Douglas Sonders Photographs Blink 182 In Under 30 Minutes

Douglas Sonders has always created some pretty interesting behind the scenes videos of his photo projects. Recently he shot the band Blink 182 for the cover of Alt Press Magazine. The behind the scenes video below doesn't show much mainly because Douglas only had about 30 minutes with the band and had to shoot 3 separate covers with each band member individually as well as 1 complete band photo. The lighting is pretty straight forward though with a few rim lights, a soft over head key light, and a ring flash. Check out the second video below to see how Douglas photoshopped the final images for print and how he uses the Nik Software Viveza in his workflow.

Short BTS Video:

Post Production BTS:

Patrick Hall's picture

Patrick Hall is a founder of Fstoppers.com and a photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina.

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12 Comments

The BTS video is crap! I can't believe there are so many talented photographer around the world and they have chosen this one... c'mon!!

I disagree. This is a BTS video of a working photographer and his workflow. Not every image needs to be some epic composite with a surreal outcome. So Alessio, where is the link to YOUR behind the scenes video for a magazine cover with a famous rock band that is so stellar. If you have nothing constructive to say STFU.

Not everyone is like Sean Armenta, i for one liked the videos alot. Clean, Simple and Fast and not a whole bunch of compositing in PS unlike many others.

Pass the Hater-ade...

There is definitely a balance on what you can do on set while a shoot is happening and after the fact when you have time to recap.  This video lacks in the latter but it's still good to remember that many images taken of celebrities day in and day out are done within 5-15 minutes top.  

What specifically would you like to know about this session?  I'm sure Douglas would be happy to leave a comment.  

Absolutely happy to answer questions. Originally the shoot was supposed to go over a couple of hours with wardrobe and location changes in between, but as these things go, the band's schedule changed. Trust me, I had plans to do a more expansive behind the scenes video and crazier shoot, but my time was tight and I had to adapt.

Loved both of these videos, thanks for posting them Fstoppers and Douglas!

my pleasure Chip! I do my best

Doug you did a FANTASTIC job. I love seeing pros do simple processes. This shows your great EYE. People become disappointed when they don't see a TON of stuff going on behind the scenes because there isn't a ton you really need to do besides know how to take a cool shot. These types of BTS are great to me.

People want you to show them how to replicate what you do, but I prefer you showing me what you prefer. 
I admire your work.

I appreciate the behind the scenes vids, but I feel like the final images don't really capture the energy of Blink 182.

I realize you only had a few minutes to work with them, and that totally sucks, but to me it looks like every single other AP cover, and I feel like even with such limited time, perhaps you could have worked out more of their crazy personalities.

Other than that, good job Doug :P.

Totally understand your thoughts M. I agree. I can't get into it very much, but lets just say that they guys werent really psyched to be there on set. I pulled out all the stops to get them energized or into the shoot but they were only thinking about getting the shoot done and over with so they could get back to their business.

What ringlight did Sonders use?