Playing it Safe

This coming up weekend, I have a set of corporate portraits for a client who is updating their website. Their current portraits are a bit dated (i.e. at least 5 years ago), and look like high school portraits. Plus not all the new employees are on that site as of yet.

But, the client wants something *like* what they have now with the mottled background and such. I have a small collapsible background that I'm bringing, but I would definitely like to think outside the (soft)box for a second and take better, more-up-to-date photos that also showcase the business.

Consequently, I've been looking at various photographer blogs & websites for inspiration and guidance. Portrait work can get boring and monotonous, depending on the client.

Insofar as lighting, my old standby is: one big softbox to the left of my camera and a fill to the right, along with hair light(s) and the necessary reflectors. But I'm thinking I could use 3 lights with umbrellas instead -- one for the key, one for the main, then another one about 5-6 feet back to fill in the background.

I'll definitely take the "safe" shots with the mottled background and the lights as described above. Then I'm pretty sure I can get the folks to play around a bit.

When I took a walkabout of the building interior when I went to meet up with the client for details. There are *plenty* of places for a good backdrop that would look awesome when shot with a longer lens to blur the background. I'm sure the owner & employees won't mind too much, as they slated for me to have the whole of the afternoon.

Still, I need to map out a plan of attack for this shoot, which makes it easier for me than just winging stuff on the spot without any forethought. (Often times, 'winging it' and thinking fast on your feet can help save the day).

I often find that diagrams help when I'm busy running around setting up. It's easier to point to a diagram and have an assistant follow the diagram of what I have in mind.