Alan Tisch
A New Venture: Expo 360
Expo 360 is a new venture headed up by my mate Alan Tisch, who I’ve known for donkey’s years. He’s teamed up with Carl Timms, Matt Peters, and Graham Nelson to offer a vast range of experience in video photography and all the latest high-tech and marketing technology you could ever dream of.
The Brief: New Website Imagery
The Expo 360 team were building a new website and needed images of each team member, as well as some snaps of the team together. We decided to take advantage of a team meeting they were having at Huddersfield Football Stadium in one of the meeting rooms.
The Challenge: Finding the Perfect Backdrop
As you can imagine, every football stadium is completely covered on the inside with trophies, jerseys, advertising, photographs, and other graphics. Finding somewhere reasonably clear to take the headshots without loads of distractions in the background was a bit of a challenge, but we managed to find a spot in a concourse with a plain wall.
The Photoshoot: Capturing Personalities
We set up lighting and invited each of the directors in for their headshots. Using my usual style, we started with them just doing what they’d normally do in any posed situation to help them feel comfortable. Then we gradually went through four or five different poses including hands in pockets, arms folded, Rodin’s The Thinker, and anything else I could coax out of them. The aim was to take them from their serious professional look to getting a genuine smile that reflects their personality. All four of the Expo 360 directors happily joined in the fun, and we captured some great shots of them doing all kinds of things.
The Group Shot: Taking It Outside
We didn’t think the indoor space was suitable for group photos, so we headed outside, where we found a lovely blue wall that corresponded to the theme of their website – the ideal backdrop. We started off with photos of all four stood in their natural positions. The light was nice and bright outside, so there was no need for flash to light their faces. Instead, I put flashes behind them at 45 degrees just to add a little bit of rim lighting and make them pop out of the background, which worked a treat.
The Final Shots
After they had done their natural pose, we went through more casual ones with their hands in their pockets and a few other poses like everyone with their arms folded. I reckon everyone doing the thinking shot was probably my favourite of the day.
The Result
Once we had wrapped up, I packed up and let the guys get on with their busy day of director meetings and planning for the future success of their new business. I was chuffed that the Expo 360 team now had a consistent set of headshots, which all had the same flavour and make them look like they’re in the same company when you find them on LinkedIn and on their smashing new website.