Chris Sorensen: The Washington Post

New York City-based photographer Chris Sorensen was contacted last-minute by The Washington Post to photograph Broadway megastar Lin Manuel Miranda for the Summer Arts Preview. Chris received the call the night before the shoot was to take place, but wasn’t told any of the details yet. At midnight, he found out he’d be heading to the Richard Rodgers theater at noon and that he’d been promised only 15 minutes with Lin. Even with these additional challenges, Chris was able to capture a wide variety of poses and expressions and came away with some fantastic portraits of Lin.

Broadway theaters have strict union regulations and depending on the theater it ranges from not being able to plug in anything to not even being able to put stands down, everything needing to be battery and handheld.  The location was also going to be a live film set for a commercial Lin was filming –  so we didn’t know what equipment or setup we’d be allowed or even where we’d be allowed. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to set up a backdrop and lights or have to find a plain wall and have my assistant hold a light.  I’ve shot a few actors at these theaters before so I was familiar with the possible limitations and was able to plan a kit that would allow me to accomplish the brief regardless of what we found.

Credits:

Photo Editor: May-Ying Lam
Photo Assistant: Nathaniel Shannon

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