One of the most challenging aspects of being a freelance photographer is finding the right environment to photograph an important subject. I shoot pretty regularly for a magazine called Regeneration. It is an amazing publication that focuses on public and privately lead initiatives to revitalize the UK, and frequently features a number of Britain’s key movers and shakers.
While it is a very cool opportunity to meet men and women who are doing interesting things to enrich the lives of the general public, as they are moving and shaking, they rarely have time to sit beyond four frames. Creating an interesting shot in a few mere minutes is my task.
For the portrait of Ed Mayo, Chief-Executive of the Co-Operatives UK and one of the UK’s leading thinkers for economics, community and consumer issues, I decided that the simple blue staircase with plain white wall outside the office was an ideal place. It was close to where he was, allowed me to get his undivided attention, and eliminated all of the clutter typically found in a British office building. (It’s been some time since I worked in the US, so I could be completely deluded as to how uncluttered an American office might be.)
After about this fourth frame, you can see that the subject has checked out. Crazy as it may seem, but once those frames are done, it’s got to be in the bag.
One Comment
Well my American “office” is in various stages of chaos… could be because we Aussies inherited the office habits of the poms. Love his tie.