Arriving a little later than hoped to the disused offices of The Guardian newspaper – now being used as temporary spaces for arts organisation – I found the room filled with actors frantically getting into their 60s flower children costumes and wigs and being made up by my favourite incredible stylist Lemington Ridley. I also noted that the room had no natural light which, as I prefer to work using this and only highlighting with one or two small key lights, it made my heart sink.
I had half made a plan to photograph the cast outside to capture a sense of natural "wild" quality and free expression. Given that we were four floors up in an abandoned newsroom, that idea was immediately out of the non-existent window. Instead I would try and capture something trippier and more other worldly, which along with the notorious nakedness is something for which the musical "Hair" is known. The result was stylised, tightly-focussed portraits which made the most of the colour Lemington had given them all and that lost the dead office space behind them.
My favourite shot – possibly at the suggestion of Lemington – was to create an image with a ring of heads with interwoven hair shot from above to achieve an psychedelic "album cover" feel. It involved the camera with a key light on a monopod held aloft by a non-acrophobic assistant balancing on a high stool whilst I directed and took the shot remotely using my phone as a monitor. I'd love say it all came out in one perfect shot, but the truth is there was a little patching in from a second shot to replace the face of one actor whose eyes were momentarily closed. I employed Photoshop again to punch up the colour to create something a little more crazy and drug fuelled and worthy of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Considering the steep challenges and the wobbly stool (thanks again Will) I was pleased with the result.
