Atlanta based editorial music photographer, Zack Arias.

Seamless Corporate Work ::
Thu , November 20th, 2008
Posted by zack
under Misc. Photos,Technique

corporate photography by zack arias

My good friends at Elekta called me this week to come in and shoot some images for a new service campaign they are working on. They wanted images shot on white seamless. Having been to their office a number of times I knew that there was no need to take a roll of white seamless with me and set it up. I just needed a white wall of which, they had many to choose from.

Assignment :: B&W portraits on a pure white background. Tight crops, low angles, normal angles, plenty of negative space for text and graphics.
Gear Used :: Three Nikon SB-25 flashes (paid $89 for each one!), Nikon D3, Nikon 35mm f2, Pocket Wizards.
Modifiers Used :: 10ยบ grid spot for first image (cover shot) attached to flash via a bungee cord and a LightSphere that was painted black (DarkSphere), Westcott 60″ reflective umbrella for portraits.

Here is the set up for the cover shot…

For the following portraits I took the DarkSphere and grid off of the flash and put the 60″ umbrella on. Is it the most ground breaking photography you have ever seen? Of course not. As I say in the OneLight workshop though, this is the type of work I do to pay the bills. Simply understanding how to use off camera light can increase the jobs you are able to take on.

Here are some of the portraits…

corporate photography by zack arias

corporate photography by zack arias

corporate photography by zack arias

corporate photography by zack arias

Don’t forget to add to your fine art portfolio while you are out shooting. :)

corporate photography by zack arias

Cheers,
Zack

Comments 33

33 Responses to “Seamless Corporate Work ::”

  1. Michael Gowin, on November 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm Said:

    Very nice, Zack. Love the clean elegance of the portraits. Thanks for taking us behind the scenes.

  2. steven noreyko, on November 20th, 2008 at 4:08 pm Said:

    Hi Zack,

    Short time reader, first time commenter…

    I dig what you’re saying here. Not ground-breaking but it pays the bills. I do a fair amount of this type of work right now. However, I usually go in with way too much gear.

    I need to put together a smaller kit (like your 3 SBs or ABs) for these corporate jobs instead of my usual case+ of profoto.

  3. Shane, on November 20th, 2008 at 4:28 pm Said:

    Nice work.

  4. Martin, on November 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pm Said:

    Fantastic and inspiring! $85 for the strobes is awesome. I bet you dropped a tad more for the D3?
    Can’t wait to attend a workshop next year.

  5. Tim Harman, on November 20th, 2008 at 6:19 pm Said:

    Ahhh…now I know what to do with my fong dong that is sitting collecting dust on my shelf!

    Thanks!

  6. Bill M, on November 20th, 2008 at 9:13 pm Said:

    Spiffy. Truly.

  7. zack, on November 21st, 2008 at 6:20 am Said:

    @Tim – Ha!

  8. paige stevens, on November 21st, 2008 at 7:05 am Said:

    flippin outstanding!

    LOVE the dark sphere.

  9. Tony, on November 21st, 2008 at 7:51 am Said:

    What an excellent post! I just left dave cross blog spot in which I clicked to your site. From the two posts, I learned a lot. Keep up the good work that you do… now if I can sneak a few gadgets into the house w/o breaking the bank!

  10. Alan B., on November 21st, 2008 at 8:35 am Said:

    Excellent post! I’m lovin’ the “Darksphere” as a way to leverage your existing larger grids. I guess there’s no reason you couldn’t just use gaffers tape if you’re not yet ready for the full on committment of black paint…?

  11. Kevin Fischer, on November 21st, 2008 at 8:44 am Said:

    So glad to see a new post. I just got the workshop dvds. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication you and your team put in the dvds. I enjoyed all of it. I am waiting for my activation in the OneLight Forum so that I can comment on the dvd more.

  12. Sissel, on November 21st, 2008 at 9:12 am Said:

    I am consistently inspired by you. Thank
    you. Great stuff here.

  13. rob jaudon, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:11 pm Said:

    Zach,

    Sweet post. I would be curious to see what the settings were on the flash and camera. Care to share???

  14. Aric Hoek, on November 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 am Said:

    Love the site. I have become a daily reader.

  15. Scott Fillmer, on November 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am Said:

    GREAT set of shots… I love the last one with the fire alarm. Nice to see a behind the scenes shot so we can get an idea of what goes into the setup, thanks.

  16. ross, on November 22nd, 2008 at 10:55 am Said:

    always seemless and smart work

  17. Bill Cawley (Olympia, WA), on November 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm Said:

    Awesome idea Zack! I’m painting me a first gen lightsphere!!

  18. Michael Gowin, on November 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm Said:

    In looking at these again, I have a couple questions:

    1. Did you shoot fairly tight and then open up the canvas/background in PS?

    2. If you would have had to bring a roll of seamless, what size would you have used (esp. since you shot w/ the 35mm lens)?

  19. Chad Pennington, on November 24th, 2008 at 8:43 am Said:

    Zack you make my Head spin with the stuff I see you do. Right on man. You Rock INDEED.

  20. Pascal, on November 25th, 2008 at 8:48 am Said:

    Very nice set of portraits, very simple setup, I love it.

  21. Joe, on November 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am Said:

    Hi Zack, great post, my question will identify me as a novice, but why use a painted black lightshpere instead of the clear? Also what did you use for the 10% spot?

  22. Kristi, on December 1st, 2008 at 6:52 pm Said:

    I’m starting to practice what you taught, Zack! Still searching for these spot grids…can’t find them anywhere…tips?

    these are really well done shots. thanks for sharing

  23. ernst, on February 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pm Said:

    Hi — I just bought an SB-25 flash for $90 and an umbrella. I don’t expect Zack to answer this but can anyone help with the following question?

    To replicate Zack’s setup (but with one light), I have a D80. What else do I need to buy:

    - a Wein IR Trigger to go on the camera hotshoe?

    - an IR slave hotshoe? (flash goes on the IR slave hotshoe)

    Sorry. Basic questions.

    Thanks to anyone who can help.
    Ernst

  24. zack, on February 26th, 2009 at 4:29 pm Said:

    You really need three lights. You can squeak by with 2 lights. One on the subject and one on the white wall behind the subjects.

    To do it with one light you have to have your subject leaning up against the wall and your light about 4 or 5 feet away. Note that there will be a shadow cast on the wall since your subject is leaning right up against it. But… Sometimes that isn’t a bad thing.

    Cheers,
    Zack

  25. Andrew Rodgers, on May 13th, 2009 at 10:01 am Said:

    Just got this link from Technorati. The finished work, the Service Calendar, is just above my Mac. Great job.

    Andrew

  26. zack, on May 14th, 2009 at 12:04 pm Said:

    @Andrew – I’ll have to stop by the office and pick up a few copies! I have yet to see the final piece. Thanks for stopping by the blog!

    Cheers,
    Zack

  27. Andrew Rodgers, on May 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 am Said:

    Those things flew off the shelves like hotcakes. I’ll see if I can get a copy for you, surprised Michelle didn’t keep one for you.

  28. Michael Erb, on July 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm Said:

    @Kristi – Check out the Honeycomb grids over at Alien Bees. They are made in the states and pretty cheap!

    http://www.alienbees.com/hg4x.html

  29. David Sowers / DASO Photo, on December 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am Said:

    So clean and simple…for sure adding this to my tool bag. Thanks Zack!

  30. Nate, on December 30th, 2009 at 7:33 am Said:

    Hi Zack, I’m from the Philippines and I’m a great fan of your work! I hope you could come here in the Philippines to do a Onelight workshop :) ! By the way, where did you buy the Nikon SB-25 ($89)? Thanks!

  31. dave holzemer, on June 16th, 2010 at 5:30 am Said:

    how far were the models away from that white wall.. and would the same technique your using here work in color too?

    thanks

  32. Rick, on September 13th, 2010 at 8:49 am Said:

    What’s your technique for getting even coverage on the background with 2 speedlights? I always end up with hot spots.
    Thanks,
    –Rick

  33. Mike, on January 8th, 2011 at 11:27 am Said:

    White shirts on white seamless is always impressive, I’m learning heaps from your site!

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