Photographers often dissect each other's work to see how a photograph is made. We look for subtle tell-tale signs that show the environment and the light sources for the scene. Trying to recreate another photographer's style can be very difficult, especially without all the facts. That is what I was asked to do when I was hired to shoot some pickup portraits.
I was tasked to photograph a few of the local Atlanta employees and match the style of the South American office portraits that were already completed. I have the utmost respect for the photographer who took the photos that I was supposed to match. This guy was good and had a wonderful look to his shots. Unfortunately, I do not know this gifted shooter's name, but his work can be seen in the three photos below.
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| I was tasked to match these wonderful portraits from another photographer |
Try as I might, I could not recreate the scene in the very small office I was given to work in. I got the results below "after the fact" with some photoshop. It was the only way I could do it.
I took the portraits on a white background so that I could composite a background into the scene. The background was pieced together from several of the source photos plus some illustration to extend the blinds.
Later on, the client share a very important clue about the original portraits. A behind the scenes picture revealed the extent of the original photographer's portrait setup inside an office made of frosted glass. The photographer used the large glass wall as a humongous diffuser. Brilliant!
There was zero chance of me using the same techniques in the space I was given, but it all worked out regardless. Whew!
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