In November of 2021 I was commissioned to shoot headshots and images for Telegraph Media Group's careers website. Being my first commissioned work in the United Kingdom and without the same network and resources I had in South Africa it was an exciting challenge to take on. 

The shoot took place over two days in the London Victoria Office. Liasing with stakeholders across the business to capture professional headshots.

Rolling through each staff member within a 2-7 minute slot meant that poses had to be coordinated and simple enough to be communicated thoroughly and easily while making sure each staff member felt comfortable and confident with their shot. In addition I found it important to leave 2 minutes at the end of each slot for each member to be a part of the process and review and select their favourite shot for the retoucher. 

One of the biggest challenges wasn't completing the shots in the allocated time nor was it navigating the messy underground and busses through London city heaving massive bags and cases of heavy gear. It was organising and completing all the elements of my work without my network. I had been roped into photography through community and creative networks of friends and professionals and without the same people to call up for advice, for rental equipment or to even recommend me for jobs it was challenging to begin the groundwork for building a new one in a different country. Without the help of family and friends I wouldn't of been able to begin the process or get a foot in the door and for that I'm incredibly grateful. 

I left behind a lot of gear in South Africa and that meant that I needed to rent external lights I had never used before and hire a reliable retoucher to edit and process the photos ,on the clients and my timeline, instead of retouching the images myself. This meant making a lot of phone call's and collecting heaps of quotes and options. I'm used to dealing with a person face to face to do business but the entire process from gear accruement to finished product needed to be done virtually and that meant putting in a lot of steps to insure things happened on time.

- As I had just arrived in the UK from South Africa i hadn't had a network of rental houses from who I could rent. Establishing rental house connections become my first priority. 

- Communicating with a remote Retoucher to deliver the final images in high quality, and to my stylised brief and with usable images for the company while staying within budget.
- Communicating poses and actions, but also giving the freedom to each member of staff to select their favourite images that best 'represents' how they'd like to present on the company profile. 
Highlights:

- Everyone's happy reaction to their portrait being taken. Often a process that without experience people can feel intimidated by - it was so rewarding for everyone to feel at ease and flattered by their portrayal. 

- The final result for the images are crisp, clean, efficient and professional and I couldn't ask for more. 

Gear Used:

Godox V850 Speed Light 

Godox V-Mount Bracket

Shoot Through Umbrella

2x Elinchrom ELB 400 lighting Kit

135 cm Elinchrom Rotalux Ocabox