Born This Way Ball - The Lady Starlight Afterparty

This was another variety show via Vernard Goud.  Not only was Lady Starlight there for after the Born This Way Ball concert, the afterparty involved live performances, body paints, dance shows and fashion shows.

I was there for the media coverage and fashion shows for The Sociables.

See the full set at my Flickr!

See below for the story of difficult photographic decisions.

I was shooting at the Republic nightclub again.  The shots were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 24-105mm f/4 + Canon 580 EX II.  As per usual I left the flash at auto while the rest is set to manual.

Portrait of Lady Starlight

f/4, iso-160, 1/30s, 24mm

You can use wide angles for portraits too.  It's funky and off kilter, and I guarantee it looks different from other people's photos.  Getting this close was the difficult part, but I got to have a short chat with her and ask some questions for the sociables.

Some people won't like it for sure, but I worked at a portrait studio as a slave for years, and know some people somewhere likes these photos.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/6, no flash.  This is an environment shot, I guess it reflects my preferences.

This is a pretty sexy venue, but the lighting makes shooting for a fashion show difficult.  If I want to shutter drag to capture the ambient light, I'd have to get close enough to get the flash to expose only the subject, or it'll try to flood the entire scene.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/15s.  I tried using iso 5000 to get enough ambient light for exposure balance.  Until I realized there wasn't much to look at from the angle I was at.

f/4, iso-1250, 1/15s.  I dropped to iso 1250.  This was okay for the balance but at another -2EV.

The two above shots are at f/4, iso 1250, 1/15s.  I was so close that the best shots I could get were close ups and horizontal medium shots.

f/4, iso 160, 1/15s.  I pointed the flash straight back at the mirrors behind me to cast the shadows up against the wall.  To create enough contrast I had to pump the flash power by lowering the iso to 160, making the flash compensate for the EV.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/6s, no flash.  Just another environment shot of the last show.  I don't normally use photographic effects for documentary photography, but motion blur is okay.  Sometimes.