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The Suite Royale photo session (scroll down for expanded technical description):

On a hot summer's morning in 1990 David Harvey photographed Edwin Edwards in the famed red riverboat gambler costume onboard the Steamboat Natchez in New Orleans.  The photo session was during the Governor Roemer administration.  Within a couple of years Edwin Edwards would rise again to become the state’s only four term governor, ushering in riverboat gambling.

Several portrait locations were shot onboard the Steamboat Natchez, but “the” Suite Royale as it became titled later was shot in the Magnolia Room on the Natchez.  Typical in a photo shoot, we went through several poses and a lot of film.   Three ac powered electronic strobe units were set up around the card table.  For some of the portraits only two of the three were utilized (the main and the fill).  Edwin Edwards pointing to his royal flush with that classic Edwards grin was the one selected for the Edwin Edwards signed limited edition photo print series. Edwin Edwards was a fun subject and easy to work with.  He's really a cool dude, a neat guy.  Edwards himself set up the poker playing cards for the set as Harvey had never played poker (but hell on a chessboard).   Edwards was well known as a high roller and host to ten thousand dollar ante poker games at the Governor’s mansion.  So back in 1990 before any of the riverboat licensing problems which were to arise later, Edwin Edwards the Riverboat Gambler playing poker photo session was a very special portrait.  Edwards neither drinks nor smokes, but was willing to hold the cigar in hand and a whiskey shot glass in the set seemed appropriate for the period look.  The photo session with Edwin Edwards lasted about forty five minutes.   Following the photo shoot we all went to Tujaque's Restaurant in the French Quarter for lunch with the Governor. 

The Suite Royale limited editions:

Ten years after the session, very shortly after the Edwin Edwards Riverboat Licensing Federal trial and subsequent conviction, David Harvey contacted Edwin Edwards on a limited edition print signing. Officially titled “Royal Flush” which is the poker hand Edwards is laying down in the photograph. The Royal Flush portrait was later dubbed “Suite Royale” which in French means royal flush.   This seemed appropriate since Edwin Edwards is Cajun.  It has been said that Suite Royale is the definitive Louisiana Political art photograph of the old political genre.  Whether this is the case or not, Suite Royale remains David Harvey’s favorite celebrity photograph. “It’s classic Edwin Edwards, political humor and present legal difficulties aside; it’s the Edwin Edwards everybody loves, Suite Royale is a really neat portrait of the colorful Edwin Edwards",  David Harvey.

On a rainy September afternoon in 2000 just days before the beginning of the Federal Cascade trial against Governor Edwards, David Harvey and Edwin Edwards signed the 125 Suite Royale limited edition Riverboat Gambler Edwin Edwards prints in the Governor’s home in Baton Rouge.  Following the print signings, Edwin Edwards, David Harvey and Marion Edwards signed an equal number of Certificate of Authenticities with Marion Edwards Notarizing each of the 125 certificates.  The certificates were printed on acid free archival paper. Archival gold pens were Fed Ex’d in for the signing of the limited edition photographic prints. 

Another trip up to the Governor’s home after the Cascade trial (which found Edwin Edwards not guilty) David Harvey presented Edwin Edwards with number one of the limited edition prints, framed.  The framed Suite Royale on the home page of  was a photograph of Edwin Edwards’ framed print. Candy Edwards and David Harvey walked around their home scouting options where to hang it, Suite Royale framed is a large Louisiana art print.  Candy settled for the living room, after hanging it we both returned back to the kitchen where the Governor had just taken a cookie sheet of roasted peanuts out of the oven.  Yes, the Governor roasts his own peanuts.  What an endearing moment to see Edwin Edwards peeling peanuts for Steve Hinrichs, the friend who accompanied Harvey to Baton Rouge, having a nice  chat together.  Edwin Edwards and David Harvey posed in front Suite Royale, Candy Edwards took the photo with Harvey’s Nikon.

The Suite Royale print:

The Suite Royale limited edition prints were printed at a prestigious Dallas, Texas professional color lab.  We prearranged a printing day and I flew to Dallas with the color negative and we printed the series on Fuji Crystal Archive color photographic paper.  Fuji Crystal Archive was specifically chosen for it’s outstanding snap and it’s longevity, actually archival paper as their name designate states.  An 80mm Rodenstock (German optic) enlarging lens was used stopped down to f 11.  The limited edition prints were all hand printed in the darkroom, one sheet of 20” x 24” Fuji Crystal Archive paper at a time, then processed. No retouching or altering of the original image was performed, and nothing digital was employed.  Suite Royale is a traditional (real) archival photographic print.

About Suite Royale the website:

Suite Royale is the only limited edition series of Riverboat Gambler Edwin Edwards, so the prints warranted their own website. As the site  expanded, Suite Royale signed and numbered Edwin Edwards Riverboat Gambler photo prints has become almost secondary to the other Edwin Edwards topics or categories.  I hadn’t initially planned on using SuiteRoyale.com as a commentary nor a platform on the Edwin Edwards Federal Racketeering Case.  Neither had I intended on politicizing this website...but  as new information surfaced about the trial including Judge Frank Polozola medicated on OxyContin during parts of the trial,  I just couldn’t exclude these injustices from the website, not in good conscience.   We Americans pride ourselves on fair play, and I am a proud American.  Martin Luther King Jr. once said "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".   A profound statement Dr. King. 

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Technical information about the Suite Royale Edwin Edwards session for you photo buffs, and lighting do's and don'ts. 

While there are no set rules for portrait lighting, there are some sound lighting principles to observe, or to know.  Photographers that don't understand proper lighting ratios, the proper way to meter light, correct light placement to the subject, and posing usually end up with poor results some never learning from their mistakes, some even for years.  Shooting a great portrait need not be a crap shoot where sometimes you hit but more often you miss.  While it may be fun to shoot a riverboat gambler, don't gamble with your portraiture or the results may end up in the river. 

Lighting used for the Edwin Edwards photo shoot was Norman series 900 commercial electronic flash, or strobes.  One P2000D, 2000 watt second power supply and three fan cooled LH2400 Norman fan cooled strobe heads were employed for the subject's lighting.  The main or dominant light source was a Norman LH2400 strobe unit in a 22” white pan reflector.  I often use a pan light or a small silver umbrella as the main light for my portraiture, often times one light portrait lighting is all I use. Pan reflectors and silver umbrellas are both directional and have snap . Many photo buffs including some professionals (so called) use a pair of large white umbrellas or large soft boxes or combinations of the two for most all of their portraits.  The reason is usually ignorance of proper facial portrait lighting and/or because such lighting is considered (by them) to be goof proof.  It's not of course goof proof, but goofs are less noticeable with large soft, broad, flat, characterless lighting-department store portrait studio lighting.  If you are unsure what you are doing this kind of  lighting will suit you well.  I consider this type of portrait lighting amateur, as does Gary Bernstein a well known celebrity photographer in New York and Los Angeles. There are times when soft lighting is desirable, I'm talking about mushy flat lighting as a matter of daily studio portraiture; one size fits all portrait lighting for every subject-every time (blah).  Enough said on high school prom/Olan Mills portraits.  Back to the Edwin Edwards photo session; a second LH2400 flash head was bounced into a silver Reflectasol hex umbrella providing overall fill to the set, and filling in the shadow area of the subject's face from the directional pan reflector.  Typically a fill reflector card on the shadow side of the subject would be used, but since an accent light was employed I opted for a fill light source. This umbrella light was placed high and behind the camera slightly to one side and provided one and a quarter stop less intensity then the main pan light.  An accent light, another Norman LH2400 flash head behind the subject and to his right side (left side looking at the photo) skimmed directional light across the shadow side of his face.  Barn doors were used on this Norman flash head to shield the light from striking the camera lens.  A grid in front of the flash unit works well for this also.  Light fall off from the large umbrella light illuminated the background which was several feet behind the Governor.  A Minolta Flash Meter IV was used to read the strobes.  The main or pan reflector's light was read placing the hemispheric dome (in incident mode), on the subject's cheek pointing at the light source.  Another amateur method is to point the incident dome at the camera instead of the light source, this is incorrect meter placement, incorrect metering.  When I obtain a camera that both shoots film and provides light I will employ this method.  A light meter reads light, point it at the light source you want to read.  Makes sense doesn't it.  Forget the metering brochure's instructions written for the amateur for outdoor available light shooting.  Photographers that don't know correct metering inevitably bracket a lot (for good reason).  Hard to believe but  the same professional photographer routinely has to burn or dodge one side of the subject's face in the darkroom due to improper metering (improper lighting ratio) and improper light placement to the subject-and using the so called goof proof dept. store lighting at that.  This of course is absurd, do it right from the beginning and you will enjoy the printing process and the results will be superior.  The darkroom printing process should never be a corrective procedure, when it is the photographer is unquestionably doing something wrong.  This attitude of "it's ok, we can fix that in the computer later" is reminiscent of Detroit's old mentality, screw ups are acceptable-let the dealer fix it later.  Anybody who has bought an American automobile back in the day is acutely aware of this shabby way of producing a product. Photographers of this caliber usually charge far less for a portrait and have the reputation of offering mediocre portraiture at cut rate prices.  Unfortunately, the general public and even some in the advertising industry assume all professional photographers are alike so the lowest rate often times is the deciding factor, forgetting the adage, "you get what you pay for".    Not to wander off the photo session too far, about ten years ago the hottest radio personality in New Orleans needed some hip promotional photographs, he was a hip guy.  The radio station's advertising agency sent him to this cut rate photographer trying to save a buck.  When the subject saw the proofs he was totally disappointed.  The photographer gave him the same bland one size fits all portrait sitting.  Then he came (and this time he had to pay out of his own pocket) to Harvey Studio for a photo session and ever since then he  has always returned for new promo photos, even driving in from Florida for updated publicity photos after he left New Orleans. 

The main pan reflector light was covered with a black velvet cloth (to absorb all of it's light) as  the umbrella fill light alone was read, again pointing the meter at the fill light source, not the camera. If you are using mono-lights you can simply turn one unit off while reading the other, be sure to "dump" the unit you turn off prior to metering.  The umbrella fill light's intensity was adjusted to reach the desired f stop.  I then metered the umbrella's spill light at the background in incident metering mode.  The accent light was then metered, turning the incident metering dome toward the light source behind the subject, from the subject's position.  This accent light was adjusted to produce one f stop more light than the main.  A final metering with both the main (pan light) and the fill light (umbrella) together and we were ready to shoot.  A Hasselblad 500CM camera with an 80mm Carl Zeiss Planar f2.8 lens was used as was a Carl Zeiss 150mm f.4.0 Sonnar lens during the session.  Suite Royale was taken with the 80mm Planar at f 11, shutter speed 125 of a second; recorded on Kodak VPS 120 film.  A Hasselblad bellows lens hoods was used to prevent flare and aid in overall image contrast. Portrait photography of any kind is always a joy, to capture the look in a photograph.  Portrait photography is not difficult nor hard once you understand the principles of lighting, particularly as it relates to lighting the human face (properly).  With correct metering and proper light placement done, you are now free to concentrate on your subject-this is where the fun begins! Rather then fighting proper exposure and bracketing the whole time (never really sure) your talents and time are spent capturing great images, shot after shot.  Fiddling with camera settings after each shot before the next shot looks like you are an amateur and are unsure of what it's all about.  I exposed both color negative and color transparency film for the Edwin Edwards session and most all of my celebrity portraiture, I very rarely bracket shooting transparency film;  I might adjust a half of a stop if the subject moves closer or farther from the light source during the shoot.  Portrait shooting is one of the most fun aspects of photography if you enjoy shooting people.  Record the image right whether on film or if shooting pixels and the finished product will be something you and your subject are both proud of.  Clients are never exuberant over how you salvaged your shooting screw up whether in the darkroom or through computer wizardry.  Using these simple lighting instructions you too can shoot portraits like a pro.  Be creative with your lighting, don't get "stuck" into using the same lighting arrangement for every portrait.  Avoid becoming a camera/portrait mechanic like the Sears Roebuck Portrait Studio type photographers, think and be creative and you (and your subject) will be well satisfied.   I hope sharing this information was helpful to you, feel free to email us anytime.  For more Harvey Studio portraiture, visit  the portrait artist page.