No Ordinary Business Portrait... Continued.

Followed up with the rest of the company staff from the other week. Again, final shots will be in black and white, but I figured I'd take some liberties and try different looks for the blog. There were more folks today, so we went through much faster than the others, only a few minutes each, but I'm still really REALLY happy with how the shots are looking. Everyone was encouraged to wear something different and their personalities really came out. It was a LOT of fun.

As both a challenge and for speed/efficiency, I used two lights and left them in the same orientation for all of these shots. Given everyone's different attire and some footwork on my part, I'm really excited that we achieved so many looks with just one setup!

No Ordinary Business Shoot

So if you remember Emily's business portraits from the other week, her higher ups were really happy with the shots, enough that today I was tasked with shooting four more, including the founder/owner.

I did try to push things a bit lighting wise to make Emily's shots a bit more dynamic, but the message I got today was to take that concept and run with it even further. The result? A set of really atmospheric, stylized and just cool looking portraits of the team. Something that conveys the feel of the company as fresh, energetic and edgy. Once at the shoot, the company's founder told me a very specific look he wanted for each of the four. It was a challenge, but also really cool to exercise some quick creativity on scene. The following are some initial quick edits. The company is leaning toward black and white, but for these first test shots I'm giving it a desaturated look to give a bit more edge. No big smiles or grins, I was asked. Just make em look cool. An hour and forty five minutes, a loading dock and four folks with different stories to tell.

The Founder.
Like any leader of a company, he wanted to show strength, confidence and intensity. This was actually a very basic lighting setup, with a softbox to camera left as an even key and a second light flown above on a boom for an accent.

The "Zuckerberg."
No, literally, that's what I was told. This guy is the negotiator, he talks with his hands. Catch a shot that makes him look like Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg speaking to an audience of eager investors from on stage. To do this I got down low, shot upward from the perspective of someone in the audience. I even kept in part of the flare from the boom light to give the feel of stage lights.

The "Madman"
Have him hold his briefcase. Make him look serious, like a shot from "Madmen." Okay sure, let's give it a shot. One of my favorites from the day!

The Attitude
I was told beforehand that she'd be camera shy, not at all, she did great. Make her look spunky I was told, have her give some attitude. She'd arrived wearing that awesome fedora, but had left it to the side for the shoot. "Let's bring it in for these shots!" I said. She happily agreed.

Boys Without Toys

I'm a huge fan of supporting local musical talent when I can, so when I heard that Boys Without Toys (a band featuring four siblings) needed some promotional shots I happily agreed to help out. It provided a bit more practice with the lights, especially in lighting multiple subjects. We shot in SE by the waterfront.

Feel free to check out their website here.

Oh also. I'd seen shots of this burnt out warehouse from colleagues, but I'd not shot there myself until today. It is awesome.

Anyway, I wish these boys and their parents all the best!

On Assignment - Business Portrait

Met up with Emily this afternoon for a business portrait shoot. Emily works for a local software company and is a key contact point with many of their clients. She contacted me earlier this week wanting some headshot work done, but wanted the images to have a bit more of an edge and pop to them. This lined up perfectly with the lighting work I've been doing lately, and I'm really happy with the shots!

The first thing I wanted to do was ditch the static seamless color backdrops common in most straight up business portraits. I pitched the idea about shooting on location and Emily loved it. We actually did the shoot under cover on a loading dock in the NW Pearl District. Good thing because it was pouring rain out today.

Anyway, over the course of the shoot I ran the whole gamut of lighting setups to provide a maximum amount of options for both Emily and her managers. We did a mix of strobes and just with natural light, wider shots, close ups etc. Look wise we flipped between more formal business attire, as well as something more suited for work out and about. I've posted four of my favorites so far from today.

In the end, what Emily and her company wanted from these shots was something a bit more eye catching than the average business shot. Professional, but still friendly and welcoming. I'd been really anxious to try something creative on the job, and I'm really grateful that what ordinarily would have been a static, by the numbers business shoot turned into something really fun for me as a photographer. I can't wait to get the final shots back to them.

Light Testing Continued

So if you remember my test shoot with Sarah and Erin from a few weeks back. Still working on refining the balance between those three lights (hair, fill and key). I think it's also important to note here that the light in these shots are completely from speedlights -- as in all of the ambient light has been stopped out. So what does this mean? It means total control and the ability to sculpt light however I want, oh yeah. It took a lot of playing around with the flash power levels, but I think I'm getting closer to the look I like! This will be excellent for professional or business portrait headshots. This type of David Hobby lighting just adds a lot more depth to the photos, I like it. Can't wait to try it more outdoors.

On Assignment for OSU Marketing

Had the opportunity to shoot a portrait for Oregon State University's Marketing department today. The photos will run alongside a brief feature write up on the main homepage. Lauren Fein is a recent graduate who now works at the OSU Extension Offices in Hood River. She primarily works in nutrition management and in conjunction with SNAP (Oregon's food stamp program) to promote healthy eating amongst local families in need. Lauren was incredibly laid back and it was fun working with her.

We shot photos behind the main Extension offices, I wanted to incorporate the area she's based in, so getting the test orchard and the hills in the background worked out great. The basket of pears she's holding were grown on site too!

In addition, we also drove a short way to a local grocery store that sells organic produce. Again, it added some color and context to both healthy eating, and to where Lauren does her work now. Much more fun than a photo with her behind her desk!

On a technical note, yes I am using off camera light for both of these shots. Just a single light for some subtle fill. I like the idea of being able to use light to just give a shot a bit more punch, but not scream "dynamic lighting." Like the best post work and photo editing, good lighting should many times, simply enhance the impact of the photo, and not draw undue attention to itself.

Volunteers!

I'm still trying to let all the things Joe and Dave talked about on Saturday sink in. I am really taken with Dave Hobby's approach to portraits, letting your ambient light play a larger roll, and layering on your lights one at a time. In any case, I've been anxious to get out there and shoot more portraits.

Sarah and Erin from Powers Studios were totally game to volunteer for my lighting test today using Dave Hobby's approach. We shot just outside the studio's front door in a semi-open hallway. It felt really good to try something new. Arguably, Hobby's approach to portraits is a lot more subtle than most. Less "Hey look at this cool lighting!" and more about using light subtly to bring out character.

Anyway, today was a first pass at one of Hobby's basic setups. I would have wanted to bring up the ambient light from the background more, but I really didn't want to keep Sarah and Erin away from their work for too long. I'm happy with how even the lighting is, especially given that it's coming from three small lights with very little diffusion. That's the holy grail of strobist lighting I feel, getting nice soft light from small (but portable) less powerful flashes. It's really a lot like photographic alchemy. I'll try this setup again soon in a more outdoor setting!

A few tech notes here. It may not look like it, but there's actually a fair amount going on! I didn't crush down the ambient all the way, so believe me, it's still in there a bit. I flew my SB-800 above and behind on a small Impact boom arm for a hair light (for separation). Light number two was an SB-600 fired through an Orbis ring flash right on axis. Finally, my key light was another SB-600 fired through a Lumiquest Softbox iii close in on camera left. For anyone who attended the Flash Bus stop in Portland. This is pretty much the exact setup David Hobby often uses, I can't wait to get more practice in and learn to reign in that light more -- more feathering, maybe a grid spot for the key etc. Stay tuned.

PS: Alas, I forgot to fire a wide shot to document the setup. Oh well, next time. Thanks again Sarah and Erin for volunteering for today!