Corporate Photography in London

Thames Night Photographs

2011-12-20T01:56:00.000-08:00

Two Minute Corporate Portrait

2011-12-20T01:54:00.001-08:00

The Thames and Docklands at Night

2011-11-04T03:32:00.001-07:00

Office Portrait

2011-08-30T09:39:00.001-07:00

Another Legal Team

2011-04-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

Legal Team

2011-03-04T10:15:00.001-08:00

Shiny Happy People

2011-01-22T10:10:00.001-08:00

Soviet Hero

2011-01-16T07:14:00.001-08:00

Phoenix Futures

2011-01-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

Eurosport Executives

2010-12-20T07:04:00.001-08:00

Canary Wharf Colour Treatments

2010-07-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

Private Equity Lawyers

2010-07-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

Norwegian Cruise Liners - New Ship 'The Epic'

2010-06-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

Thomas Cook Cruise Magazine Pictures 'My Cruise'

Contact Sheet Available here

The Codemakers

2010-06-16T08:44:00.001-07:00

Top 10 Ways to Piss off a Photographer!

2010-06-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

Don't do these ten things.

This quote from John Harrington rings so true as well

"Tell me it's only two portraits after I quoted you for five, and then after I re-quote you for two, and turn up, you try to sneak in the other three"

FTSE Group Executives

2010-06-06T05:07:00.001-07:00

The Kindness of Strangers

2010-06-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks I've been working on a direct marketing campaign for the National Blood Service and I've heard some wonderful stories about peoples lives who been saved by donations of blood, platelets, plasma and organs.
This little boy was born with a rare genetic condition which would have meant that he would have died without a bone marrow transplant. Today I'm pleased to say that because of the kindness of strangers that he is free of this condition and can look forward to a lifetime of good health. I'm now in the process of becoming a blood donor and I urge others to do the same, you could be changing or saving the lives of others in ways you'd never imagine. So 'Do Something Amazing' http://www.blood.co.uk/giving-blood/

Blood Donor Nurses

2010-05-29T07:54:00.001-07:00

Lloyds of London

2010-05-29T01:46:00.001-07:00

The Friendly CEO

2010-05-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

Young Guns

2010-05-13T08:31:00.001-07:00

Nobody's Going to Use Your Boring Press Release

2010-04-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Let's face it nobody is going to use your boring press release or visit your website, especially if it's accompanied by some even more dull heads-shots of middle aged executives in dark suits! Nobody's really interested except your own company!

However there is a WAY OUT and a way to get noticed or published - you need to accompany it with some exciting, engaging and interesting pictures.

STOP buying on price when commissioning photography and start using your imagination a bit more. Start fighting the lame excuses of small or no budgets and explain to your CEO/CFO that the only way your going to get published is when you spend just a little more on pictures. You probably spend a small fortune on retainers to PR Consultant's. What's the problem about spending a couple of hundred pounds more on some decent pictures? Buying photography is not the same as buying photocopier paper - you should be spending the money on a photographers skill and imagination not just someone that owns a camera and computer!

Business Stock Photography

2010-02-10T05:12:00.000-08:00

With digital photography you often take so many pictures it's difficult to see the 'wood for the trees'

Here are some pictures I took in London a few months ago that I've only just noticed in my digital archives. Time to see the light of day I think! My library of stock pictures of London is starting to look quite big now

A Gloomy Day in London

2010-02-08T12:23:00.001-08:00

I recently photographed an event at City Hall - the home of the London Assembly. I took advantage of the high viewpoint to take a picture of Tower Bridge in the gloomy morning light.

2010 a New Dawn? Certainly a New Decade

2010-01-06T00:05:00.001-08:00

I'm feeling pretty optimistic (relative to this time last year) about business prospects for the next year.

Cool CV

2009-12-15T07:47:00.001-08:00

I was doing some research on contract publishers and came across this Creative Director/Art Directors CV which I thought really stood out from most documents designed in Microsoft Word

A Recent Group Shot

2009-11-26T11:43:00.001-08:00

I'm often asked to take group photographs of senior executives for annual reports, brochures, presentations etc.

It's often difficult to get everyone together at the same time, especially if the key people involved work at different offices in different places. One of the ways of reducing the potential complex logistics involved in arranging a group shot is to photograph the individuals seperately and then after after composite the individual portraits together in Photoshop and create the 'virtual' team photograph. Not only is this more convenient than arranging a group photographic session but also if individuals leave the team then it's relatively easy to photograph new team members and then incorporate them into the new team shot.

Below is a recent example of a group photograph that I took of an Insurance syndicate. I took a wide variety of pictures of each individual in different poses and then after the pictures were arranged in photoshop to create the team picture.

Major Teaching Hospital - Picture Library

2009-06-16T08:17:00.001-07:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to photograph the day-to-day work of a major London teaching hospital. The NHS Trust commissioned me to take photographs for a picture library that they will be using to illustrate their annual reports, websites and brochures. It was a very enjoyable experience witnessing the skill, dedication and hard work of the the people of NHS in action

Below are just a few of over 2000 images that I took for the project.

Recent Work for the NHS

2009-06-16T05:46:00.001-07:00

Do Companies Make Anything in the UK Anymore?

2009-05-09T01:13:00.001-07:00

Much as I like photographing senior executives, management teams and boards of directors once it a while it would be great if I could also photograph assets or people at the sharp end of a business. I long for a job that entails going to an oil refinery, power station, factory, mine etc and getting pictures of a company's physical assets or people using their talents and skills rather than just intellectual work.

It's a real shame but the annual report market in the UK is different to the USA and is primarily concerned with presenting the business facts to analysts rather than telling the story of the company. Here is a Denver based photographer who is continually out on location doing the stuff I'd love to do.

Here also is a link to six page PDF magazine article about my architectural work.

Commissioning Photography for Corporate Communications

2009-05-03T02:52:00.001-07:00

I'm often amazed at the general lack of knowledge from corporate communications and PR people about commissioning photography. Often a large organisation will pay considerable monthly retainer to a PR Firm to ensure that the company is perceived well by the media; but when it comes time to have the pictures for the annual report photographs then the task of choosing a photographer is often delegated to the CEO's Personal Assistant or the office facilities manager! I frequently receive requests to quote for taking portraits of the CEO or the board of directors, but the only question I get asked is how much? I get the impression that the poor PA is given the task of selecting a photographer and completely lacks the knowledge of where to go from there! Of course the first thing they do is a Google Search on local photographers and then send out an email to first people at the top of the search who appear to be able to do this sort of work asking how much. Consequently the general standard of photography in the UK for corporate photography is very poor simply because the only criteria for selection of a photographer are price.

Photography is not a commodity; it's not the same as choosing the supplier for office stationary. Good photography used in conjunction with a well designed and written report can be a highly effective tool in your company's communications strategy. So if you are in the market for commissioning a photographer then please let me know before you send out the request for quotes and I will provide you with some guidance, this will include a list of specific questions to ask photographers on both the business and technical aspects to ensure that the commission process is more objective, smoother and that you do not encounter any nasty surprises or disappointments.

Here is a link to a photographer who in my opinion takes first class portraits of business people http://benbakerbusiness.com/

Why I Use a PC

2009-05-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Microsoft Outlook needed to be reinstalled and rebuilt on my computer as it was causing me a lot of grief. I know that if I were using a Mac for my main machine (as I used to) I would not have to put up with all this tinkering to get work done, but the problem with using a Mac is that all my clients use PC's. However there are compensations though such as Onenote which I love

Increasingly many of the day to day applications are on the Net. For example I use Photoshelter for management of my archives and distribution of client pictures. My clients really appreciate the ability to choose pictures, set-up a lightbox and then distribute the high resolution pictures throughout the organization without all the hassle of large email attachments.

I can see a time in the near future where my complete workflow can be conducted via a browser and a high speed connection to the web and quite frankly I cannot wait for this as I won't need to maintain my personal computer and can spend more time taking photographs rather than be the IT Guy!

I just got upgraded

2009-04-27T09:47:00.001-07:00

Today my broadband connection was upgraded from a 20Mb connection to a 50Mb. I needed to upgrade not necessarily because of the download speeds but because I needed additional upstream bandwidth of 1.5Mbs. Increasingly I'm delivering my pictures over the Internet to the client area of my website rather than on DVD/CDs and often I'm delivering over a hundred high resolution JPEGs online and a standard ADSL connection doesn't cut it for such a task.

I remember when I first connected to the Internet at the amazing speed of 28Kbs! It was a real thrill to connect to a computer in America and control it remotely via a Terminal Interface. (Sad I know) When I first connected there were no browsers, everything was done on a command line interface with Unix commands. This enthusiasm for the Net led me to a new career away from Photography for over ten years to join the Dot Com Revolution. I used to read Wired magazine and pour over technical manuals and I found the whole thing thrilling. Most of the predictions that Wired Magazine gave came true but it's amazing how we now take them for granted and how everything becomes so ordinary over time.

Getting Things Done

2009-04-26T05:09:00.001-07:00

Many of my clients work in Corporate Communications Departments of large companies. Increasingly I'm seeing these people having to do a lot more with fewer resources and as a result suffering stress – a book that I've recently read might prove useful in gaining control again. This book rambles on a bit but worthwhile persevering as there are some useful tips

Getting Things Done

Small Flashguns – Great Results

2009-04-25T06:05:00.001-07:00

I used to use tethered lighting equipment. Normally several Elinchrom flash packs with associated equipment such as OCTA Lights would fill my car. I'd drive to customer locations and it would be a nightmare setting up the kit and finding parking space etc. Then I discovered a website called The Strobist and played around with small flashguns off camera. The techniques I learn there and subsequently from Joe McNally have changed my professional life. Easier for travelling and much less disruptive in crowded offices Nikon Speedlights are powerful but very portable units.

Now clients are delighted with how many variations on can get on a portrait in a short space of time and also I'm over the moon with how compact the kit is. I'm continuing to learn new lighting techniques and how to get the best of the equipment from websites such as these

My New Website

2009-04-24T04:52:00.001-07:00

I'm pleased that my new website is now operational and has the domain name of www.corporateheadshots.eu
I'm now waiting for my logo design for stationery and branding which should be done in the next few days

Typical CEO Portrait

2009-04-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

The Chief Executive Officer Portrait Session

Earlier this month I was tasked with taking a portrait of the New CEO of a large company that provides specialist software, outsourcing of Human Resource to government, education and the public safety markets. For the portrait I was given a room that was not particularly inspiring been predominately lit by fluorescent lighting and slightly shabby as having been used for storage of desks and AV Equipment. I decided that I would need to carefully use lighting to get more drama and provide a subtle suggestion of high technology in use. I was given up to an hour, but I knew that I really needed to get all the pictures within 20 minutes or so as most senior executives will get impatient or lose concentration for a photographic session long before an hour is up.

I used a small softbox from above to light his face and then another snooted flash unit on the floor with coloured gels to add a bit more drama to the concrete pillar behind him. These images have been taken with editorial usage in mind and the pictures would be very welcomed for perhaps for an interview or a profile of the new CEO in the company magazine or in a magazine such as Management Today and Personnel Today.

Once I was satisfied that I had enough variety of pictures for editorial usage. I quickly set-up a new lighting in front of the companies display stands. These pictures were taken with a view for usage for PR Purposes and were more orientated to be sent out with a PR Release announcement of the new CEO. This time I used less dramatic lighting and I knew that the pictures had to be versatile to be possibly reproduced as black and white in a newspaper and also on websites etc.

Finally I need a set of pictures that hinted at the CEO been at work within a busy office that could perhaps be used in annual report or conference brochure. We relocated into a large open plan office and used natural daylight from a window to create a range of natural looking portraits. As the daylight was very low I had to use very high ISO ratings to take the pictures without blurring, but fortunately digital cameras are now so good that these pictures are virtually free of grain and noise.

This portrait session only lasted between 15-20 minutes in total and the CEO was made to feel at ease and importantly the pictures taken with little fuss or disruption to his daily schedule, thus creating a good impression of the Corporate Communications Department for the new CEO.

Equipment

A lot of my work is in Central London or the City of London and parking can be very expensive or difficult to find and that's why I've endeavoured to find equipment that gives me flexibility and power but at the same time is easy to pack and if necessary easily be carried with me on public transport.

My actual camera bag contains two of the very latest Nikon digital cameras along with a 12-24mm Zoom, a 28-70mm Zoom and a 70-210mm Zoom. In addition to the Zoom lenses I will also carry fixed focal lenses of 50mm, 60mm Macro and 85mm with very large apertures, which will enable me to shoot in very low light situations but also have the ability to throw the background out of focus to help eliminate cluttered backgrounds.

For lighting equipment I now tend to use four small and powerful Nikon Speedlights which can be wirelessly controlled via the cameras. I almost always mount these Nikon Units on stands and attach light modifiers as the lighting on flash can be unflattering and very boring. This lighting outfit gives me the ability to setup and dismantle equipment within minutes and also the ability to alter the lighting setup, furthermore I'm not dependent on an external power source and I can work both internally and externally without separate power requirements.