Photographing the Israel Philharmonic

The Israel Philharmonic is one of the best philharmonic orchestras in the world, a magnificent institution that was founded before the establishment of the State of Israel and symbolizes many beloved values, from the values in light of which the state was founded. Yes, no less.

At the beginning of 2020, I was invited to take new portraits for each of the one hundred and ten musicians of the orchestra, as well as group portraits according to the instruments. I felt a great responsibility. Responsibility to bring to light the values on which the orchestra is based and at the same time offer a new spirit.
Values of excellence, deepening, the love of music, excitement about music, and nurturing talent.

The direct reason for the photo shoot was the rebranding of the orchestra, by "Open" branding, on the occasion of the replacement of the legendary artistic director of the orchestra, Zubin Mehta, with a new and also brilliant artistic director, Lahav Shani.
New Spirit.

The branding brief was presented to me in detail by Open people. The thought process, the values, the language, the colors, the atmosphere. The request from me was - photos that create an emotional connection and represent the musicians.
"The most excellent, relevant", these were the words I wrote to myself at the meeting.
And another request - unconventional portrait shots.

So how do you give each player an individual portrait, and at the same time maintain a uniform and distinct language?

The second part of the question was actually very clear to me from the first moment, back in the briefing session - studio photos lit in a way to create drama and to attract the observer to deepen in the photos.
Studio shots with very dramatic lighting.
One flash, one light source, from dramatic directions.
Mainly from above, sometimes very much from the side, almost behind the figure, sometimes a little more in front to allow recognizing the person, but always always very focused and dramatic and - from the side.
I chose a huge light box, on the flash, which on the one hand is concentrated and focuses the gaze and at the same time is soft and smooth.

Such lighting tends to be "dangerous", in the sense that it is possible to accidentally darken the areas we want to see, and vice versa. This is one of the reasons it is not used often.
In addition, the drama forces you to work more slowly and with great attention, so as not to make a mistake.

This was the shell, or rather a part of the shell, and I will detail it later.

An individual portrait for each player. How do you do that?
I set out on a comprehensive investigation and collected hundreds of reference photos of musicians, from all eras and styles of music. From Miles Davis and Queen to a contemporary violinists, and more.
At the same time, I examined and researched the character of the Philharmonic players themselves, and tried to wonder about their nature , to try to prepare in advance. Try, and the word try here is fundamental, and know a little about what to expect. Try to guess in advance who will suit more adventurous photos and who will suit more classic photos. Sometimes I scored and sometimes I didn't. But I came prepared.

In order to work with each player in depth I planned to shoot only five portraits a day!
Of course I know how to work at a very fast pace, but in this project I wanted to work slowly with a lot of thought, attention, investigation and intuition, and luckily they cooperated with me.

Another part of the envelope of the uniform language was the color. I chose three background colors that we will work with in all the photos - black, white and gray. We gave the backgrounds different shades using lighting.
In order to produce a moderate and almost monochromatic color scale of the clothing of the musicians, we went through the photos of clothing options that the musicians sent us, and we chose clothes in moderate colors, except for the red on its shades. No patterns and no lace. Color that will help the eye focus on the musicians, and will also maintain an envelope of a uniform photographic language.
Another decision regarding clothing was to encourage the male and female musicians to wear everyday clothes as well and not only concert clothes, including winter coats, sweaters, jeans and leather jackets, in order to vary the usual look of musicians.

We built a studio inside the Culture Hall, on the stage of Zucker Hall, a studio for everything and anything, which was used by us during all the days of photography.

Before each shooting day I prepared myself and memorized a list of values I wrote down for the shooting: enthusiasm, charm, drama, exaggeration, artistic, sexy, grace, surprise, admiration, innovation, love, transcendence, flirtation, energy, tenderness, intimacy, concentration, respect, humor, light in the eyes, life, dedication. They don't have to look at the camera.

I also reminded myself not to fear the exaggeration of emotion. Exaggerate, exaggerate!

I approached the photos with great excitement. In the moment of truth, by investigating and observing each artist, I learned which direction of light and which angle of the camera, would express her or him in the best way. The musical instruments were also an important key in characterizing each musician. The beautiful musical instruments, some ancient and rare, helped the musicians to express themselves - some energetically, some gently, introverted, extroverted and more. For almost every player, I chose a different shooting angle. Close up and long shot, from above and below, in motion or static drama.

There were musicians for whom the photography was very easy and flowing and there were those for whom I photographed for hours and tried all possible angles to get the best. Some were a little embarrassed by the attention, and some accepted it naturally. The stars that they are.

110 musicians and each one a complete world.