Need tips for employee photos...

[domino1999]

I've been asked by my boss to take head & shoulder shots of my work colleagues (10 of them) for our corporate website. For some reason he's got it into his head that I'm some kind of pro tog

Portraits are not something I've really done in the past, so I've been doing some reading up on the subject. In its simplest form, I might be able to get away with 1 light/softbox and a reflector, but have seen setups with 2, 3 or more lights.

I don't want to have to lug too much equipment to the office, but still want to get professional looking shots. My intention is to shoot everyone in the same room, so the plain background is consistent (either a wall or I have a white/black collapsible backdrop).

I have the following at my disposal:-

2 x flashguns
1 x 300WS flash head + standard reflector
1 x 60cm softbox
1 x Lastolite Triangular TriGrip Reflector 75cm - Silver/White
1 x Westcott 43-inch Optical Satin Collapsible umbrella (reflector or shoot-thru)
2 x mini-softboxes for flashguns

Just looking for hints & tips for a simple and effective setup, if anyone's got any ideas....?

Cheers!
Darren

 

[photosbycolin]

Do a trial run in the room with your one light and a softbox, ask a good friend to sit there while you shoot to get the right settings write em all down and note distance of light and seat from background.

Good luck
and charge the boss {he thinks your a pro!]

 

[domino1999]

Do a trial run in the room with your one light and a softbox, ask a good friend to sit there while you shoot to get the right settings write em all down and note distance of light and seat from background.

Good luck
and charge the boss {he thinks your a pro!]

Cheers! Good idea! For a moment I didn't think anyone here had any tips. The room I'll be using doesn't have any natural light at all, no windows. How do you suggest I use the single light (position/angle)?

 

[stevewestern]

Keep it all as simple as possible - as Colin says, do a trial run if possible and make any notes you feel will help.
I would suggest putting the flashhead/softbox above and off to one side of where your subjects will sit. Try to keep them as far from the background as possible. A white wall or reflector on the opposite side from the flash will help fill in shadows.
A flashgun below and behind throwing a little light on the background will help separate heads from backgrounds - I would set this on manual and experiment to see how much light you want it to add to the picture - a small snoot of some sort (rolled up card ?) could be used to give some shape to the light it throws onto the background - a small round-ish shape giving a halo-type effect is quite effective for example.
If you have access to the actual room then take along a tripod so that you can keep everything the same for all the shots, and get it all set up in advance - this will let you get the technical side sorted so that you can concentrate on getting the subjects to relax - a remote release is another useful tool if you have one as it lets you come out from behind the camera. Good luck !

 

[domino1999]

Thanks for the input Steve

I'm going to have to write all this down, I've got a terrible memory

Darren

 

[domino1999]

Completely forgot to ask, what lens should I use?

I have the following:-

Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Canon 75-300 mkII f/4-5.6
Canon 50 f/2.8
Sigma 105 macro (my sharpest lens, but I guess not suited for portraits)

Cheers!

 

[stevewestern]

I don't know the Sigma, but it ought to be a good length for portraits if you have the space - or are you on a crop body, in which case you may find it slightly too long unless you have some space to work. Either way I would give it a go, and th the Canon 50mm as well.
The Tamron is an unknown to me, and the Canon 75-300 is rather big to be shoving up peoples noses in a room IMO !

With the 105 you can be a fair way back, which will help those who are a little less sure of the portrait process and make them less self-concious of that zit on the end of their nose, yet still close enough to be gently intimate or at least able to help put them at their ease.
Me talking about getting intimate with your work colleagues may however just illustrate that I have never worked in an office (I still have those images about office parties and photocopiers lurking in the back of my head...)

 

[Deleted member 34016]

I use my Sigma 105mm macro for portraits is an ideal lens for the job, when stopped down to f2.8 give a lovely blurr to the back ground

Les

ps here an example shot with my 105mm Sigma


040811_3085 by Lez325, on Flickr

 

[domino1999]

Cheers guys, I'll give the 105 a go, with the 50mm as a backup