Headshots for Square One Shopping Centre

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…

Portrait Session with Toronto Actor, Neel Nash

YOU KNOW THOSE PEOPLE WHO YOU INSTANTLY VIBE AND FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH?

Neel’s one of them! The week that we were trying to shoot was a complete mess (for me) and I honestly didn’t think that we were going to make things work, but Neel had an audition coming up and needed new portraits ASAP.

Neel is so open and charismatic, he started off our session telling me all about himself and then asking about me… he more specifically said ‘who is Stef?’ which made me feel like that meme or tweet that’s says “that feeling when someone says ‘tell me about yourself’ and you suddenly don’t know who you are”.

We don’t often get the chance to sit and talk with people before we start shooting. Our subjects are usually on the go and only have a limited amount of time to spare, and sometimes don’t even really want to get their photo taken so they can be quiet and antsy for everything to be over. It’s refreshing when we have people who are eager to shoot, who are talkative, and who genuinely want to go in depth about who we are and what we do.

Despite this week being hectic I’m so happy to have met Neel and spent time getting to know him, even just for a bit, because he really reminded me about how much photography/shooting puts me at ease and makes me feel calm (more often than not haha).

We definitely spent more time talking than we did shooting, but when we did shoot we walked around both inside and outside of his condo, and even went down the common/event space area of the building- which believe you me, in this building is insanely beautiful!- using all natural light to create a few different portraits of him that he could use for his audition and even general self-promotion.

See a few photos from our shoot down below

HOST Clothing

IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER THAN WORKING WITH YOUR FRIENDS?

Definitely not! Our good friend Al started a little clothing company called Host a while ago and has been building up his collection with a few statement pieces as he prepares to launch. When he asked us to shoot we were super excited but also the first to admit that product isn’t our most favourite thing to do. Fortunately for us, Al was just looking for a few clean and bright product shots on white to showcase what each item is, which was something simple and straightforward that we could get on board with.

We tried a few different variations with each piece- overhead static shots, hanging, and even a few with Al in frame holding the hanger, or even when he was styling (our personal faves).

We started with our usual set up- a single umbrella and flash- but quickly realized that soft shadows weren’t going to work well for this shoot. We switched to shooting with just an external high powered flash for that bright and gritty look with harsh lines and dark shadows.

See more from the shoot below and follow HOST here to keep an eye out for their launch!

Camila & Rayne Test

A FUN LITTLE TEST WITH CAMILA & RAYNE

There was no particular direction for this shoot other than ‘let’s keep it simple’. 1 hair and make up artist, 1 stylist, and myself in studio with each model. There was a small overlap just before Camila left and when Rayne arrived so we decided to shoot them together! This test was one of the first each of them have ever done, and I’m so happy with how they rocked it!

Models: Camila & Rayne at Elite / Hair and Make Up: Irina Badescu / Styling: Melody Du Ly