Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a fun fundraising event for St. Andrew’s Family Fitness Center. Their longtime director, Kevin Walsh, had suffered a heart attack while at meetings out west. It was so neat to see everyone coming together and rallying to help his family with medical costs and help speed him towards recovery!
Question of the Week: “Your light test dummy photos always blow me away. Do you have a behind the scenes photo of your light placement for head shots?”
This morning I was on location photographing headshots for a company based out of Maryland called Mercury. Mercury is a fleet consulting and services firm dedicated to providing independent, unbiased technical assistance and advice to public and private organizations. Key executives from the company were in Charleston for meetings this week. So they had me come out and setup to photograph updated head-shots of everyone.
Like the query above from my friend Kathy, I often get asked about the setups I use. Each one is tailored to the requests and desires of the client. I go over the options with my contact to come up with the “look” they are going for. Then I bring the appropriate backgrounds, lights, and modifiers to create that look for them.
In this case, I’ve got 3 Nikon SB-800 flashes set as Group A firing in a 50″ Westcott Apollo Softbox as my main light source. It’s positioned to give me what’s called a Loop Lighting pattern. I’ve got 2 SB-800 flashes set as Group B firing into a 60″ Westcott shoot-through umbrella as my fill light. I’ve got a single SB-800 flash set as Group C behind the subject. It’s pointed at the background, shooting through what’s called a Grid to keep the light source tight and to keep the light pattern circular as it creates a halo behind the subject. Finally, I’ve got a single SB-5000 flash as Group D on a stand high above the background pointed back at the subjects head to create a slight Rim Light or Hair Light. Notice that the subject will be standing about 5 or 6 feet in front of the background to prevent too much of the main light from spilling onto the background.
I’m shooting with a Nikon D5 and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8. It’s probably zoomed to around 135mm. Mounted on the camera is an SB-5000 flash used as the Master. The Master flash lets the others know when to fire, and at what power. It imparts no light onto the scene. I’m using Radio Poppers as a wireless radio communication method between the Master flash and all the SB-800 flashes in this Creative Lighting System (CLS). I’m using Nikon’s new WR-R10 transmitter for radio communication between the D5 and the SB-5000 flashes. Nikon calls this their new Advanced Wireless Lighting (AWL) system. Group A and B are set at 1/16th power. But note that because I’ve ganged up more flashes in the softbox and because it’s positioned closer to the subject, it’s giving twice as much light to the scene than Group B. Group C is set to 1/128th power. And Group D is set to 1/256th power.
During the shoot, my D5 is tethered to my laptop, running Adobe Lightroom CC Classic. I use the laptop as a trigger to shoot test-shots of myself, which I affectionately call my Light Test Dummy photos. Paying attention to the quality and quantity of light, I tweak the settings and placement of each component in the setup. Once I’ve fine-tuned everything on myself, I’m ready for the first client. After each client’s set, I walk them through their images to make sure they are happy with them, and help them pick out the best image for their new company head-shot. They LOVE the instant gratification of seeing the images right away!
The beauty of utilizing wireless Speedlights as apposed to Studio Strobes is their versatility. I can gang multiple flashes into one light source to allow me to shoot at lower power levels, which let me shoot fast and not have to worry about recycle time. Or I can break them up into a larger number of Groups. They are compact and easy to carry. But the best part is, I don’t have to look for outlets or worry about people tripping on any power chords! 🙂
I hope this helps! If your company is ready for some updated head-shots, give us a call. We’d love to work with you!!!
It was a chilly commute, but a warm welcome at First Citizens Bank this morning! I had the pleasure of photographing updated head-shots for some of the team members in the Summerville branch today. I always enjoy working with the kind and generous people at this bank!
Earlier this week, nearly 200 international buyers and end-users descended upon Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Export Exchange. Over the 3 day conference, attendees were able to meet and build relationships with more than 300 domestic suppliers, while also benefiting from educational sessions and networking opportunities.
The event was co-sponsored by the US Grains Council, the Renewable Fuels Association, and Growth Energy. Notable keynote speakers included:
– Roger Watchorn of Cargill Agriculture Supply Chain North America (CASCNA)
– Dr. Robert Johansson, Chief Economist at the Department of Agriculture (USDA)
– Florentino Lopez, executive director of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program
– Mark Slupek from the Office of Trade Programs (OTP) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
– Dr. Kurt Rosentrater, executive director of the Distillers Grains Technology Council
– Dr. Daniel Whitley from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
– Daniel R. Pearson, principal of Pearson International Trade Services, LLC
It was an honor to be invited back as the official photographer of this amazing conference for the second time in a row!
Last week I had a fun assignment, photographing the Holiday Inn Express at the Harbison location in Columbia. Many thanks to Dexter and Kristi at Naman Hotels for trusting me with another one of their awesome photo shoots!
This morning I had the opportunity to return to Southern Current, which is one of my favorite clients, to photograph updated head-shots for several new team members. But the best part was, I got to photograph their adorable new mascot and welcoming committee, Basil!!! 😉
Alvarez & Marsal is the consulting firm known for asking tough questions, listening well, digging in and getting their hands dirty. They are fact-driven and action-oriented. A&M uncovers and implement the right solution, at the right time, in the right way. They provides global leadership, problem solving and value creation for companies across industries and around the world.
This week I had the pleasure of photographing their annual conference at Kiawah Island Resort. All the meetings and social functions took place at The Sanctuary, one of the most amazing event spaces in town. One of my favorite keynote speakers was David Feherty, who enjoyed a successful professional golfing career, earning 10 victories, and competed in the 1991 Ryder Cup.
In addition to all the meetings and networking, the event included a few fun activities. The golf outing at the famed Ocean Course was a huge highlight! With Hurricane Michael bearing down on us, a beautiful window of sunlight opened up just long enough for everyone to complete their rounds on these historic greens.
Many thanks to Michelle and Shanna for including me in this amazing event. It truly was an honor to work with their incredible team!
Last weekend I had an awesome invitation to photograph the popular CrossFit Charleston box in Mt. Pleasant. New owners, Holly and Clint, have done an INCREDIBLE job with the place!
The workouts are tough, but scalable to anyone’s level of fitness. They have every bit of technology and equipment one needs for peak performance. But the best part is the comradery among all the participants. Everyone was so encouraging of one another…helping to motivate each other…and partnering together for extra teamwork on certain exercises.
CONGRATULATIONS Holly & Clint! You are changing lives and making Mt. Pleasant a healthier place to live!!!
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending and photographing the Horizons Unlimited traveler’s meeting at Iron Horse Lodge near Robbinsville, North Carolina. This is an event that I look forward to with great anticipation every year!
I packed my trusty Honda CB500X with my camping kit, camera kit, and a few day’s supplies. On the ride up, I made a detour to Givi USA in Charlotte to have replacement engine guards installed when my originals developed a defective hairline crack. I stayed with my friend Jenn and her awesome family for the night. Jenn is a fellow TASOK student from our days growing up in Zaire. On the second leg of the trip, I took the scenic route down the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Iron Horse Lodge.
Horizons Unlimited was founded in the 80s by Susan and Grant Johnson during their RTW, or “Round The World” adventure. It’s a wonderful resource for overland travelers, especially those tackling grand trips on their motorcycles. But more importantly, it’s a fantastic gathering of kind, creative, and like-minded individuals who are full of life and passionate about this great planet we live on and the amazing people we share it with! Horizons Unlimited has gatherings all over the world. This particular one in North Carolina, hosted by Mike Kilpatrick, was celebrating it’s 15th Anniversary this year!
In addition to photographing the event, I also led a couple photography presentations. I always enjoy sharing my love for photography with others! Check out more details about the event at: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/events/north-carolina-2018. And check out the events page to see if there’s a meetup near you. Hopefully I’ll see you at one soon!!!
As always, it was a wonderful weekend. And I look forward to coming back next year. 🙂
I have to send a huge shout out to my good friend and amazing photographer, Leigh Webber, for kindly referring me to this client.
Each year the team at Exaqueo gather in Charleston from all parts of the country for an awesome planning retreat. I was invited to join them for a portion of their time. We photographed updated head-shots, some marketing photos, and of course a few team portraits for their website.
They were such a fun, friendly, and kind group of people to work with! THANK YOU Susan and everyone on the team for being so wonderful!!!
This morning I drove to Hilton Head Island, where I set up our wireless portrait studio in the lobby of the South Atlantic Bank. We were shooting marketing material for the new branch down there.
The setup included a 9-ft white seamless Savage Background, 6 SB-800 flashes, 1 SB-5000 flash, 1 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII, and a Nikon D5. Two SB-800 flashes were placed on either side of the background about 3 feet out to illuminate it and give it that crisp clean high-key look. They were the background lights in Group C. My subjects were positioned about 4 feet from the background. To camera left, about 5 feet in front of them, and several feet off to the side, was a Manfrotto stand holding 2 SB-800 flashes, firing through a 60″ Westcott umbrella. These were the main lights in Group A. Immediately to my right was another stand with 2 SB-800 flashes, also firing through a 60″ Westcott umbrella. These were the fill lights in Group B. Last but not least, the SB-5000 on my camera was controlling all the lights. RadioPoppers were used on each flash to ensure consistent transmission.
We had a great time and came away with a wide variety of fun photos for the marketing team to work with!
It’s hard to believe, but TEN YEARS ago, I was commissioned to photograph a series of lifestyle photos for an ad campaign by a young financial services group called Commonwealth Financial. Check it out here: https://chrisandcami.com/lifestyle-series-2/.
Fast forward to today. I had the distinct honor of photographing updated head-shots for Britt Gilbert, the CEO who hired me for that first shoot 10 years ago, as well as the rest of the team!
It was AMAZING to re-connect after all these years. They are a great group of human beings. I’m so proud of their accomplishments. If you’re in need of any financial services, I highly recommend contacting them!
