Professional Headshots with the Profoto B10 Plus and 3ft Octabox at the Chicago City Library
Headshots are in huge demand right now. Why? Well, if I had to guess, more people than ever are working remotely and most companies want more than a glorified selfie for their profiles. Headshots may not be the sexiest thing you add to your portfolio, but they generate revenue for your business and can be fun and challenging for you to sharpen your lighting skills.
Recently, we were tagged by CBRE which manages the Chicago City Library. They needed team shots and updated headshots. The catch? SPEED. We had about 1 hour to get set up and shoot 24 headshots and 10 group shots in multiple locations in the building. Makes sense when you think about it, right? This is a government building with employees. Time is money. So, as a company, we can’t have employees sitting around waiting for a picture to be taken. As a photography studio, my job is to ensure I move quickly and efficiently to create well lit professional looking images for the client.
Challenge accepted.
Equipment
Lighting: Profoto B10 Plus, Profoto 3ft Octa Box, Profoto 1ftx4ft Strip Box, Profoto A1x w Grid
Camera: Canon EOS R5 | Lens: Canon 85mm f1.2, Canon 15-35 f2.8
Other: Backdrop Stand, Grey Cloth Backdrop, Miscellaneous Light Stands
Team Headshots
For the team shots, we were in the main lobby, again, we had to move quickly and be done before the library opened to the public. I used a Profoto B10 Plus as the main light with the Profoto 1ftx4ft Strip box. However, this was a dimly lit lobby. In my mind, I didn’t want to balance the shot with the ambient light in the room. I wanted something a little more moody for them. A single light was too directional for group shots, so to create a nice soft fill I took a second B10 Plus and fired it into the ceiling using the ceiling as a giant overhead soft box.
Check out the behind the scenes and a few final images below.
behind the scenes
Final Images
Settings: 1/100 @ f5.6 ISO 800
Settings: 1/100 @ f5.6 ISO 800
Settings: 1/100 @ f5.6 ISO 800
Individual Headshots
Next up were the individual headshots. For this, we set up in an upstairs office area so we had to keep a relatively small foot print. Here I used a basic 3-light set up. Main light was the Profoto B10 Plus with 3ft Octa Box and the fill light was the Profoto B10 Plus and 1ftx4ft Strip Box. The third light was a Profoto A1x with a grid used to create some edge light on our subjects.
The challenge in some of these small spaces is controlling light. These are rarely perfectly dark rooms and rarely have tall ceilings. So, when you are firing your strobes, there is always the risk of light spill going everywhere. I spend a lot of time in the beginning making sure I like how the light is behaving. There is nothing worse than getting these into post-production and seeing poor light control. In addition, offices typically have florescent lighting which can cause a freaking nightmare for color balance and frequency issues. My advice, cut the overhead lights. ALWAYS. I’ve learned the hardware. Trust me here.
Check out the behind the scenes and a few final images below.
behind the scenes
Final Images
Settings: 1/200 @ f2.8 ISO 100
Settings: 1/200 @ f2.8 ISO 100
Settings: 1/200 @ f2.8 ISO 100
