This was a great fun session and for me pleasing to have the conditions and willingness to shoot slightly differently.
I’ve previously photographed team members at Yellowtail though at that time I was replicating their initial headshot style which, though taken by a photographer in London, was based on an American photographer’s style! This time Yellowtail were looking to move forward with a more relaxed style, one that expresses their own ethos and brand.
It was great to be offered a pre-meet at their new offices although I have previously photographed the empty space for the managing agents! However we were able to talk through the shoot, work out where we might take the images and, for me, I was able to pre-visualise the headshot session and plan the lighting. The area with the fantastic wallpaper was a huge bonus.
We wanted to be reasonably flexible with the session, not have everyone in exactly the same pose and position. As such I was lighting a scene as well as the individuals and I opted for a booklight setup more often used in cinematography. Basically the strobe is bounced off a wall (softening it) and light passes through a diffusion material which in this case is simple un-bleached muslin. This approach provides a spread of lovely soft light complimented by a simple fill-light bounced from the ceiling.
In tandem to setting up the headshots I was able to nip into team workshops and glean some great candid images just using the available lighting in the room. Yellowtail now have a varied stock of images in different styles that will support their corporate communications and help populate the upcoming website.
