Corporate Portraits On Location

Corporate Portraits On Location

by William Lulow

Corporate portraits should all have the same look and feel to them, especially if used on a company’s website. Before I photograph people for an internet use, I usually discuss with the communications person what type of look they want. Then I create my set up accordingly.

I take my lighting equipment on location and usually shoot in a conference room or other space that’s large enough for me to set up my background and lights. I try to do the same type set up as I do in the studio. It takes me about 45 minutes to complete the set up and make a test shot. I do this so as to take up as little of the executive’s time as possible. I try to photograph as many people as possible in the time for which I am contracted. I can usually photograph around 20 – 30 people in an eight-hour day if no hair and makeup are necessary. This represents the most economical way to get this type of photography done.

Here is a recent setup in a law firm’s conference room:

This space was smaller than some, but certainly not the smallest I have used. Note the half-roll of no-seam paper, which is really all that is needed for successful corporate headshots. I can fit everything it takes to set up my studio on one handtruck. This is a four light setup which gives me plenty of options when it comes to lighting. 

I begin by setting up my main light and a fill-in. If I’m photographing a man, sometimes I can get away with my big, soft umbrella main light with no fill. With a woman, it takes some fill-in. I then get my accent lights set up so that I can use one or both of them. When I’m on location, it’s often difficult to set up a hair light on a boom, so I just use accents in the EDGE light positions. Depending on what type of look is wanted, I set up a BACKGROUND light so that I can get a gradation in the tone.

Here is an example from this same shoot:

This image was shot with a main light, a background light,  a fill-in and an accent light. I often use only one accent light for a location like this, but I could have just as well used two.  Hair & Makeup by Jill Harth 

This is what my location truck looks like:

Here I have everything I need to set up a small studio on location. I have even brought “gobos” to shade the camera. I have done this so many times that I have it down to a science. 

The secret to success with these kinds of jobs is to be organized, make sure you have everything you need (which is done by means of creating checklists for equipment) and being as compact as you can. I know a photographer who is able to do these kinds of jobs with portable speedlights instead of studio lights. But, as a trained studio photographer, I am more comfortable with using studio equipment. For one thing, I can use the same techniques I use in the studio. With speedlights, it’s often difficult to get a good idea of light intensities. As you get more used to it, I’m sure you can begin to predict fairly accurately, how the shot will look. Each photographer gets used to his or her own techniques. It doesn’t make one right and the other wrong.