Hannah Batsel is a Chicago-based book artist, writer, and illustrator who creates unique handmade artist books, as well as mass-market books that she writes and illustrates.
In December 2022, Hannah needed an author photo for her upcoming children’s book, The Knight of Little Import, coming September 2023. She and her partner Sean reached out to their networks in search of a photographer, and Aaron Quick, producer of Laughing Stock, referred them to Distant Era. (We previously photographed Laughing Stock’s incredible commedia show in November.)
In our initial conversation, I asked Hannah about her work. She told me she made books, and I imagined we had a similar background. Then she showed me some of the 3D books she made, such as Weirder Than Fiction (please take a look!). These were incredible art objects unlike anything I’d ever seen, and they blew my mind. The last paragraph of the artist statement on her website gives Hannah’s perspective on, and objective in, storytelling:
Because storytelling is so intrinsic to how people contextualize, experience, and even lay claim to the world, my work takes the form of narrative structures such as the artist book and the interactive installation. Through meticulous craftsmanship in the depiction of lush environments, opulent aristocracy, and fantastic animals, these works seduce the viewer into enjoying and appreciating imagined worlds imbued with real ugliness. My role, in the end, is that of the storyteller: to entice and engage, but also to investigate real-world power dynamics through a more inviting, fictional lens.
Hannah Batsel
As we conversed and I learned about Hannah’s background and work, we discussed the project at hand, as well as the kinds of portraits we might create to showcase Hannah’s unique aesthetic and represent her in art, media, and business. We booked what promised to be an exciting and creative session for early January.
Please check out Hannah Batsel’s magnificent bio page on her website to read the rest of her bio and for a fascinating overview of the mind-blowing work she creates.
A Knight in the City
In Hannah’s upcoming children’s book, The Knight of Little Import, about a young knight who can’t find a single beast to slay. For the author photo on the dust jacket, Hannah dreamed of an image of herself in a knight’s armor, commuting on a CTA train. And here it is:
But it wasn’t quite as simple as armoring up and boarding the train to get this shot, and there were a number other steps between the dream and the final image. Let us regale you, dear reader, with our knight’s tale which begins—as often stories, and many people’s days begin—on the CTA:
The CTA has rules about photography on trains, and there are also general rules about who you can use in a photograph. In addition, I’ve found that anything interesting you photograph (i.e., an armored knight) tends to attract unwanted attention and distractions. Film companies can pay (huge film rates) to use the CTA, but such things are far beyond our means. Nevertheless, I was confident we could make it happen.
At the end of December 2022, I took an early morning CTA ride aboard an empty train car that got stuck on the tracks, allowing ample time to put my phone into RAW mode and capture the aisle from multiple angles. After eighty-five images, the train got moving again, and I was satisfied that I’d covered every angle I needed.
The Costume
Hannah rented the armor from Lost Eras, mere blocks away in Rogers Park. (Props to Lost Eras for calling to let us know that one piece had been left behind; being so close, it was easy to retrieve without any delays to our session.)
Hannah’s partner Sean and Distant Era MVP Elizabeth acted as Hannah’s squires, putting her into the armor. This took some time and effort, fastening all the pieces into place. Once Hannah was suited up, it turned out she could hardly move on her own, so Sean and Elizabeth walked her across the studio to the background. It soon became clear to us that we’d never have made it onto the CTA.
Recreating the Lighting
In my backplate photograph of the CTA car, lights from the train car shine down in two parallel lines from above, and the rest of the scene is lit by broad daylight from the windows. Shadows aren’t particularly distinct and are most evident directly beneath the seats, created by the overhead lights.
In studio, I placed two softboxes above Hannah to recreate those overhead lights. For the daylight, we used a big 65” umbrella with diffusion as our main light, and we placed V-flats on either side of Hannah to bounce the light, since light is coming in from the windows with the sun overhead.
Capturing the Composite Image
We photographed the image of Hannah directly into the computer. Capture One has a cool overlay feature, which allowed us to bring up the image of the train car and place in live on the monitor so we could line the overhead lights of the train up with our softboxes. Then we directed Hannah to reach out and take hold of an imaginary bar where the bar is in the photograph. We didn’t take terribly long on this because we achieved it relatively quickly, and we soon had a number of useable options.
Compositing the Image
Since we had matched the lighting of the scene and photographed Hannah against a neutral background, extracting her from the studio image and placing her in the scene was more straightforward than it otherwise might have been. I had a little trouble with how close the gray background was to the gray armor at first, but managed it in time. Then it was a matter of making sure the temperature of the light matched in the images, observing and adjusting minimally for depth of field, noting the quality of the train car shadows, and adding shadows where they needed to be (especially where Hannah’s hand grasps the bar).
There’s always a good deal of back and forth adjusting, sharpening and softening, leaving, coming back with fresh eyes, and so on. I unified the image with some light grain and then went back and added a reflection of the top of Hannah’s head into the top of the train car; it’s barely visible, but tiny details like this help make the image consistent.
The Knight Portraits
Once we had finished the composite, Hannah wanted to get some photographs in the armor from different angles. That’s when we changed the lights and background into a more traditional Distant Era setup. The quality of light in these images made them appear a little more like classical paintings. Hannah was an amazing subject, and I love how her knight bears a stern, quiet dignity in these portraits. Hannah displayed remarkable fortitude in the heavy armor, standing beneath the lights, with assistants Sean and Elizabeth helping relieve the weight of the armor and supply Hannah with water between sequences. We were all very happy with the way those portraits came out. When Hannah reviewed the shots on the monitor, she changed her mind about the image she wanted to use for the dust jacket and selected this one.
The Brand Portraits
Once we had finished with the armor, we made some portraits for Hannah’s personal brand, including a close headshot and a three-quarters image, which she’ll use in her business and promotion. These were a lot of fun to create as well. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a standard headshot, as I’ve never met a standard person. Thus, we wanted to shoot for a look and wardrobe that encompassed Hannah’s image and aesthetic. I love the way this final image looks on Hannah’s bio page.
A Personal Note
This was a very special session for Distant Era and for me. I didn’t know Hannah Batsel prior to this project, and it was an honor to create some portraits and a composite for her very cool project. While I never did anything like the work that Hannah does, coming from a writing and bookmaking background I’m in awe of it. Finally, it was a pure pleasure working for, and spending time with, Hannah and Sean. I am grateful to them for coming to Distant Era for this work, to Aaron Quick of Laughing Stock for the referral, and to Elizabeth for her help. I can’t wait to read Hannah’s book when it’s published in September!!!
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