Corporate photo shoot

December 2023: Corporate photo shoot (head and shoulders). This commission was to photograph a small number of employees of a local firm. The style was set as black and white with a vignette. All shots required the subjects to be looking at the camera. 

Although I planned the shoot: position of the backdrop, lights, subject and myself, the setting was uncertain – a cabin on top of another cabin, on a building site. Getting there, reviewing the space / location, making room for me, the equipment and subject to fit in was a challenge – it’s a familiar situation when you arrive at the client’s office (or cabin).

With this location, employees were out and about, working in boots, hi-vis jackets and hard hats, but for 10 – 15 minutes they sat and posed in a corporate style, which was a contrast to their usual daytime activities.

I shot all the photos in colour and in camera RAW format. The selected shots were converted to black and white, contrast boosted, then a certain amount of burning was introduced to the outer edges of the shots. This emphasised the subject in the centre of the image.

I used my Profot0 B10 lights (x2), with Octa softboxes, on stands, set up in the space available. There was a third light used on this shoot, behind the subject, low (almost ground level), aiming up at the backdrop. The main strip light in the cabin needed turning off and, due to the low ceiling, the subject sat on a chair. I supplied three shots per employee to the client. As these were needed in a hurry, they were high res, ready to be passed onto the client for use on documents and for website use.