon D700, and much less weight than carrying two full Nikon bodies – although I did keep the 24-70 to hand as well because sometimes you just need to go wide!
I also used the shoot to try out my new Think Tank Pro Speed Belt, the Modular Skin bags, and the Racing Harness. I went with the Skin set because I needed to be able to fit them into a packed bag, and they certainly did the job there. The rain covers packed into the bottom of each bag prevent them from completely flattening, but it’s enough to fit them into most already-packed bags comfortably. There’s a couple of layers of material and they hold shape well, but obviously you do sacrifice protection from knocks, so be careful if you’ve got a lens packed into one and you decide to take off running! Speaking of which the bags do jiggle around unnervingly when you do run with them, but so long as you’ve closed them properly – with the drawstrings too if necessary – you should be fine.
The belt itself is great – I can’t imagine getting along with the Skin version of the belt, though. The padding in the Pro Speed version is comfortable without being too bulky, and with only one or two bags you probably wouldn’t need the harness, but I picked it up to be on the safe side. I found it a little tricky to adjust so it’s doing it’s job without pulling the belt up higher than you need it, and there’s loads of strap left dangling around on mine which is a bit odd. But it’s good to not have to keep pulling the belt up, so worth getting.
