Lighting a corporate shot

the_local_jacko

the_local_jacko

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A friend of mine is doing a talk at an academic institute in London which is quite a big deal to him. They have asked him to provide and image for the conference brochure and he's asked me to shoot something basic as the alternative is him submitting a Facebook image. I have 2 smartflashes, a speed light, reflective umbrella and a Hilite. I planned to keep things simple and go one SmartFlash with umbrella 45 degree elevation square onto where the subject is looking, with subject standing away from of unlit Hilite to give me a greyish background. I am however open to suggestions and I was just wondering how others would approach something similar?
 
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Personally I find corporate style mugshots / headshots against a grey background rather boring. I would much rather go for a very shallow DoF portrait against any background with a few muted highlights thrown into a smooth bokeh. Otherwise what you are suggesting is at least a very simple setup I guess. You say academic institute, is it not possible to introduce a more related background? Although I would still suggest throughing it well out of focus to be sure of keeping your subject the main subject.
 
Interesting.

Second post I've seen here today asking for basic advice on doing "corporate" portraits. I actually get reasonably well paid to do stuff like this. Looks like people are moving away from the professional approach :(

I want a client cool enough to let me use these for their corporate report pics.

http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/backgrounds/lastolite_urban_collapsible_background/23032_p.html

I'm really starting to get into the work of Peter Hurley

http://peterhurley.com/photography/actors-headshots/wonder-boys/

He'll tell you that it's not the light and it's not the background. There's actually a good deal of skill in these.

But yeah, clamshell and kicker will do it ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Interesting.

Second post I've seen here today asking for basic advice on doing "corporate" portraits. I actually get reasonably well paid to do stuff like this. Looks like people are moving away from the professional approach :(

I want a client cool enough to let me use these for their corporate report pics.

http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/backgrounds/lastolite_urban_collapsible_background/23032_p.html

I'm really starting to get into the work of Peter Hurley

http://peterhurley.com/photography/actors-headshots/wonder-boys/

He'll tell you that it's not the light and it's not the background. There's actually a good deal of skill in these.

But yeah, clamshell and kicker will do it ;)
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I can understand where you are coming from and you are understandably passionate about your art and livelihood. I have no doubt as to the level of skill involved in these kind of shots and also have no desire to do this kind of thing above the current occasion. In this case the option is submit an image cropped from the usual family holidays snaps or see if we can put something together which is a little more suitable. There will always be a market for Pro shots but the fact of the matter here this is a guy trying to make best of what he has available as he isn't going to pay for a pro shot for a one off conference and he only found out he had to submit an image a day or two ago. If the shots don't come out then fair enough he submits a speedo shot from Skegness 2010. :-)

I sent him a few different example shots and some with a little more context. The reality is we have about 30 minutes this evening after the kids have gone to bed where he will pop round and so I am restricted to the tools I have available. I will prob shoot 3 or 4 images with different set ups and let him pick what he likes best. Its not ideal by any means but hopefully we can produce something a little better than his current options.
 
Use the Speedo shot ;) Srsly, I've flicked through a bunch of academic lecture programmes. A shot of the speaker in Speedos is more likely to make me go to his talk than any boring corporate shot....

But seriously, my go to lighting on this would be clamshell and kicker. (If you don't know clamshell lighting then Google it - lots and lots of great tutorials and examples). Given the kit you have it may be tricky but I'd fire one light up into the ceiling and use the other one with the brolly below his chin. Then spice it up with a kicker - use the speedlight aimed from behind your subject and running along his jawline. You'll need to make a snoot out of cardboard or something to stop it flaring the camera too much.

Set that up and work for pose and expression.

Or if you want to keep it REALLY simple, put the highlight behind you and light it with the smartflashes. It's remarkable how good this can be.

Or just fly me up there ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Use the Speedo shot ;) Srsly, I've flicked through a bunch of academic lecture programmes. A shot of the speaker in Speedos is more likely to make me go to his talk than any boring corporate shot....

But seriously, my go to lighting on this would be clamshell and kicker. (If you don't know clamshell lighting then Google it - lots and lots of great tutorials and examples). Given the kit you have it may be tricky but I'd fire one light up into the ceiling and use the other one with the brolly below his chin. Then spice it up with a kicker - use the speedlight aimed from behind your subject and running along his jawline. You'll need to make a snoot out of cardboard or something to stop it flaring the camera too much.

Set that up and work for pose and expression.

Or if you want to keep it REALLY simple, put the highlight behind you and light it with the smartflashes. It's remarkable how good this can be.

Or just fly me up there ;)
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Thank you for the advice. I will use the Mrs as a model when I get in to see if I can recreate something similar before my friend arrives. Ironically I have a soft box on order which would make the clam shells set up drastically easier but had an issue with delivery companies so its not yet in hand.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Interesting.

I'm really starting to get into the work of Peter Hurley

http://peterhurley.com/photography/actors-headshots/wonder-boys/

He'll tell you that it's not the light and it's not the background. There's actually a good deal of skill in these.

But yeah, clamshell and kicker will do it ;)
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I've seen his video, put out by Fstoppers I think, and yes his lighting is pretty simple. Four Kinoflos arranged in a square. He does however do a heck of a lot of work coaching his subjects to get the best out of them. I think that may be what he is referring to when he talks of skill. And yes, it most definitely is a skill.

Regards...
 
JonathanRyan said:
Interesting.

Second post I've seen here today asking for basic advice on doing "corporate" portraits. I actually get reasonably well paid to do stuff like this. Looks like people are moving away from the professional approach :(

I want a client cool enough to let me use these for their corporate report pics.

http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/backgrounds/lastolite_urban_collapsible_background/23032_p.html

I'm really starting to get into the work of Peter Hurley

http://peterhurley.com/photography/actors-headshots/wonder-boys/

He'll tell you that it's not the light and it's not the background. There's actually a good deal of skill in these.

But yeah, clamshell and kicker will do it ;)
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Can you suggest some settings to try please so I can have a play around myself as I am just getting into similar stuff?
 
GlennBlack said:
Can you suggest some settings to try please so I can have a play around myself as I am just getting into similar stuff?
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Um, f/8 and 1/200s?

But I'd say it's far more important to understand why you'd use those (or not) than somebody giving you some numbers.
 
Thanks its just as a starting point really as I am learning so it would be great to know why I would use that setting.
What distance and light are you from the model using that kind of setting?
Using natural light I am usually at 2.8 or 2 so using flash is going to be different for me.
 
GlennBlack said:
Thanks its just as a starting point really as I am learning so it would be great to know why I would use that setting.
What distance and light are you from the model using that kind of setting?
Using natural light I am usually at 2.8 or 2 so using flash is going to be different for me.
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Glen, it's not as simple as that. Peter Hurley in the link is using some very expensive continuous lighting, unusual in itself, and Jonathan is estimating what the settings might have been, but they're not very relevant to the way PH works or the results he gets.

The best advice is to get started, with the lights you've already got, and with a little experience you discover what the issues are - much more to do with the kind of light modifer and positioning rather that brand specifics or even camera settings. It is evident from PH's work that he uses a variety of different lens apertures. And of course getting the best out of the subject, which is the real key to good portraiture.

If you're planning to use your Fuji X100, it's not a great camera for portraits, apart from groups maybe. Lens is too wide, meaning you'll be shooting uncomfortably close and getting perspective distortion. Also the wide view will include a lot of background that'll probably be hard to manage.
 
HoppyUK said:
Glen, it's not as simple as that. Peter Hurley in the link is using some very expensive continuous lighting, unusual in itself, and Jonathan is estimating what the settings might have been, but they're not very relevant to the way PH works or the results he gets.
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You're right that it's not relevant, but I was actually suggesting whereabouts I'd start using flash. Peter Hurley shoots medium format with kinos and I'd guess he's closer to f/11 and 1/60 but that's not going to help anyone.

Oh and yeah. X100 is a great camera. But a disastrous choice for headshots.
 
BTW just saw Peter Hurley has a training video on Kelby Training. I don't subscribe so no idea what it's like but it's probably worth a watch if you do.
 
JonathanRyan said:
BTW just saw Peter Hurley has a training video on Kelby Training. I don't subscribe so no idea what it's like but it's probably worth a watch if you do.
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There is nothing technical in it. Just a passing mention of the equipment he uses. Its all about how he interacts with his subjects.
 
As always, shoot for the market.
The brochure will want a clean well lit portrait, keep it simple and don't overcomplicate the whole process.
 
Do you have a reflector? If not why not?:) Use the brolly 45 degree above & 45 degrees to one side then have the subject hold the reflector to bounce light under the chin.
 
JonathanRyan said:
And still people don't get this.....
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And whilst ever they don't there's still a small barrier to entry.

For every trainer telling phototographers that portraiture is about 10% photography there are a hundred newbies shouting for 'settings' or equipment lists.
 
nigelbb said:
Do you have a reflector? If not why not?:) Use the brolly 45 degree above & 45 degrees to one side then have the subject hold the reflector to bounce light under the chin.
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I tried most of the suggestions on here (including this one using a piece white card as a reflector) and sent the 4 or 5 shots over to my friend to choose which is the most suitable.

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's not something I plan to do regularly but I learned a lot form playing with the different suggested set ups.

What I have personally learned :

- A reflector should've been my first purchase before anything else (I have one on order now)
- Conservatory ceilings are not high enough for a clam shell approach :-)
- I could do with another SmartFlash as recycle times on my DI622 limit the rest of my set up. I seemed to get lots of misfires where the unit had turned itself off after firing which I assume is down to batteries.
- I could do with a mid-tone background to give me more options for this kind of thing.
- I need to remember to set the correct WB in camera (corrected it in LR but I need to start for good practice).
 
I saw the trailer a while back for his "Art of the headshot" DVD, he comes across as an incredibly charismatic fellow, someone you'd like to have a beer with. There's far more personnel skills going on here than anything else.

It was at this point I thought I'd never be able to do headshots as good as he does!
 
Phil V said:
For every trainer telling phototographers that portraiture is about 10% photography there are a hundred newbies shouting for 'settings' or equipment lists.
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I guess.

But then you can't condense "rapport" into an 8 minute YouTube or 5 bullet points to sell your $99 course.

The best example I ever saw of this was Damien Lovegrove at Focus last year. He set up CONTINUOUS LIGHTS and told people what exposure he was using. All the boys with their 70-200s had to do was dial in the correct settings and shoot. And yet I saw some train wrecks on the internet afterwards.....
 
JonathanRyan said:
I guess.

But then you can't condense "rapport" into an 8 minute YouTube or 5 bullet points to sell your $99 course.

The best example I ever saw of this was Damien Lovegrove at Focus last year. He set up CONTINUOUS LIGHTS and told people what exposure he was using. All the boys with their 70-200s had to do was dial in the correct settings and shoot. And yet I saw some train wrecks on the internet afterwards.....
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That would been caused by their sweaty fingers misusing the dials etc!
 
the_local_jacko said:
I- A reflector should've been my first purchase before anything else (I have one on order now)
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I am glad that you appreciated my advice. A reflector is such a forgotten piece of kit even among many professional photographers but is so cheap & simple plus the results are outstanding. On a cost benefit analysis a reflector will probably do more for your photography than buying a flash gun.
 
nigelbb said:
I am glad that you appreciated my advice. A reflector is such a forgotten piece of kit even among many professional photographers but is so cheap & simple plus the results are outstanding. On a cost benefit analysis a reflector will probably do more for your photography than buying a flash gun.
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Yes ive always appreciated the job they do but I was probably a little naive as to how they would fit into a studio environment. I have a workshop in a couple of weeks time entitled "Portraits with natural light" then I think its a tool that is likely to become imperative for me.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I guess.

But then you can't condense "rapport" into an 8 minute YouTube or 5 bullet points to sell your $99 course.

The best example I ever saw of this was Damien Lovegrove at Focus last year. He set up CONTINUOUS LIGHTS and told people what exposure he was using. All the boys with their 70-200s had to do was dial in the correct settings and shoot. And yet I saw some train wrecks on the internet afterwards.....
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It's the kind of thing they can learn for free from Creative Live, but it takes hours of watching, do you think even that is too much like 'commitment'?
 
Phil V said:
It's the kind of thing they can learn for free from Creative Live, but it takes hours of watching, do you think even that is too much like 'commitment'?
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Depends who is presenting. I've never made it through more then 3 minutes of Creative Live.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Depends who is presenting. I've never made it through more then 3 minutes of Creative Live.
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I usually have it on whilst doing other stuff, but there have been a few from whom I've learnt a lot, some who are full of **** and some really boring processing stuff that I can't stand more than a couple of minutes of.
 
Phil V said:
I usually have it on whilst doing other stuff, but there have been a few from whom I've learnt a lot, some who are full of **** and some really boring processing stuff that I can't stand more than a couple of minutes of.
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Im a member of PT4U but have often liked the look of some of the CL sessions but usually they run while I'm working and to be honest I don't know whether they are worth paying $100-149 to download. Their business model obviously works for them and their customers but its a shame that they don't offer a monthly subscription service like Kelby and PT4U.
 
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