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Meet Up at the Dupont Underground

On September 21st, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet-up held at Dupont Underground. The Dupont Underground is an abandoned trolly station, under Dupont Circle, which was transformed into a special events and art gallery space.  

For this session I used:

  • Canon R6
  • 2 Speed light
  • Trigger
  • 1 Light stands
  • 24 - 105mm lens
  • Gels

Camera Settings:

This location was underground and dimly lit except for the areas for the artist showcase, and a tunnel that opens to the outside.  So, my setting changed based on the light.  For this shoot, my I used two main ISO, ISO 100, and ISO 400.  I also took a few images at ISO 200 and ISO 1000.   I used an aperture ranged from F4 to F13 with the most common aperture being F5.  My shutter speed varied from 1/50s to 1/250s, with the most common shutter speed being 1/200s and 1/125s.  My focal length ranged from 24mm to 53mm, the most common being 24mm.

The Photos:

This first image is of the always fun to work with Coralinx Cosplay as Futaba Sakura from Persona 5.   This image was shot with a mix of natural light and flash.  The natural light is streaming down into the open through a grate creating the light patterns on the wall, and a spot of sun for the model to stand in.  I used flash to ensure the model’s face was well lit and fill some of the shadows.  In post, I adjusted the white balance to make the image slightly cooler and bring out the whites.  I then up the vibrance and clarity to help pop the colors, and give the image definition, while using a medium contrast.  I then added a heavy vignette to help bring your eye to the model and help show that this is an area leading down a tunnel.

ISO 100, Aperture F5, Shutter Speed 1/250s, Focal Length 28mm

The underground had a few tunnels leading off of it that used to be entrance or exits. One tunnel apparently was being used mostly for storage as maintenance entrance, making it a good location for the next two images.  The image below is of Walter as a 1920’s gangster, and to set the dark mood I used two lights, a gel, and some color grading to get the final look.  The first light is about 45 degrees of to my left.  The second light, with ½ cut CTO gel is just out of frame, on the steps pointed at the white walls, which fill in the shadows and give the image that old bare bulb feels.  Then in post I increased the exposure a quarter stop and applied a medium contrast tone curve.  From there I applied a teal (shadow) and orange (highlight) color grade to give the image a more cinematic look.  I then finished with a heavy vignette to make the image more ominous.

ISO 400, Aperture F5, Shutter Speed 1/125s, Focal Length 29mm

Now in this final image of Lena Lokesanna Volkova as Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho” really plays into using the storage space.  The space already had the shop vac, gas can, and metal divider, we just needed to the garment bag with bones and the raincoat.  For this image I used two lights, the first you can see in the image, which adds to that serial killer working in a basement vibe.  While the second was out of frame acting as a fill light.  In post I reduced the exposure by a ½ stop and applied a medium contrast tone curve.  I then added two radial gradients, one to the model’s face to brighten it slightly.  Then a second to darken the area surrounding the model.  I then applied a teal (shadow) and orange (highlight) color grade, again to make the image a bit more cinematic.  Then finished with a strong vignette.

ISO 1000, Aperture F4, Shutter Speed 1/80s, Focal Length 24mm

Wrap Up:

The location was interesting and had some different space such as the side tunnels, a really dark area good for light painting and low light photography and nice white walls to add color to via gels.  I think the location would be great for a modern or streetwear fashion shoot.  The only issue we had was it was very hot and slightly humid in the underground, due to poor HVAC.    If I was just walking around and looking at art, it would have been fine but moving around a lot resulted in me being too warm. It also, didn’t help that I thought it was going to be cooler underground so wore pants instead of shorts.

You can see all the images from the meet-up here: Dupont Underground

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