collapsible photography background

Professional Business Headshot done on site in Tanglewood St. Petersburg Florida with Bill & cat!

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Professional Business Headshot made right in this client's home in Tanglewood St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in 43" brolly each

I went over to the nearby Tanglewood area of St. Petersburg, Florida to make a professional business headshot for a client right in his own home.  My portable studio setup requires little space and sets up in just a few minutes.  Even my collapsible background can simply be balanced against the edge of a couch as it was this time!  The client wanted to change ties between shots and in that time there was a visitor to my portable photography studio setup . . . the family cat!

This cat snuck into my headshot setup between takes!

The client was actually sitting on that ottoman the cat is peering over.  She was curious about the big 43" brolly just to frame right.  I grabbed my camera and took a photo as quickly as I could not knowing how long the cat's curiousity would last.

This cat was a good stand-in until the client changed ties for his second shot!

Then the cat noticed me and I got the above shot with her looking right at me.  For a few minutes, I got to feel what it must be like to work at Cat Fancy!

St. Petersburg Florida Professional Business Headshot Photography Service with Buddy

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Professional Business Headshot made in St. Petersburg Florida home studio - Buddy in formal attire - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly to frame right & SB-600 in snoot pointed at backgroundBuddy came to my home studio in St. Petersburg Florida to have his professional business headshot made to improve his online business appearance.  This is exactly why I offer this business headshot service either in my home studio or on location right in your own office or home.  The more Linkedin profile photos I see made with an awful camera phone the more I wonder why anyone would want to represent themselves in that type of unprofessional manner.  

Business casual style professional headshot done in my St. Petersburg Florida home studio - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in 42" brolly to frame right & SB-600 in snoot pointed at backgroundBuddy was a natural in front of the lens and very fun and uncomplicated to photograph.  He was even wearing eyeglasses with an anti-glare coating that showed no reflections in them at all!

Office Staff Business Headshots on location in office in Clearwater Florida

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Part of the staff I photographed on location making business headshots for the entire office in Clearwater FloridaThis morning I drove to Clearwater to photograph nearly the entire staff of a business.  It is actually a planned two-part shoot that will entail me returning on another date yet to be determined to photograph the remaining staff.  It was my first time to make so many headshots in a row, all told thirteen different shots.  It was kind of fun for someone to walk in for a few minutes, see how they choose to smile, and then move on to the next person.  No one was really camera shy so all I had to do was tell there where to point their toes and then which way to twist and look.

camera settings for headshots: f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly @ 1/4 power & SB-600 with diffuser cap at 1/8 power pointed at backgroundI was provided with a near ideal space to make the headshots in--a long rectangular room free of obstacles and even a large table for me to spread all my gear out on.  I leaned the collapsible photography background against the wall, setup my lights, dialed in camera and strobe settings, then it was just a matter of getting the best smile out of each person.  No mess, no fuss!  Nice.

Using a collapsible background to make a home photography studio St. Petersburg Florida

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Kiki & I in a self-portrait featuring my new Botero Collapsible Background - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame right & SB-600 pointed up at background with blue gel and HONL snoot (open)I am always looking to improve the range and quality of photography products I can offer to clients.  In the pursuit of this I invested in a collapsible photography background (view on bhphotovideo.com) that measures 5'x7' is neutral to dark gray and folds up like a car sunshade into a circle when not in use.  Such a background allows one to setup a small studio space virtually anywhere, including your own living room.  

My new home studio setup featuring a 43" brolly on a light stand, 5'x7' collapsible background & gelled speedlight (behind me)The collapsible background does not require any special holder or stand.  I simply took a canvas print off the wall and rested the background up against it.  It took a little fiddling and flipping it over to get it to stay in the space I wanted it too, but all-in-all a pretty easy setup.  The background is easily big enough for two people, and maybe three or more depending on how they are posed.

This self-portrait headshot took MANY takes to make!If you like to make portraits and do not have the space to maintain a dedicated photo studio in your home, then my photography tip is to invest in a collapsible background that can be used in any room in the house and easily taken over to the homes of friends and family too.