Clearwater

Dixon Hughes Goodman Accountant Headshots Clearwater Florida

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Corporate accountant headshot in Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 1/200th ISO 200 - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly to frame left 43" reflector to frame right & SB-600 in shoot through umbrella on background

An accounting firm in Clearwater, Florida that has offices around the country needed new headshots.  They had hired a marketing firm to take charge of this and from them I was given very specific requirements for making headshots in the exact style they wanted.  This included being as specific as getting a particular "TV gray" background from BH Photo!  This was fine with me as the more details the more I can deliver exactly what the client wants.  Yet, despite all these guidelines, the final style of the headshots allowed for a good bit of creativity as the person being photographed could choose from one of 12+ different headshot poses!

The most complex setup I have used for a headshot yet. From left to right: SB-800 in 43" brolly on light stand, SB-600 in shoot through umbrella on light stand, 9' wide TV gray paper background, posing stool, 43" reflector on light stand

This is the setup I used.  I had to order the TV gray background of course since I did not have one lying around already.  I also bought the large stand to hold the background, which in this case was 9 feet wide.  The stands can hold up to a 12 foot wide background.  

Using a posing stool for the first time for a headshot at Dixon Hughes Goodman accountants Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 1/200th ISO 200 - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly to frame left 43" reflector to frame right & SB-600 in shoot through umbrella on background

This person used the stool for resting his arms upon, which was one of several posing choices the marketing company offered.  In another first, I had not tried this kind of composition before and now have it as an example I can offer to my own future headshot clients.  You can see how the marketing company used another headshot of this person in a final version on the company website.

The client wanted empty space to the left of the subject for these business headshots in Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 1/200th ISO 200 - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly to frame left 43" reflector to frame right & SB-600 in shoot through umbrella on background

Another requirement for all the headshots was to leave a lot of space to the left of the subject.  The marketing company would then crop the headshots to how they wanted.  I had great help from a staff member of the accounting firm in both setting up the photography gear and in choosing what poses worked best for each person.  It turned out to be one of the most fun headshot shoots I have had!

Cars & Couture 2014 Car Owners Gathering Event at Dimmitt Automotive Group Pinellas Park Florida

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McLaren 650S in black at Dimmitt Automotive Florida during Cars & Couture Car Owners Gathering event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI was invited to an event at Dimmitt Automotive in Pinellas Park, Florida for a special Car Owners Gathering thanks to Dona who organizes many great car events under her Cars & Couture brand.  I brought along eldest friend Terry to help out with some of the photography.  As you can see from the above photograph, Dimmitt is a MacLaren dealership.  There were several Mclaren 650S supercars in the showroom.  It was my first time to see this update to the McLaren MP4-12C in person.  The 650S is a much more striking looking sports car in person than the 12C, mostly thanks to a new front fascia inspired by the McLaren P1 hypercar.

Guests at Cars & Couture Dimmitt Automotive stand next to a MacLaren 650S in black Clearwater Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in shoot-through-umbrella to frame rightOften there is not much space to photograph cars at such events, but there was a black McLaren 650S kind of off by itself in a separate area of the showroom.  This allowed me to setup two speedlights and shoot through umbrellas and not only photograph the car itself in great detail (subject of an upcoming blog post), but also to invite guests over to be properly photographed next to the supercar.

The new MacLaren 650S supercar in yellow at Dimmitt Automotive during Cars & Couture event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRIf you happen to prefer yellow, there was also a McLaren 650S in that color looking right out the front windows inviting you to come in and put a deposit down on her!  We got there early to be able to photograph the cars before there were too many people mingling about..

Yours truly with my friend Terry who assisted with the shots at Cars & Couture Car Owners Gathering 2014 Dimmitt Automotive - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 400 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in shoot through umbrellasFor the last shot of the evening, Terry and I stepped out from behind the camera and the lights for a self-portrait with the black McLaren 650S.  It took a little configuring using the self-timer to position myself symmetrically after pressing the shutter, but I am glad we made the effort to get ourselves both in the shot and add another photo to our scrapbook that now spans almost three decades.

Guests wanted to pose with the MacLaren 650S at Cars & Couture Dimmitt Automotive Clearwater Event Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in shoot through umbrella to frame rightOne last shot to show how well the McLaren 650S photographs, especially when bookended by willing volunteer models!  Thank you Dona for another great car event and to Terry for assisting in the making of these photographs.

Business Casual Headshot in Clearwater Florida with Brian

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I went to Brian's office in Clearwater to make a creative business casual headshot - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly to frame right & SB-600 in 43" shoot-through-umbrella to frame left rearI went over to Clearwater, Florida on a recent afternoon to meet Brian and make a creative business casual headshot for him right in his office.  It was a nice long office with plenty of space to setup my portable studio equipment.  He wanted a white background for his headshot, so I put the white cover over my collapsible background so that I could easier cut him out and place him on a digital white background as seen above in the final image.  

During the headshot I learned that Brian was about to run his first Iron Man and had been running triathlons.  I told him how I have photographed the St. Anthony's Triathlon a few times and we also talked about fitness in general.  He was a natural in front of the camera so it was only a very brief hello, make the headshot, and good-bye, which is my goal to not take up much more than 15 minutes of the client's time.

Crown Audi Clearwater Audi A3 Premiere Event April 2014

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Crown Audi A3 premiere event in Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDROn a sunny evening in Clearwater, Florida, I got to combine two of my favorite types of photography, car photography and event photography while photographing the premiere event for the Audi A3 at Crown Audi of Clearwater.  I got on site at 6pm, with still plenty of light inside the greenhouse like showroom of Crown Audi to try both HDR and natural light event shots like the one above.

Audi A3 premiere event in Clearwater Crown Audi - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 640 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mounted

There was also a loft walkway surrounding one side of the Crown Audi showroom that allowed me to get this bird's eye view of the Audi A3 premiere event.  Providing maximum variety of shots is one of my goals when photographing an event.  It is rare to be able to get a high view of an event, but it adds a very different perspective. 

Audi A3 Cabriolet at sunset at Crown Audi in Clearwater - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/250th SB-800 hotshoe mountedAs sunset time approached, I took the opportunity to try and frame some creative sun backlit shots using the covered driveway and an Audi A3 Cabriolet.  

Catching the sun behind an Audi at Crown Audi Clearwater - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/250th SB-800 hotshoe mountedBy regularly checking inside and outside the Crown Audi showroom building looking for shots, I maximized getting the best light for both indoor and outdoor areas.  Of course once the sun went down, I focused on the indoor shots more.

Crown Audi employees having fun at the Audi A3 premiere event in Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/100th SB-800 hotshoe mountedI realized quickly that the Crown Audi staff really like each other and really like to have a good time at their events!

Attending the Audi A3 premiere event at Crown Audi Clearwater Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 800 1/100thOnce it got dark, the lights were lowered inside the showroom as well, with lots of red ambient lighting.  I took the opportunity to turn my flash off and feature the glowing red background light for this client shot.

The staff of Crown Audi in Clearwater Florida at the Audi A3 premiere event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mounted

The last shot of the evening after all clients and potential buyers had left, was this group shot of the Crown Audi staff.  I had a very good time photographing this event and look forward to the next Audi model premiere!

TownePlace Suites Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater commercial pool shoot

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Photographing the same subject matter in different seasons or just a significant amount of time later is a very good personal photography project to do.  It is rare to have that kind of opportunity with a commercial photography shoot, but that is just what happened when former clients TownePlace Suites Marriott Clearwater called and asked me to come make a new photograph of their outdoor swimming pool.  They had updated the furniture and needed a new photograph to highlight the changes to the pool area.  

For me it is interesting to see the differences in angles I chose in 2011 and 2012.  The tighter shot of the pool in 2012 was no doubt influenced by the client wanting to see the new furniture in the shot better.

Here is an insider photo tip for shooting pools:  do not get the entire pool in the shot, thereby leaving the exact size of the pool unknown to the viewer.  

Professional Headshot for Businesswomen in Clearwater Florida on location

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This morning I returned to a Clearwater business office to finish making headshots of the entire staff.  I photographed a majority of the staff in August, as seen here.  Having shot on this location before and having taken detailed notes, I was able to setup very quickly and produce a consistent business headshot like I had two months earlier.  The staff were again great to work with, which makes shooting a headshot much smoother.  

I used my same two strobe setup, a SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap pointed at the portable background and a SB-800 @ 1/4 power in a 43" brolly to subject's left with camera settings of f/7.1 ISO 200 & 1/100th shutter speed on my Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF ED 80-20mm f/2.8D lens.

Professional business headshots are available to be made right in your office, home or in my St. Petersburg home studio.  The headshots are available for individuals or an entire business staff.

Clearwater Ribbon Cutting Event for 211 Tampa Bay Cares

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A festive ribbon cutting at 211 Tampa Bay using many pairs of scissors! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerOne of my favorite types of photography jobs I get our ribbon cutting events.  This Wednesday I got to photograph no less than two ribbon cuttings for 211 Tampa Bay as they held a morning event and an afteroon one too.  The morning was hosted by the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce so I got to see some old friends from there and other networking regulars.  It was really tight quarters for where they wanted to do the ribbon cutting.  I had to stand about 4 feet up on a ladder to get high enough to clear a wall of cubicles to make the above shot.

There were a lot of iPads and iPhones featuring the 211 Tampa Bay app to try out - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerI immediately saw that 211 Tampa Bay utilizes a lot of tech access via apps for the iPhone and iPad.  They had some staff members giving demonstrations with chances for visitors to get hands on with the apps themselves also.

The Mayor of Largo Patricia Gerard (center) - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerThe Mayor of Largo Patricia Gerard attended the morning ribbon cutting ceremony along with 211 Tampa Bay board members.  Everyone wants a photo op with the mayor!

Sharing laughs at the 211 Tampa Bay ribbon cutting event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerThere was a lot to do at this event from using tech like the iPad to taking a tour of the call center, and of course eating and having laughs with friends.  Everyone with 211 Tampa Bay was very friendly.  It was a good atmosphere to shoot in.

I resisted using an iPad so I did not feel the need to get one of my own! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerI look forward to continuing to be the photographer for 211 Tampa Bay.  It is always nice to be able to photograph a fun event, expand my business network and of course provide the client with images they will enjoy for years to come.