'Midnight in Paris' School Dance

Two months ago, on March 20, 2013 I was requested to capture a set of images at the International School Stuttgart, Sindelfingen Campus. Their school dance was themed 'Midnight in Paris.' This presented a unique challenge to create a shot or set-up that mimicked the feeling of a night in Paris. I was given a single prop to work with-- a cardboard cutout of the Eiffel Tower. Thus, the shoot needed to evolve from the inside out-- how do you make a cardboard cutout look good and still invoke a feeling of luxury, drama and location?

Step by step the set came together. I was able to borrow a fog machine from one of the students which in turn created that dramatic yet elegant feel of a nighttime haze in the park. The plants were stolen from around the school and the Christmas lights then wrapped around the trunk of a small tree. The map was borrowed from the dance props which had been placed around the lobby. At this point, the kids would have been standing or sitting on a crate covered by a black sheet-- something was definitely missing... After voicing my concern of an unfinished set, and the fact that an old table and chair would look great, a good friend mentioned he had a neighbor whom he could call. It turned out, that neighbor had the perfect missing props-- now we were ready to capture some awesome images.

The above four photographs are just a few samples from that shoot. You can see, that even with no prop-house or missing most of the standard studio amenities, one can create photographs family and friends will truly enjoy.