In mid-July, James Juliano of Shout Chicago reached out to inquire about making some promotional images for Music Theater Works’s production of West Side Story, opening on August 13 at the George Van Dusen Theatre at the North Shore for Performing Arts in Skokie.
James and I work together to promote Idle Muse Theatre Company’s productions, and over the past couple years we’ve established a sleek process to get images made and turned over.
The Assignment
For West Side Story, Music Theater Works was looking for images of the Tony and Maria actors (played by Luke Nowakowski and Isabella Ruano) outside against a brick wall. That sounded simple enough, with the caveat that one never knows quite what will happen outside a controlled studio environment.
The day prior to our shoot was the day the wildfire smoke obscured the sky and the air quality became hazardous. Fortunately, however, the worst of the smoke had passed by next day when we did our shoot.
Light and Shadow
Another consideration when shooting outdoors is the quality of light. Depending on conditions and time of day, the light might be very harsh and high overhead, casting dark shadows over subjects’ eyes. It could also be very broad, even light, and therefore uninteresting. As I mulled over these prospective challenges, our straightforward brick wall shoot became less simple.
To compensate for the potential problem of harsh overhead sunlight or plain broad light, I decided to bring my own portable lights. This way, I could control the direction and quality of the light if I overpowered the midday summer sun with the aid of a big silver light modifier.
Additionally, I wanted the images to have some depth and shadow, which can be a challenge in broad daylight with light bouncing everywhere. We talked about making the images look like they could have been taken against that brick wall at night, so we needed the light source to cast the kind of hard shadows that a streetlight or spotlight might create. The silver dish I brought to amplify the light accomplished this task outside, and in their graphic design, Music Theater works dialed down the brightness of the outdoor light to achieve this effect.
Curtain Call
When I arrived at Music Theater Works, James asked whether it might be possible to shoot indoors. Fortunately I arrived equipped for that as well, so we made some images against the curtains in the rehearsal space.
I dedicated the majority of my editing time to concealing the most obvious wig lines. However, with both the actors having darker hair, I was concerned they’d get lost in the dark curtains. I had used a hair light to separate them from the background, but later recolored the curtains red in order to better separate the actors from the background.
Luke and Isabella were wonderful subjects, and I had a great time making the West Side Story images together with them and with James. Thanks to everyone who made this seemingly simple but actually complex shoot such a blast.
Music Theater Works’s production of West Side Story runs through August 30, 2026, and tickets can be acquired here while they last!
