DAY 35

PORTRAITS

Group

FASCINATING AIDA, MUSICAL COMEDY GROUP

Something to bear in mind when shooting a group portrait: It’s generally more difficult than photographing one person, multiplied by how many people there are. Luckily for me, working with Fascinating Aida was not such a challenge, after they had all arrived on stage for the shot.

Getting this shot involved collaboration, trust, and creative thinking, breaking past the bounds of the usual publicity imagery for stage performers. As luck would have it, all of the Fascinating Aida group were hilarious and made for a happy shoot. Their show is very funny, so I built upon their stage show, which I had luckily just seen. We tried a few different compositions and placement of each sitter around the piano, and ended up with this animated image after much laughter and plenty of “How does this look?”

Dillie Keane, the founding member, took apart a hi-hat cymbal and put one on her head, and played it with a drumstick while as I was shooting! —SA