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Commercial Portraits at Albuquerque Convention Center New Mexico with Dr. Singh

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Commercial Portraits at Albuquerque Convention Center New Mexico with Dr. Singh

Inside Out Commercial Portraits in ABQ

Dr. Singh wanted new commercial portrait photos for his website so we met in downtown Albuquerque at the Albuquerque Convention Center. I thought we would mostly be using the Civic Plaza area as I had for another portrait shoot, but that was taken over by setting up for an outdoor concert. Part of being a professional photographer is being able to improvise right on the spot, so instead of starting outside, we went inside to the convention center. Having photography many events there, I knew a few spots that would work well. No one told us we could not make photographs inside, so we just went about it!

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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!

Professional Business Headshot done in office in Tampa Dale Mabry Florida with John

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Business Headshot made on location in the Dale Mabry area of Tampa - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrellaI packed up my portable photography studio equipment and headed to the north Dale Mabry area of Tampa to make an on location headshot of John in the lobby of his office building.  I was sent examples of headshots other staff members already had made and was told to make his headshot as close to that as possible.  The examples were not shot on a photography background of any type, just using existing walls or areas.  So we went out into the large atrium/lobby in his office building and I arranged my lights and produced a headshot very similar in look to all the others already on the employee page of the company website.  For the shot above, I cut out the darker background and placed the subject onto a digital white background to compliment the modern style of the over headshot.

Attorney Professional Business Headshot in St. Petersburg Florida with Christine

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In my home studio I made this photograph of St. Petersburg Attorney Christne - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in 43" brolly - digital background Another attorney visited my home studio this month for a professional business headshot.  Maybe it is the season for lawyer's to get a new headshot?  Even though a headshot shoot is relatively straight forward I find there is still quite a bit of room for variations and creativity.  There is the lighting style, the aspect ratio of the headshot, the kind of background and more.  So even though I use the same spot in my apartment for each headshot I do, there is always something I end up changing (or improving) from the previous shoot.  It is my practice to always try and out do the previous shoot I do of any kind.

Christine liked the blue-gray gradient background I used in another portrait, so I photographed her on a white background then in Photoshop "removed" her from that photo and placed her onto a digitally created background, as seen above.

Realtor Professional Business Headshot in St. Petersburg Florida with Maria

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St. Petersburg real estate agent Maria came to my home studio for a professional business headshot - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 A few years ago Maria bought some fine art prints from me and in that time she has become a real estate agent.  She contacted me about having a professional headshot made she can use on her business card and on your agent profile page.  She came to my home studio in St. Petersburg, Florida where I setup a portable background and two light stands.  She was seated actually to help put her into a more natural position and to avoid leaning backwards, etc.  She was a natural though and the headshot shoot went smoothly.  Next I will actually be helping Maria learn how to use her new MacBook Pro!

Lawyer Headshot in St. Petersburg Florida with Katie

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Business headshot done for a lawyer in her office on location in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly & SB-600 in shoot through umbrellaI came to make headshots for Katie in St. Petersburg Florida because she works with a past photo lesson student, Bill.  He has been working out of state, but is back in St. Pete and asked me to come in to photograph his colleague.  It is always nice to see past clients and catch up.

Natural setting business headshot in St. Petersburg Florida - see photo above for setupKatie was a natural in front of the camera so for me it was just a matter of squeezing my lights into her office so they did not cast shadows on the background walls.  Bill had some of his own headshots made out of state which showed him in more of a 3/4 view in a working environment, so he asked me to make similar images of Katie instead of the typical neck high only business headshot.  That was fine with me I am always glad to be able to create something a little different than usual.  

Commercial Business Headshot Optometrist St. Petersburg Florida VIP Eyecare with Dr. Henri

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Commercial business headshot for Dr. Henri of VIP Eyecare St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/10 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame front right & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame rear rightThis morning I continued my business relationship with VIP Eyecare in St. Petersburg Florida making a headshot for Dr. Henri.  In the past I have photographed several events there as well as making commercial interior photos of their new location for print marketing materials and their website.  For the headshot itself, they wanted to make sure the VIP logo was visible on Dr. Henri's jacket, along with her name, and then have the background show some of the product they carry, i.e. glasses.  Since Dr. Henri was wearing glasses herself, I had to be careful that none of my speedlights were showing up as glare in her lenses by placing both lights high above her.  For the perspective, I shot from one step up on a folding ladder.  

Dr. Henri was a great model being able to recreate her smile as I adjusted the two speedlights I was using in the tight space between eyeglass shelves and getting the best composition possible to achieve all the details they wanted in the headshot.  It is always fun to visit VIP Eyecare and say hello to everyone there and I very much appreciate them continuing to be my most loyal commercial photography client.