Case Study: Shaw and Partners Photoshoot

Shaw and Partners is one of Australia’s preeminent investment advice and wealth management firms. The firm is based in Melbourne, and we were engaged to photograph their team (all sixty of them!) at their headquarters on Collins Street.

The brief 

The client required portrait photography of their team members that was professional, polished and still approachable. We were to shoot in two locations in their boardroom: in front of their logo, and in front of the cityscape view from the window.

With about sixty portraits to work through (times two by location), we allocated two days onsite to get the job done.

Studio-quality photography, on location 

We visited the location prior to the photoshoot to ensure a seamless set up. We found achieving the cityscape background directly through the window framing would be challenging, as it obstructs a clear view of the city. Our solution for this was to capture a photo of the cityscape from the boardroom and later edit it into the photos during post-production.

On the days of the shoot, our photographer brought everything he needed for studio-quality photography in the Shaw and Partners boardroom. This included:

• Portable studio flash units with light modifiers that include soft boxes, umbrellas and reflectors
• A second lighting kit for the photos in front of the logo (this would ensure a smooth transition from one photo location to the other)
• A portable white backdrop

We engaged with the team to stand and pose comfortably and naturally in front of the camera; not only did this help them look at ease in the photo, but it also gave each portrait its individuality, rather than having them look like carbon copies of each other. 

The results

Once we finalised photography on the day, our editing included colour correction, exposure adjustment, contrast, cropping and sharpening, along with placing in the cityscape background. Within three to four days, the client received 2-3 finished edited images of each staff member in web size and high resolution, plus some small group photos.