Portraits in the Dark

by Jennifer Kay

It’s one thing to shoot a portrait when the subject sits still, in good light and your camera cooperates. That wasn’t my assignment, though. That would be too easy.

My job was to shoot portraits of R&B singer Shenita Hunt and her band during a nighttime concert at The Clevelander, a South Beach bar with an outdoor stage. 

The band took the stage first and started playing, leaving an open space under the strobe lights for Shenita. Mid-song, she stepped up to the microphone, and that’s when I realized what my problems were going to be. 

Shenita and her band members weren’t just in constant motion -- they were in constant motion under flashing strobe lights that were constantly changing colors. Also, no one in the bar thought to turn on the spotlight until halfway through their first set. Then, when Shenita stepped into the dancing crowd to sing, I had to follow her into the spaces where she turned her face to catch the stage lights.

A couple dances to the music of Shenita Hunt and her band at The Clevelander on South Beach, Fla.



My new camera was often reluctant to focus in the dark. I tried not to worry about it and prioritized composition instead. I had to figure out how to keep the background of each frame clean, while trying to avoid distracting hot spots from the stage lights. In the dark, it was harder to show little details on stage, such as the set list taped to the floor. 

                                                                        Detail shot of the set list.

Shenita struts her stuff on stage.

I had to work to keep the foregrounds of each frame clean, too. To shoot around the mic stands and music stands obscuring Shenita and the band, I sat on the ground in front of the stage or from a sharp angle from the side of the stage. I tried to hold the focus on Shenita’s face while she was singing, waiting for the moments when she pulled the microphone away from her face or turned to the side. 

Early in the band’s first stand, the crowd wasn’t dancing much. Since they lacked energy from the crowd, Shenita and the bassist focused their musical energies on each other. They watched each other, taking turns grooving to the beat. The other band members, bobbing their heads, turned to look but stayed out of their space. Finally, one couple stepped up to the dance floor, joined hands and danced along.

As musicians play off to the vocals of Shenita Hunt during their Oct. 13 performance at The Clevelander.

I shot a couple hundred frames throughout the concert, and I came away with seven that I thought were worth showing here. Next time I shoot a concert, though, I’ll know what to expect from the lights, the stage and my camera, instead of just shooting in the dark.