Xandria through Fire and Ashes

Xandria released the first picture of the photo session we had a couple of weeks ago. Here's the story behind the picture.

A couple of months ago, I got an email from the German metal band XANDRIA. They were working on an EP to be released later this year and they wanted me to shoot the new band pictures.

Then finally, April 10, we drove to Essen in Germany, where the band was going to perform later that night. We arrived at the venue in the early afternoon. The band had just arrived as well, so it was time to catch up, discuss some ideas, go over wardrobe and make-up and set up our gear. After a couple of hours of preparation, we started the photo session in the venue (which was still rather empty at the time). I had brought a black background and four lights for this first part of the shoot. Two lights were set to 3/4 power and served as rim lights, separating the band from the background. I had one big softbox behind me as fill light and I had my key light above camera in a 45° angle in front of the band.

After about 200 shots, we went outside for some more pictures, but this time in a totally different setting. On our return, Dianne and I decided to shoot some more pictures in the eerie basement of the venue. I can't publish these photos yet, but they will follow soon.

For now, here's the first result of the photo session, completely integrated into the album artwork.