"Dear Kim
I'd like to have an interesting headshot for professional purposes and I'd like to get a non-boring portrait of my ten year old son.
Would these be things you could do? "
I'd like to have an interesting headshot for professional purposes and I'd like to get a non-boring portrait of my ten year old son.
Would these be things you could do? "
I love emails like this!
We met up for hot chocolate to discuss what non-boring might look like, and during the discussion it turned out Dr Ian Johnston also has a touring show of science, music and entertainment, along with his son, Sandy, and local musican and songwriter, Alan McClure. So a publicity shot for “Dr Megaphone” would also be required.
Ideas were bounced around and we settled on the concept of the three of them standing at a table with various bits of science equipment on it, possibly with smoke or bubbles coming out of jars.
Shortly before the shoot, another email exchange:
IAN: I have just ordered 20kg of dry ice which will arrive with me on Friday and add eerie mysticism to our get-together on Saturday.
ME: I hope you know how to use it - I never have…
IAN: How hard can it be? I used to use liquid nitrogen in work, by the gallon. Dry ice is warm!
ME: I hope you know how to use it - I never have…
IAN: How hard can it be? I used to use liquid nitrogen in work, by the gallon. Dry ice is warm!
I also invited make-up artist, Jade Jamieson. She set about applying a blackened face look on Sandy to imply he’d been exposed to explosive experiments.
It was a lot of fun. Bottles were filled with water and food colouring and then a few seconds before each shot, cubes of dry ice were poured into them, with an extra large scoop into a cauldron of water up on the shelf behind them to add an extra bit of atmosphere.
