My go-to-gear for shooting corporate headshots
Having had what I think is politely called a ‘portfolio career’ (otherwise known as being a pathological job hopper) before becoming a photographer, the one thing that’s struck me about the photography industry, compared to other sectors I’ve worked in, is that it feels like a genuine community.
Like any other profession, it’s a competitive world, but it’s also one where its practitioners seem to be completely happy to help each other out, generously sharing tips, tricks and guidance, even with other photographers working in their own specialist areas, without any expectation of anything in return.
Personally, I find it enormously helpful when other photographers share their lighting set-ups and the equipment they’re using, so, in the spirit of sharing the love, here’s a summary of my go-to-gear when I’m shooting corporate headshots in volume on location.
Camera & Lenses
Without being too brand-specific (although I could endlessly eulogise the pairing of Nikon’s D810 and 85mm 1.4 G), I personally find 85mm the perfect focal length for shooting headshots, and shooting a prime lens forces me to be disciplined about consistent framing against a studio backdrop, which I find also saves me time in post-production. I also shoot headshots on a tripod 99% of the time for the same reason - a Manfrotto 190XPRO which is lightweight enough to travel with, but still very sturdy, with a Manfrotto 3 way head.
I’ve also recently become increasingly addicted to using a 70-200mm f/2.8 when I’ve got a bit more space to play with for environmental portraits, where the extra compression shooting wide open at longer focal lengths can get some great results aesthetically, with otherwise uninspiring backgrounds.
Lighting
For the vast majority of shoots at clients’ offices I’m using the Godox AD200 Wistro Pocket Flash - normally 3 for key, fill & to light the backdrop. If you’re interested in finding out more about the technical spec & overall performance, there’s a great DPS review which covers it in detail.
But suffice to say that whilst they’re not significantly larger or heavier than most standard speedlights, they’re about 3 times more powerful, recycle very quickly at full power (less than 2 seconds), and I’ve yet to drain the batteries even when shooting high volume headshots over the course of one day.
Here’s a great review for the Godox XPRO trigger, which is a bit bulky , but the large LCD screen is very intuitive and easy to read, even when shooting outside in bright sunshine.
Modifiers
My go-to modifiers at the moment are the Selens 120cm Deep Parabolic umbrella as key, with a Godox 80x80com Softbox as fill.
For the build quality I think the the parabolic is incredibly well priced at around £90; it delivers a very soft light, and I rarely seem to have any issues with hotspots, which is handy when shooting volume headshots where you have to deal with a wide variety of skin types.
Its size means that it’s not ideal for smaller shooting spaces with low ceilings, meaning I might have to shoot my subjects seated, so in those instances, I’ll usually switch to a smaller Westcott Octagonal Rapid Box, as I personally find that people feel more comfortable and relaxed standing for headshots and it’s easier to achieve a variety of poses.
One of the main benefits of the Godox softbox is that it folds down into a very compact pouch, so takes up very little space in my bag; my only niggle is that it feels like you have to be a contortionist to get the hang of packing it down - despite reading several reviews and watching instruction videos on-line, and having made a complete hash of it when I tried to work it out myself, I’m ashamed to admit it still took me about half an hour to get it back in its pouch first time round!
If I’m lighting the backdrop, I’ll usually just use the standard silver reflector for the AD200, although if I’m shooting a white background and I’ve got a bit of space to play with I’ll use a pair of Photo-R 30 x 140cm stripboxes on each side of larger backdrops to ensure an even spread of light, which again means less time editing in post.
Stands
If I’m using seamless paper roll, which is rare on location given how unwieldy it is, or a foldable backdrop, I’ll usually use the Pixapro Studio Telescopic Background Stand, which is lightweight enough to be easily transportable when working on location, but also plenty sturdy enough to hold full sized seamless rolls in the studio. The telescopic cross bar is really handy for foldable backdrops as it can be adjusted so that the backdrop is flush against and clipped to the stands, which makes the whole set up feel a lot more solid than using a fixed length cross bar, where the the foldable backdrop tends to hang at an awkward angle.
Although I usually bring along a larger light stand for my heavier modifiers, the Manfrotto lighting stand 3 pack is a fantastic lightweight option which takes up very little space in the roller bag.
Backdrops
If I’m shooting against a pure white background, I’ll either use a large rectangular Calumet Illumina softbox, which I think is discontinued now (looks like this Interfit product would do a similar job), or a Lastolite black and white double-sided collapsible background.
The softbox option allows you to shoot in more compact spaces, and is a more compact, lightweight option if it’s impractical to transport larger amounts of gear, although there’s a lot less space to play with in terms of framing, which can mean extra time in post, editing out the edges of the softbox if they appear in frame.
On a few occasions, I’ve also had clients who have requested a white backdrop who are interested in seeing a different look on the day, and the Lasolite background gives you the option of showing them a few different looks quickly and easily.
Reflectors
With a few variations, I typically use a white or silver reflector from below to lift and soften any shadows, and most of the time I’ll use a Neewer 5-in-one, which I sometimes also use as a side fill, with another reflector lifting shadows underneath the subject (see pics at the bottom of this post) - which is a great solution when you’re tight for space.
My newest discovery which I’ve become slightly obsessed by is the Neewer flat panel reflector, not just to provide fill and absorb light, but also using them as makeshift v-flats on location (have you ever tried taking a piece of large foam board on the tube?!)
Bags
Large roller bags can set you back a small fortune, and one the most competitively priced ones I’ve come across is the Lencarta bag, which I’ve been using for over a year now and, although it’s a bit battered, largely having had to deal with the the airport baggage system on an international trip, is still going strong.
Unless I’m using the background stand and backdrop with stripboxes, pretty much everything else fits into the roller bag - it’s certainly not light (let’s just say I had to up my baggage allowance for the international job), but that’s only really an issue if there are stairs to contend with and even then it’s not a back-breaker.
And for my camera body & lenses, it’s the Lowenpro Fastpack, which is plenty big enough for 3 lenses, spare batteries, plus laptop, power cable and tethering cable.
….Just been looking through some old iPhone snaps of BTS set-ups and realised that I’ve got very few that show my latest ‘got-to’ gear! The second one below is closest to what I’m using at the moment for volume headshots…
