A FUN PART OF WORKING WITH THE SAME COMPANY OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS BEING ABLE TO BETTER ACQUAINT OURSELVES WITH THEIR STAFF

We go into Imagine Canada to shoot their staff headshots (for new staff and anyone who wants an update) a couple of times a year and every time we shoot it feels like we’re getting better and better; better at our workflow with them (as they’re generally quite pressed for time) better with recognizing who’s who, and even better with knowing how comfortable they are in front of the camera.

For these photos we actually went to their HQ to shoot and given that it was such a beautiful day out we decided to take to their patio to shoot. Being so high up gave us a backdrop mixed with sky and greenery so we opted out of our usual backdrop set up. The patio was either covered in shade or exposed to high noon sunlight so we (obviously) opted to shoot in the shade. As we tested we found that fully natural light photos were too flat so we added in some soft fill light to brighten people’s faces up.

See more photos down below…

PS. Staff are asked to select an adjective that best describes themselves which we later add in post, in English & French.

THE LAST JOB I (stef) HAD BEFORE DIVING FULL TIME INTO PHOTOGRAPHY WAS WORKING AT SQUARE ONE…

So getting a call from one of my old co-workers asking to come back and shoot some of the staff felt like a full circle moment. Oxford (the parent company of Square One) has an online directory of all of its staff, headshot included, and I remember getting mine taken once or twice in my time there. Turns out this year was the year of getting photos updated so when Suzie, the marketing assistant, caught wind she immediately thought of us and reached out. It was almost surreal going back to work at the mall but not quite for the mall in the same way as before. It was also so nice to see so many familiar faces and catch up in between shooting!

Since we were shooting everyone employed by Oxford (management, housekeeping, guest services, maintenance staff, security, etc.) we embarked on a multi-day shoot to try and get in as many people as possible. We had a little studio set up (either in the boardroom or whatever office space was available) with a large softbox for some soft even light, and staff came during or between their shift while we were there.

While we can’t share all of the staff (there’d be way too many photos) check out a handful of them down below…