Executive/Corporate Portraits

Just got a really fun opportunity at my day job(I work for an engineering firm.)

A few of the executives and a few engineers need formal portraits taken for in house publications and they need digital files. The VP of the company just happened to know that I have a fairly serious interest in photography and asked me to take them. So far I've only been doing candids and informal/outdoor stuff, so this will be a fun change. As luck would have it, I'd ordered the beginner bee package from Alien Bees and it came in just a few days ago, so it looks like I get to use it for something other than play!

I've been searching the web for tips on this type of portrait for a few days now and have a few ideas, but nothing concrete.

So, I have an idea of what I want to do. We have an awesome executive conference room that is mahogany(I think) paneled and has can lights around the outside edges. I'm thinking that would make a pretty nice background...probably.​..but I haven't checked color temp in there yet. So I set up with the subject about 4 feet in front of the wall, short light them a bit with the Bee set up just above eye level and a reflector on the other side at about the same angle for a little fill. Chest up shots, with the camera lens about chin height. Use my 85mm f/1.8 @ f/8 and let 'er fly. I think the 85mm should be fine in there...it's a big room. I'll take some test shots and meter off a gray card to get the strobe set.

As far as posing, I think putting them with their body facing my left, head turned to my right and head slightly tilted to their right shoulder, chin up, should pretty much work.

Anyway, it's a pretty fun group of guys, so it's not any high pressure deal, but I thought I'd see if anybody had any further thoughts on the subject. I didn't find much info on this type of portrait and I'd like to do it with just a little style if at all possible.

DOn't shoot straight on to the paneling or the reflections will drive you nuts!
Maybe take half facing left & half facing right. Get at least one of the CEO in a more centered position. Then if they run them in a row, or make a comp...

If I understand this correctly you'll be using one flash with a reflector against a dark brown background.

First you'll have to keep the reflector very close to the subject so that you pump some light into the shubject to reduce the contrast. If the reflector is too far away it won't work. I'd also keep the flash fairly close to the camera. It won't be the most attactive lighting but at least it' would work.

The bigger problem is going to be is that any dark haired person's hair is going to get lost against a dark back ground. If I use a dark background then I MUST use a harolight to separate them from the backgound. Otherwisew their harir and the backgound blen together.

I usually use a light grey bakground for my executive portraits. Once again it's not all that dramatic but the reproduction from a dark backgound - especially in a newspaper or newsletter - will be so back that even a hairlight wouldn't help

Thanks for the tip Frank...I'll make sure when I set up to note whether I'm catching glare off the panels...I appreciate it!

Thanks for all the info Dave...that's exactly the setup I will be using. My poor wife has been letting me practice with the setup and I noticed her hair wasn't lit well at all. I guess it's something I'm going to have to live with for now. Luckily, most of these guys are either salt & peppered, very gray, or bald...not that I have room to make fun...so hopefully it won't be a huge problem.

Thanks again for taking the time to give me pointers! I'll post a few next week and see how it turns out.

Some years ago I was working for a company whose CEO was mostly bald with a little white hair around the sides. We had a company luncheon, and I shot a candid of him. It was an honest photo, and it showed a stern jaw, blue eyes, and an executive expression with a lot of years on the face.

Then a few months later, a gal in the company told me that she was trying to help the CEO get set up on a computer dating service. So, she asked me if I would be able to shoot his portrait, without him knowing. Geez, that's a tough one. But I already had the one decent candid from before. Good. She wanted me to make sure that the portrait shot was "really nice" before I gave her the file. OK.

I made three versions of the file. The first one was the straight/honest shot. For the second one, I did a little Photoshop work to add a little more white hair farther up. I left all of the facial wrinkles in, but I reduced their depth a lot, and that alone probably took off five years of apparent age. For the third one, I did a lot more Photoshop work and extended the white hair on up, leaving it just thin on top. I took out all of the facial wrinkles and did some other magic. I gave the gal all three files and told her to sort it out, and I would disavow any knowledge of the whole deal. She put him into the dating service with the middle photo and left it there for about two months. No action. So she took the middle photo off and put up the third photo. Last I heard he was heading off to Vegas for a quicky.

---Bob Gross---

LOL...well they say first impressions are everything, right? So I guess if a first impression is a little bit of a fib and you make up for it later, all is good!

I posted my results in the People section:

http://www.photography​-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=98843

Frank...you were right about the paneling. Did a quick test and hated the reflections and didn't find an angle I liked. Went with some ugly wallpaper in another area, but I think it worked alright.

Hopefully the wallpaper helped with the hair light problem.

Thanks everyone for the tips!

Remember that anything you shoot while on company time may belong to the company per your employment contract. I know you are just doing this for fun, but don't let that cloud your vision - you are potentially saving these guys a few grand. I would use a written agreement that allows the company usage of the images, but also specifies that you can at least have print & web portfolio usage of the images. Conducting the business end of photography like a professional is even more important than shooting like a professional. Just some food for thought.

Thanks Joe. I should talk to a few of them and get releases to use them in my portfolio. I was happy just getting the oportunity. I'm hourly and this was on the clock, so I was happy with that, but I did get a little something else for it...more than I thought I'd get!

I am by no means a pro and know little of taking portraits but I would say for a first effort you did an admirable job.