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Posts Tagged ‘portrait’

Headshots, Photography, Portrait | 0 comment

2015 Corporate Staff Portraits

Executive Business Portraits - Tysons Corner Center
2015 Corporate Staff Portraits – Tysons Corner Center

Tysons, Virginia

At the beginning of the new year, updating staff portraits is a popular assignment for me. Maybe getting a new headshot is a popular New Year’s resolution? The feeling of renewal extends to websites as well. I see lots of updates to my frequent stopping points online.

Executive Business Portraits - Tysons Corner Center
2015 Corporate Staff Portraits – Tysons Corner Center

These headshots were made in a conference room. I brought a mobile lighting setup with a white cloth backdrop. One flash through a shoot – through umbrella was the main light, and another light was placed on camera right to light the background with a little kick to the side of the face.

Staff Group Photos

CBRE staff photo on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center
CBRE staff photo on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center

This staff photo was a little nerve wracking for me. Not for anything having to do with me or my position for the photo, but for my subjects! The ice rink on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center was the setting for this updated staff photo for CBRE. They were also the sponsor for the Zamboni machine that keeps this ice smooth. So the idea was to have the Zamboni out in the middle of the rink to provide the branding for the company as well as a focal point for the staff to pose for the photo. Because it was outside, I wanted to make the colors and faces pop from the background, so I set up one large 500 W/S flash to camera left. I did not have any modifiers on the light to ensure I got the most power out of the light that I could. I set it to ¾ power and I made a few frames.

CBRE staff photo on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center
CBRE staff photo on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center

I did not want to have them standing out there for too long since it was cold. Not to mention it was slippery since they were out on the ice! The staff of the ice rink did have some mats to help with the traction, but I still held my breath as they walked out there carefully. I only moved two people from their initial position to make a better composition, but I luckily, the results were great right out of the camera. Whew!

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Personal, Photography, Portrait | 0 comment

Updated portrait | Virginia Photographer

Happy Thursday! It’s my 38th birthday today, and time to update my portrait. Thanks for the all the messages on social media – it is really nice to have them stream in! it is one of the best things about the new technology. It is a great excuse to hear from people that you have not seen or talked to in a while. You can reminisce again about birthdays past and make plans for future celebrations! In addition to all the messages, I set up my camera to make a new self-portrait with some lighting.

GGB updated portrait at 38
GGB_portrait_at_38

My 25th birthday was marked by a day of national tragedy. We felt it here in the DC area, and the memory of the events will always be felt when the date comes around every year. The solemnness of ceremonies and memorials on TV and across the Internet lets me also be reflective on my own events. I can take things in; reflect on a milestone day along with everyone else, as a tribute to those that were taken that day, and to be thankful for another year.  It will be back tomorrow, but it’s nice to have a break from the norm. It is nice that so many do the same on your birthday, even if it borne out of sadness.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Personal, Photography, Portrait | 0 comment

Chasing Natural Light – Tech Thursday

Family Photos

It is no secret that I have been trying to master using flash in a lot of my portrait or people photography. There are so many advantages to knowing how to utilize a small or big flash. It can make you a more versatile photographer with the ability to shoot in more situations than if you only know how to work your camera in available light.

After I got the hang of using my camera in available light, I thought that being able to use flash would separate me from other photographers. I could expand my creativity by adding some technical know-how to making images. In a lot of cases, though, this can be a hindrance. There are more pieces of gear you need to bring with you on a shoot. That additional gear makes for more variables that can mess up your shoot. When that happens, now your attention is on fixing a technical issue instead of interacting with your subjects, and composing a good photo.

Dachshund-in-afternoon-sun-©TimeLine-Media
Dachshund-in-afternoon-sun-©TimeLine-Media

Natural Light Indoors

So in a few personal shoots, I have gone back to try to make better natural light portraits. I’m taking more time to really see the light as it travels around, through, and directly upon subjects. Here my nephew was running around the room with strong light pouring through large French doors that faced the sunset. I needed to time his position just right before hitting the shutter. I found the light to be best right at the edge before he brought his entire body into the full sun. It created a nice light on one side of his face and fell off nicely on the opposite side with a little shadow that still held a lot of detail.

Subject_before_hitting_window-light-©TimeLine-Media
Subject_before_hitting_window-light-©TimeLine-Media

Just a few seconds later, the face is turned away from the sun, and the broad side of the face is more in shadow. To make the exposure equivalent for the two photos, the second has too many hot spots that distract from the subject. This is similar to working with a soft box that directs light from a flash – all the good light is just at the edge!

Subject_in_window-light-©TimeLine-Media
Subject_in_window-light-©TimeLine-Media

Open Shade

The biggest light diffuser available is the sun behind an overcast sky. The even light will flatten out the subjects making your angle towards them more important for making an interesting photo. If you can find an open shade from the sun, you can have a little more direction to the light. Additionally, this will add dimension to your subjects.

Family-Portrait-©TimeLine-Media
Family-Portrait-©TimeLine-Media

For this photo, a covered bench blocked most of the direct light hitting the subjects, but being open to the sun in front allowed for some nice catch lights in the eyes. Without having to fiddle with a flash, remote, and all the other stuff that goes along with using a flash, I was able to take many more photos, and just concentrate on getting some great looks.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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