Welcome to the latest issues of Spotlight Magazine dedicated to Corporate & Industrial Photography and Motion. Here you will find the best corporate & Industrial photographers and directors from all over the world and their work in such areas as business photography, annual report photography, healthcare photography industrial photography, agricultural photography, among others. Photographers featured in our magazines worked for companies like Volvo Construction Equipment, Mastercard, Yahoo!,, Mercedes-Benz, Google and Microsoft, as well as for editorials like Forbes, The Guardian, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Times, The Economist, and The Fortune. Apart from breath-taking photography we feature corporate and industrial videos, such as customer stories, company profiles, etc.
With its first edition in 2009, Production Paradise releases two Spotlight Magazines dedicated to Corporate & Industrial Photography and Motion every year. Our magazines serve as a source of inspiration for big advertising and branding agencies when it comes to choosing a talent that could represent their clients’ business in the best possible way.
Corporate portrait photographer Bill Gallery shares some thoughts on how to take a perfect shot when working on an assignment:
“I do have a motion picture background but stills is the language I speak most naturally. When I arrive at a location I like to do a quick walk around to get a sense of the physical layout, the general vibe of the place, where the activity is and where the good light is. Taking note of uncluttered spaces and backgrounds is valuable as well. Ultimately though I have to shoot where the subject is, the environment is not really mine to alter, opening the window shades is usually the most I can do to influence things… As a documentary photographer I do my best work when my subjects are absorbed in their own work – that is when the real moments and opportunities present themselves. The idea is to become a forgettable presence, a part of the furniture, unthreatening. I work alone, without lighting or crew – it’s just me, a shoulder bag, a small tripod and developed sense of discretion. I am self-art directed so usually the only other person with me is my escort. Minimal works for me. My cameras are very quiet, I use telephoto for the compression and “privacy” they afford and I use wide angle for just the opposite…”
Robert Houser, who has been shooting for magazines, advertising and corporate clients for over 20 years, speaks about the challenges of shooting corporate portraits:
“When entering any business environment, I think the hardest thing in portraiture is finding a composition that can tell the story of the person or place, but not appear busy or boring. My approach is to first look for light. I try to find where the available light is best, how I can work with what is already there, how I can augment or improve it. I want to be able to set up numerous options in a corporate portrait shoot, so I use as much available light as possible. This way I can work on that connection the minute I meet my subject. Some of the set-ups might have complex lighting, but by doing a dry run with my assistant and having options, I can take my subject on a walk, from set to set. I call it a visual conversation. We keep talking as we move from location to location. It keeps them engaged and interested. And the variety of sets helps an art director or editor see a fuller story of both the individual and the business. As far as comfort with a camera pointed at them, that’s why I talk; it’s never, “Sit here and look here.” I talk, I engage, I tell stories and as much as I can, I notice. I’ll use something I read about them online, something I heard a representative say, or the accent I heard the minute I met them. Recently I was asked to bid on a project and the art director asked if I wanted someone there to talk to the subjects while I photographed them. I was surprised by the question, and replied that no, I wanted to be the one to engage them, connect with them and work with and direct their reactions.”
Bill Gallery shares some behind-the-scenes stories from the photo shoots he had done in the headquarters of the well-known companies:
“I’ve shot several projects over the years directly for the Design Group at Apple; annual reports, internal culture/values pieces and customer stories. Images shot for the education market ended up on the walls of Apple stores. Working with people as smart as they are and watching Apple’s growth has been a heady treat. Blackberry’s creative director for branding Robert Matza asked me to shoot their lifestyle image library which involved shooting in several of their major markets; Dubai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Capetown, London and New York. We had to use talent but we set up activities, rather than shots, so I could approach in an available light, documentary manner. It was a great shoot but it did get comically awkward at times when the iPhone in my camera bag would ring. It was an honor to shoot for Steve Fryckholm, the legendary director of design at Herman Miller. He asked me to shoot the company annual report which he wanted to be a collection of black and white images portraying the humanity of the Herman Miller workforce. I think over 150 images were used. The company feels more like a family and community than any other I’ve known. We shot in Michigan, Illinois and Georgia.”
You can find full interviews with Bill Gallery, Robert Houser and other corporate photographers on our blog. You can also find them and more top corporate and industrial photographers on our directory.