Corporate Headshots, help please.

Clown · 16 Oct 2012 at 07:58

Work have asked me to do some portraits at work for their LinkedIn profiles. I have two wireless flashes, stands and umbrellas. I was thinking of using the white wall in the atrium but it has a big sky light above that tends to cause shadows in the eyeball, cheekbone, etc.

I don't have much experience using my flash. Should I just go with the safe 45 degree angle with one of them? Dunno what to do with the other.

olv · 16 Oct 2012 at 08:08

The skylight will not really matter as your flashes will easily overpower it. As you suggest I'd use one as your main fill light and then use the the second as a light from behind to add definition to their head or gel it a different colour and use it to add interest to the background.

Columbo · 16 Oct 2012 at 08:12

I did something similar a few months back for a staff structure to be displayed for visitors on the wall and the company website.

I just used my 50mm @ f4 and bounced the diffused flash off the ceiling using iTTL as I know nothing scientific about flash photography if I'm honest.

The camera simply sat on a tripod for the entire session with exactly the same settings dialed in so all I had to was adjust the height of the tripod to the height of the person and got 2 shots of everyone involved.

I also dont have any of that wireless stuff, reflectors or umbrellas so the flash sat on the body. They were very happy with the results.

Clown · 16 Oct 2012 at 14:36

You got any good exmaples of he kind of thing I should be aiming for?

olv · 16 Oct 2012 at 14:48

Millions of examples on strobist. Here's a more relevant one http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/on-assignment-photography-for-social.html

Clown · 16 Oct 2012 at 15:12

Thanks, mate. That blog is awesome!

GSXRMovistar · 16 Oct 2012 at 21:57

I did the same last year for the guys in our team although instead of going for a plain background I took some in situ shots of them at their desks. Floor to ceiling windows provided plenty of ambient light and then single flashgun bouncing off opposite wall for fill. Used a 50mm which allowed me to capture a landscape image showing each person at their desk and then each image was cropped for a portrait close up (chest upwards).

James J · 16 Oct 2012 at 22:27

Doubt you'd even need to use a flash if the ambient light from the skylight was good enough. Could probably get away with just a reflector being used properly on a good day.