Looking to refine my Corporate Portraits

Corporate Portraits? I feel the need to experiment.

A large amount of my work of late is corporate portraits and the vast majority of these are headshots against white backgrounds.

Now studio style photography is fine and would be awesome if I had a proper full size studio. But given the choice I still prefer to shoot on location. So when Emer contacted me specifically requesting this and even having an idea when we should do the shoot I was more than happy to oblige.

We needed up near the magic fountains near plaza Espana. I have used locations close to here before but never really considered the this area.

Immediately  I discovered a grey wall that was shaded and had an interesting patina. I felt this little buzz one gets when you know something will work.

We also did the obligatory shots with plaza espana in the background. But for the most part we concentrated on finding interesting surfaces to act as backdrops.

Emer was a fun person to shoot because she had ideas and was also fun to chat with. A normal session is maybe an hour but ours was closer to 2.

As always I was using flash and occasionally a reflector which is a tad cumbersome without an assistant.

I am thinking to go back to using my ring flash or something. The ring flash can be a very useful on-axis fill if treated carefully, otherwise one is likely to get very surreal affects. Not least the parcullair shadows round a subject that just looks weird.

I feel I need to experiment a little more as I am getting too comfortable with the type of corporate shots I am doing. 

The only real issue is that the only alternative to flash outside is a large reflector.This really needs a second person to be on hand.

I recently discovered one of my other Good flashes can act as a transmitter for off camera units. So this could be an option if the ring flash is too expensive to repair.