Milan Mandaric, pictured at LCFC for the TIMES.
We recently were asked to photograph a certain member of Dragons Den for a magazine client of ours, but after travelling down to London, arriving on location at his high tech offices, and then being kept waiting in the reception for an hour whilst the journalist conducted the interview, we were told that our subject was unwilling to have his picture taken.
So a wasted trip, and disapointment all around, for both us and our client.
Which brings me to the point, even if you have a set appointment for pictures, its often a good idea to make some portraits during the interview. With a good easy to use lighting setup some great pictures can be made, and it can also be an opportunity for the photographer to get a better feel for the personality of the subject, which could lead to even better pictures later.
I recently photographed Milan Mandaric, the owner of Leicester City FC, for the Times, and had to make the pictures during the interview, and the results were excellent. Far more revealing, and a big difference from the standard Chairman in stands picture. With a simple radio slave setup, I was able to very quickly set up one strobe with a softbox, and make a great set of pictures without disturbing the interview.
It helps if you use a quite camera, and the 5d and 40d are ideal. For Mandaric I did however use the 1ds, but recently in similar circumstances I used the 40d for Derby County’s new manager.
With the latest cameras you can also go to quite high ISO’s, which means that you can easily balance available light with any strobe, or just use the light from the strobe.