This month, I’d a huge project to photograph the senior managers of the Omnicom Media Group. It was planned to take three days, but we know how people hate having their photograph being taken and avoid the appointment.
So how do we make this a better experience? Firstly, I send a briefing paper to the staff to help them understand what will be expected of them and explaining what’s best to wear, e.g. patterns and colours to avoid, etc. When it comes to the photo shoot, I like to spend a bit of time before we start clicking. We chat and joke a little (my assistant is very funny), put a little make-up powder on to dampen any shine, take any lint off dark jackets and clean glasses. These things give me time to get the person relaxed and comfortable with me and the studio environment.
This photo shoot was lots of fun, maybe because they were all senior management and, therefore, a bit more relaxed in their own skin. We used the OMG chair so there would be a motif to link all the photos.
It is an interesting observation seeing how people react to the same, almost laboratory controlled, environment. Personalities show through immediately, the shy, the outgoing, the creative. We could tell the accountants from the personnel managers, the creatives from the IT specialists, within seconds. I love that.
It turns out the red chair has been a theme for many years. I was the first professional to take the photos too. I found this out over the course of the three days, especially when one guy came in with his previous staff photos asking us to improve on them!
I think we succeeded, but here is a small selection so you can make up your own mind.
