Here are two quick location portraits I did for the University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. This portrait was meant to show new students in one of the wet labs, pursuing a degree in science and mathematics. I love shooting in labs. They’re always crammed full of science, lots of glass, and are generally a divided room with semi open shelves in the middle. Having access to the space behind my subject allows me to add light, and push some flash through the glass beakers and other experiments. It creates depth and a little excitement, even if it’s out of focus. With both these photos I was using a 50mm 1.4, close to wide open to create a shallow depth of field. There’s so much stuff and light behind the subject, I wanted to keep it out of focus to just give an idea of where they are, without showing all the details. Lighting was two Nikon speedlights controlled by a third, one in a 24×24 softbox, the other with no modifier on the counter behind the subject. Everything was shot iTTL on a Nikon D810. As a commercial photographer, I often don’t have much time to create portraits, usually 5-10 minutes, but sometimes less. 179 frames in 21 minutes.
Nikon D810, Nikon 50mm 1.4, SB-910, SB-900, SB-800.
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