Just today, I finished an assignment for Berks County Living Magazine. The magazine is doing an article in their September issue on the ten largest employers here in Berks County. My job was to photograph the CEOs, Presidents, Directors, owners, etc. of each of these employers. This was indeed a boon to me as I would be able to get in front of not only the head honchos but the marketing people as well.
I was given the contact information by my editor and I proceeded to make the contacts and arrange to get these photos done. I thought that the best idea would be to take a two-step approach and schedule a scouting visit to select the best location for the shoot and then, schedule the actual shoot. Since many of these VIPs have little time for this sort of thing I wanted to be prepared in advance so I could get them photographed in less than half an hour. In some cases I had only 15 minutes.
In order to work fast and still maintain high quality work, I pared my kit down to a minimum. I used my D700 with a 24-70mm zoom lens and carried a Nikon SB900 speedlight with a 2' x 3' softbox on a lightstand or attached to a monopod (if I had someone to help me). My goal was to blend the speedlight with the existing ambient light. So getting the right settings in advance was crucial. I did several outdoor shots as well using a combination of fill flash, diffusers, reflectors, or just plain natural light.
The preparation worked and the shots look great. Here are a few samples.
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