Indoor location portraits are a genre that I shoot a lot but seldom talk about in detail. So I thought it was time to put that right.
While a lot of portraits and headshots I shoot are studio style (i.e. shot against a plain background, whether that’s a wall in a building, or a backdrop I bring with me), just as many are shot incorporating the room that they take place in. Usually, that’s some kind of office or coworking space. There are also great opportunities to be found in ‘linking’ parts of buildings, such as stairwells, corridors and waiting areas.
Why? Well, ultimately it boils down to you and the image that you want to convey. Don’t want to be perceived as corporate? Then soften that image by including a location that says something different. Want to be regarded as highly professional, but you don’t generally wear a suit and tie? Appear in a more formal location – a traditional office or library, for example. Consider the location you choose for the shoot as a valuable prop, giving clues about your brand values and positioning. They might be subtle, often subliminal, but they do work.
The examples below were taken recently for a software arm of a major global manufacturer and were shot around the head office in Manchester. The locations were chosen to make the subjects come across as slightly unconventional and ‘cool’. A location like a staircase facilitates a more relaxed pose, which also works with the nature of the job they do, the clothes they wear and the attitude they want to convey.
Often, people overlook their immediate environment for its potential use in branding photos. That’s understable – over familiarity with a place can almost make it invisible when you’re in it. But where you work can say a lot if you choose to include it in portraits. It might be well worth considering next time you need to update your team photos.
