Aspiring stand-up comedian Olivia Vida, traveling in from Washington DC to take a comedy class, reached out to me to help her capture some professional photos of her solo set, which was part of a larger student showcase performance. During the show at the Comedy Cellar's Village Underground in Greenwich Village, this shoot presented some interesting challenges due to the venue's strict photography rules (as in: none allowed at all by anyone), but she was able to secure special permission for me to shoot her - a rare exception! Working within the tight constraints, I had to adapt my usual approach:

• No flash photography allowed, and it was quite dark!

• Camera had to be on silent mode

• I was restricted to one fixed position at the very back of the venue throughout the show (good thing I brought my long zoom!)

Despite these limitations, we managed to capture some great shots of her performance. The low-light conditions and inability to move around made it tricky, but it also pushed me to be more creative with my shots.
After the show, we took advantage of the nearby NYC streets for some candid portraits outside the venue. These outdoor shots allowed for more flexibility and helped round out the collection with some additional pictures that really showed off her spontaneous and funny personality.

Here are some of my favorite images from this shoot (click/tap to view full size and un-cropped):

To see more examples of this style of photography, visit my events or portraits galleries!

All images in this blog post were shot on a Nikon D850 using a variety of lenses, and all individually post-processed in Adobe Lightroom using custom-built presets.

Jinnifer Douglass is a full-time freelance photographer based in NYC, shooting for both individuals and brands such as Google, Sotheby’s, Uber, Make Up For Ever, Squarespace, and more! Specializing in portraits, food, and special events, she works to make every piece of your social and website content ‘Insta-worthy’ with high resolution, full-frame DSLR photography and expert Lightroom editing. Interested in chatting? Leave a comment below, or send an email to info@jinyc-photo.com!