Clearwater

Commercial High Tech Equipment Shoot in Clearwater for Nordson March

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A real worker being the model for this Nordson March commercial equipment shot - Nikon D300 (tripod mounted) Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/3 sec Strobist: SB-800 to frame left in 43" shoot through umbrella and SB-600 in same setup to frame right - white background added digitallyLast week I had an interesting commercial photography job in Clearwater that on the surface would sound super simple--photograph a large square machine in a warehouse, no editing required as the company's graphic artists would handle that as they use the images I make in online and print media materials.  Easy right?

Well, nothing really is ever as easy as it seems in photography.  The machine itself was about the size of two refrigerators and an off-white color, meaning reflections from any lighting I may use would be an issue.  I used two 43" shoot through umbrellas to produce maximum light surface area in order to try and minimize hot spots on the machine.  It took me quite a bit of time to position the umbrellas so that the upper corners of the machine did not appear as hot spots.  However, once everything was setup, and since I was shooting on a tripod, each shot after that was rapid.  

The purple lighting is the result of plasma being produced! - Nikon D300 (tripod mounted) Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/4th sec - Strobist: SB-800 to my left in 43" shoot through umbrella & SB-600 in same setup to my rightFour minutes after turning the machine on, plasma is produced inside!  Seeing the plasma up close like that was kind of a David Banner moment for me!  To have no glare on the LCD screen I had some of the warehouse staff hold up a white background sheet over me and the machine to diffuse the light and make the screen readable (in another closeup shot).

The two 43" shoot through umbrella setup I used to make all the shots for the shoot.The above photo is the setup I used to make the top photo in this post.  All other shots were made with a similar arrangement of the two speedlights in the shoot through umbrellas.  I have to thank the workers in the warehouse for their help holding the diffuser sheet and for not minding the good amount of space the shoot took up in the middle of their work day.

Office Staff Business Headshots on location in office in Clearwater Florida

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Part of the staff I photographed on location making business headshots for the entire office in Clearwater FloridaThis morning I drove to Clearwater to photograph nearly the entire staff of a business.  It is actually a planned two-part shoot that will entail me returning on another date yet to be determined to photograph the remaining staff.  It was my first time to make so many headshots in a row, all told thirteen different shots.  It was kind of fun for someone to walk in for a few minutes, see how they choose to smile, and then move on to the next person.  No one was really camera shy so all I had to do was tell there where to point their toes and then which way to twist and look.

camera settings for headshots: f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly @ 1/4 power & SB-600 with diffuser cap at 1/8 power pointed at backgroundI was provided with a near ideal space to make the headshots in--a long rectangular room free of obstacles and even a large table for me to spread all my gear out on.  I leaned the collapsible photography background against the wall, setup my lights, dialed in camera and strobe settings, then it was just a matter of getting the best smile out of each person.  No mess, no fuss!  Nice.

Business Headshot on white background in Clearwater Florida with Kathy

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Business headshot done on location in Clearwater, Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 42" brolly to frame left - white background added digitally in PhotoshopThis afternoon I drove to Clearwater to meet Kathy to make her business headshot.  Earlier in the week we discussed the specifics, like how she needed both a standard vertical headshot and also a full body headshot, both of which needed to be on fully white backgrounds with no shadows.  This is easy enough to do if working in a studio, but I made these shots right in her office.  Therefore, I needed to maximize the amount of blank wall I could get behind her in the space given to make it as easy as possible to add the white background later in post.  For the above standard vertical headshot, it was no problem to do.  

Full body business headshot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 42" brolly to frame right & SB-600 @1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame left - white background added digitallyNow for the above full body shot, adding the white background was much trickier because as of about two-thirds of the way down the skirt the border of the wall started and then the dark blue-gray carpet began.  This made selecting the edge of the subject using the Quick Select tool in Photoshop somewhat in exact, even after refining the edges.  After placing just the subject onto a new layer and painting in a white background, I then took that same 100% white Brush Tool and tediously smoothed the edges especially around the border of the shoes, ankles and lower skirt where the carpet was.  Still, this technique allows me to make on location shots with any background the client requests.

Kathy was a great subject easy to pose and we also had help from her cheerful office mate Rosemary.

Business Headshots done on location in your St. Petersburg office

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NEED A PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT TO REPRESENT YOU?
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TownePlace Suites Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater commercial hotel shoot

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TownePlace Suites by Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater outdoor pool - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with Nikon MC-30 cable release

Continuing my partnership with area Marriott hotels (see Historic Courtyard), last week I photographed the exterior & interior of TownePlace Suites St. Petersburg Clearwater.  This hotel is designed for long term stays with the rooms featuring kitchens and additional living and work spaces within the suites.  To my surprise, this hotel is also pet friendly, so your dog or cat can stay with you!

Lobby area features of TownePlace Suites - snacks & front desk are HDR; gym is single exposureI really liked the "In a Pinch" snack shelves for some reason, maybe because of the clever name or the fact that you can just grab a back of chips right from the lobby.  It was the hotel management's decision to photograph the front desk with no people.  The photograph mine will replace did include people.  What do you think, should a hotel lobby/front desk shot include people in it or not?

Features of suite rooms at TownePlace - kitchen, bedroom, living room are HDR; bathroom is single exposure with speedlight in the tub!Photographing rooms is very hard.  You might think making a sunset portrait on the beach is harder, but to me, photographing a hotel room is because the lighting is more of a challenge indoors.  I use a combination of HDR and off camera flash techniques to produce the best results given the rooms windows and ambient light.

Sheraton Sand Key Beach Wedding Clearwater Florida

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Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th STROBIST: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power on light stand with reflective umbrella frame leftI have photographed dozens of beach weddings over the past few years, but this was only my second daytime (i.e. non-sunset time) wedding.  The first was just over a year ago and lasted only an hour, but I still remember the heat from that one!  This wedding was two hours and a little later in the year, so I prepared myself accordingly.  

This wedding was for current DSLR Photography Lesson student Chris & his bride Valentina.  I actually first met Chris briefly over a decade ago during my USF days.  For the above photo Valentina wanted a shot that featured the back of her wedding dress.  I thought black & white made the dress stand out from the background.

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500th Nikon SB-800 TTL mode hotshoe mountedShooting a ceremony that starts at 10:30am means basically shooting in direct, harsh sunlight, i.e. the least ideal conditions.  Still, as a professional photographer one is expected to produce results.  This starts with altering expectations as of course I will not be able to produce any of my trademark stunning sunset portraits.  However, I can get very vivid blues still.  

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th SB-800 hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerI could also focus on my prefered candid style of shooting, like in the above shot of Valentina and Chris right after their first kiss as husband and wife.  Despite the power of the sunlight, I did have the one advantage of the couple facing the sun during the ceremony allowing for the best possible exposure given the conditions.

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight TTL mode hotshoe mounted This group shot is of everyone in attendance at the wedding.  The goal is to make sure everyone's head is visible.  I took a new approach this time asking people to please just stand still!  I would get the left side of the group all aligned then go to do the right and turn around to see the people on the left mingling amongst themselves again.  Finally I had to be firm and say please stand still or we will all melt in the sun!  For all future group shots I will start out with this firmness as you may find it hard to believe but adults cannot stand still either, just like kids!

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/8 ISO 200 1/640th Nikon SB-600 in TTL mode hotshoe mountedThe width of the Gulf of Mexico makes it tempting to only shoot landscape orientation shots, but I think it is important to produce a variety of shots, including ones like the above portrait orientation shot.  I still concentrate the most on getting the horizon level be it landscape or portrait orientation as my photo students know I am a stickler for level horizons.  

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight TTL mode hotshoe mountedNo sunset in the background, but the Gulf of Mexico at any time of day still makes for a pretty good backdrop.  I asked Chris if he could dip Valentina for me.  Surprisingly, he chose this kind of dip rather than putting her into the Gulf!

Sheraton Sand Key Clearwater beach wedding - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th Nikon SB-600 Speedlight TTL mode hotshoe mountedThe reception was also out in mostly direct sunlight, but nearby was a shady refreshment stand the guests hung out in until the food was ready to be served.  This is where I was able to get this candid shot of Valentina and her son.