Category Archives: Location Photography

Behind the scenes of an International Airport Photography Shoot

Posted by Richard Boll on 14th October 2024 – 5:51 pm

Filed under Advertising, Advertising Photography, Airlines, Airport Photography, Editorial Portrait, Environmental Portrait, Global Advertising, Lifestyle, lifestyle Photography, Location Photography

International Airport Photography

Managing a complex, large-scale photography shoot on location in a bustling, fully operational international airport comes with a unique set of challenges, including:
• Organising a big production team and a complex shoot schedule
• Navigating airport security with large amounts of equipment
• Working with a mix of airline employees and professional models
• The specific considerations for working with child models
• Shooting in various locations including check-in areas, waiting rooms, business lounges, family areas, and airport corridors
• Arranging for areas to be sectioned off to separate the shoot from public areas of an airport

Emirates Airline, Dubai International Airport (DXB)

I was commissioned by production agency xpogr to photograph an advertising lifestyle campaign for Emirates Airlines on location in Dubai International Airport (DXB). DXB is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world’s fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic, carrying the highest average number of passengers per flight.

Emirates Airline operates the largest airline hub in the Middle East at DXB Terminal 3, handling 51% of all passenger traffic, and approximately 42% of all aircraft movements at the airport. The brief was to shoot a series of bright, colourful, high-quality images showing confident, friendly, and approachable customer service representatives, featuring the iconic Emirates brand uniform. Guests including couples, children, and families were to be portrayed looking relaxed and happy.

As airports are often stressful environments where long waiting times can be experienced, the goal was to create images showing a happy, family-friendly premium experience.

My photography assistant and I flew from London to Dubai in style with Emirates who kindly provided us with business class seats. It was extremely comfortable and the high level of service and food provided was exceptional!

It was a very enjoyable project over five days with:

• one day for location scouting with the art director and producer

• one day for a pre-production meeting to discuss and finalise all aspects of the lifestyle photography

• three days of photography in various locations around Dubai airport

Clearing large amounts of equipment through security can be time-consuming and needs to be factored into any shooting timetable. It was also challenging taking pictures in a fully operational airport with many passengers and staff members to work around.

The shoot was deemed a great success and several images from the shoot have been used for a global advertising campaign and on the Emirates website. More images from this project can be seen here.

Wharton School & United Airlines Executive

I carried out another airport photography project at Heathrow, shooting corporate portraits of a senior executive from United Airlines for the US-based Wharton Magazine.

United Airlines was formed by the amalgamation of several airlines in the late 1920s and is now a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. As of January 2024, United operates flights to 238 domestic destinations across the United States and 118 international destinations in 48 countries across all six inhabited continents. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania was established in 1881 as the first business school in the United States, and the world’s first business school affiliated with an institution of higher learning. According to the 2022 Financial Times MBA ranking, it’s home to the world’s best MBA programme.

It was an interesting experience shooting portraits on the live runway with United Airlines jets in the background of the shots, resulting in strong final portraits which were very well received. These corporate portraits have been used extensively for a business profile interview in an editorial magazine feature for the Wharton Business School.

Airport Runway Photography

Another photography project that I carried out at a large airport involved shooting images in the air traffic control centre and on the runway. I took pictures of planes landing and taking off and photographed different locations including the meet-and-greet areas, departure lounges, and waiting rooms.

The shoot generated a lot of strong content, and it was a fascinating insight into the workings of an international airport.

You can see more of more of my lifestyle photography here and more of my portrait photography here.

To discuss your requirements get in touch.

Q&A with Richard Boll on his show Expression

Posted by Richard Boll on 11th September 2024 – 6:08 pm

Filed under Conceptual Photography, Editorial Portrait, Environmental Portrait, Exhibitions, Fine Art Photography, Gavin Turk, Gordon Cheung, Location Photography, Portrait Photography

Interview with photographer Richard Boll about his forthcoming exhibition Expression: Portraits of Artists

What inspired you to create the Expression series, and how did you choose the artists you photographed?

The inspiration for the series goes back to 1997 while I was studying at Edinburgh College of Art. I worked on a personal project photographing Scottish artists including Callum Innes, Elizabeth Blackadder, Callum Colvin, and John Houston which was a very enjoyable process and was an experience that really stuck with me.

In 2014, I had the opportunity to photograph Bruce McLean at his London studio and it was this portrait that initiated the idea for the Expression project. I was keen to reference the artist’s work by incorporating the teacup and saucer, which I bought from a charity shop. This references the work Tea on the Knee (1971). The blank canvases seen in the background inspired me to invite Bruce to paint on the final photographic print, which he generously agreed to, and that’s really where the concept was born. We reconnected in 2024 and McLean added a painting of a sculpture of a jug onto the final portrait and I’m delighted with the result.

Bruce McLean in his London studio photographed by Richard Boll.

It’s been a really interesting process of reaching out to artists to be a part of this project. I’ve tried to take a democratic approach inviting a broad range of artists from different disciplines. Some respond positively, some politely decline, and then it comes down to scheduling and availability as they are all busy people with their own creative practice. They all share one thing in the common which is that they all produce inspiring work that I’m keen to highlight through these images.

Can you share some of the most memorable moments you experienced while photographing the artists for this exhibition?

Each portrait shoot has been extremely memorable in its own way. I’ve enjoyed telling the story of the people behind the artworks through these images and I’ve found it interesting visiting their homes, studios, and working spaces. Some artists have embraced the opportunity to add collaborative elements to their portraits.
Visiting Gavin Turk’s studio in London was a fantastic experience. I was welcomed by a delightful team who were very accommodating as I had a series of different portraits planned, including Turk signing his name with a torch. Prior to the shoot, I tested this process at my home studio with a red torch to ensure a good exposure for the final shot. I felt very honoured to see bodies of work in process. For example, Turk’s candle paintings were underway in the studio on the day of the shoot. I then saw the completed paintings at a show at the Ben Brown Fine Arts in the winter of 2022-23.

The studio of the artist Gavin Turk in London. Photographed by Richard Boll.
Another memorable moment from this project was working with the fantastic Adam Chodzko. He was really engaged in the performative element and we spent the day driving around Kent to create some really interesting shots of him wading around in a pond, emerging from the sea in a suit and also dragging some sheets across a car park… It was a slightly surreal and highly memorable experience. I’m very grateful for his time.

The artists Adam Chodzko in a suit in the Sea off the Kent coast.
I also enjoyed visiting Ann Christopher’s home and workshop just north of Bath. It’s a wonderful and inspiring space. Christopher curated the RA Summer Exhibition and had selected one of my photographs for the show, which is how we connected. I invited her to be part of the project and she was really enthusiastic. I enjoyed talking with her and it feels like a very fortuitous meeting.

The workshop of the sculptor Ann Christopher in Bath, UK.

Were there any challenges you experienced?

The biggest challenge was scheduling the shoots. There are 13 different busy artists featured in this project to date and others I have been in dialogue with. Trying to manage shoot days in different locations around my commercial work has certainly been a challenge.
Relinquishing elements of creative decision-making and control has been very good for me, and to some extent challenging to my standard working methods. Each subject and portrait has had an individual approach and some artists have added collaborative elements to the finished photographic portrait. That creates a moment of anticipation during the reveal, not knowing how the artist has made their mark. But each time I’ve been overwhelmed with their contribution, from seeing Gordon Cheung’s digital glitch, to Bruce McLean’s painting of a sculpture of a jug, and Ann Christophers’ cuts and collage approach. Collaborating with artists opens the door for works to be created that are beyond my creative potential and is a very exciting process.

How do you approach capturing the essence of an artist in a portrait?

It all starts with research. I look carefully at each artist’s work and read as much as I can about them. I then try to plan 2-3 specific shots. I am always open-minded about being spontaneous on the day of the shoot, especially as many of the subjects are people I’m meeting for the first time in a space I’ve never seen before. To illustrate this, at Turk’s studio the illuminated signature was one of my original planned shots, but one of my favourite outcomes from the day was the seated portrait where he is facing away which was a spontaneous idea on the day.
Similarly, with Marie Harnett, I was eager to keep the approach spontaneous and fluid to reflect the film-like nature of her work. Not over-planning was the plan…

A portrait of the artist Marie Harnett drawing in a cafe in London.
With Cornelia Parker, I originally planned to use a backdrop and studio lighting. But on the day, I ended up using a handheld Hasselblad with natural daylight for the final portrait negating the need for some of the equipment I had taken, but you don’t always know that in advance. When you’re going to shoot in a space you haven’t seen before, planning is important, but sometimes you need to be open-minded and reactive about how to capture the person most effectively.

How does the project Expression contribute to the conversation of photography, art, and portraiture?

What interests me is the element of representation. The traditional model of photographic portraiture is that the sitter is typically invited to a photographer’s studio and told what to do by the photographer. Often there is not a great deal of input from the subject and I find that power position can be questionable.
I’ve enjoyed the dialogue created through the process that has resulted in a celebration of individuality, artistry, and collaboration. These portraits are an extension of that dialogue.
I’ve been interested in photographic portraiture since I started studying the medium in 1993. It can communicate the significance of these amazing creative people and hopefully encourage people to explore their work further. Photographs can be wonderful triggers for curiosity.

What do you hope viewers will take away from the Expression exhibition?

I hope people enjoy the show and that they have the opportunity to discover artists they might not have been aware of previously, encouraging them to investigate their work and ideas.

How does it reflect your evolution as a photographer?

I frequently carry out portrait shoots for my commercial work but this project has enabled me to explore different approaches to portraiture. From new and experimental methods to using medium and large format cameras which I don’t use in my commercial work, and hand-printing in the darkroom after a break of 20 years. I’ve loved the process and I’m delighted with the results.
I’ve also enjoyed the process of bringing a personal project through to an exhibition and I hope to continue to develop my personal practice alongside my commercial photography. Curating the exhibition has provided an opportunity to pause and reflect on this project, which I see as an ongoing work in progress. I’m already in dialogue with other subjects and plan to keep building on this body of work and to hold future exhibitions.

Expression is a compelling new photography exhibition showcasing a series of portraits of celebrated contemporary artists including Rana Begum, Cornelia Parker, and Gavin Turk. The free exhibition will run from Friday 4th October to Sunday 13th October at the Regency Town House gallery in Brighton as part of the Photo Fringe calendar of events. Limited edition prints from the project will be available to purchase at richardboll.art from 4th October.

Key details:

Location: The Regency Town House, 13 Brunswick Square, Brighton and Hove, BN3 1EH
Exhibition opening times:  Tuesday – Friday 11am – 4pm , Saturday & Sunday 11am – 5pm
Monday closed

About Photo Fringe
The biennial, open-platform Photo Fringe festival runs 4 October – 14 November with exhibitions and events taking place online and in venues across its home city of Brighton & Hove and along the south coast from Newhaven to Portsmouth. The programme presents a vibrant mix of lens-based work from emerging practitioners and well-established names, in galleries, cafés, pop-up venues, outdoor installations, and other extraordinary spaces. photofringe.org

Cavendish rebranded from BECG Group commission fresh and up-to-date corporate headshot & lifestyle photography

Posted by Richard Boll on 8th March 2024 – 2:04 pm

Filed under Birmingham, Commercial Photography, Corporate headshot photography London, Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, headshots, Location Photography, London, Southampton

Cavendish

Cavendish (formerly the BECG Group) is a multi-award-winning communications consultancy that specialises in working with corporate and political organisations. Their recent rebrand has unified the Group’s four sub-brands: BECG, Cavendish Advocacy, Liberty One, and LoveThat, marking its journey to become a full-service international communications consultancy.

With a 150-strong team of consultants, their collective knowledge, abilities, and expertise span many different sectors, including Energy & Utilities, Infrastructure, Property, Health & Wellbeing, and Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

By combining the company’s specialist corporate communications, public affairs, digital engagement, and creative services teams, the new Cavendish brand will offer its clients a fully integrated solution with the ability to deliver impactful, multi-discipline strategies and campaigns.

Corporate Headshot & Lifestyle Photography

Over 3 consecutive days, I visited the Cavendish Headquarters in London and two of their regional offices in Southampton and Birmingham. I produced a wide range of corporate headshots and lifestyle photographs of their employees that were commissioned to update and reflect their new branding.
The images that were generated combined a range of photography including staff working in their offices, having creative meetings, socialising, and going for walking meetings outside. I also took a range of corporate office lifestyle photography of office interiors and exteriors.

Day 1: Southampton

Day 2: London

Day 3: Birmingham

The 3 day shoot

In all of the locations, we took pictures inside the offices as well as outside to get the benefit of natural light. During the shoot in London, we took photographs in Westminster due to Cavendish’s specialism in working with political organisations.

As part of this shoot, I also arranged for a hair and makeup artist who I’ve worked with before to be on hand for the headshot photographs. The headshots taken have multiple uses. Cavendish can use the images for their website, and also for LinkedIn profiles, presentations, promotional and marketing materials, editorials in magazines, etc.

A video crew was also in attendance on these shoots creating content at the same time. Combining two mediums to get moving footage and still images is a fairly common scenario on the corporate photography shoots I carry out.

Corporate Lifestyle Approaches

There are two main approaches I tend to use for corporate lifestyle photography. One approach is to take ‘fly on the wall’, documentary-style photographs showing people naturally working at their desks or engaged in meetings around the office. The other is to set up mini scenarios which could be between 2 and 10 people. For example, arranging staff to sit together in a formal meeting, having creative conversations about specific projects, or social scenarios with colleagues meeting up for coffee or having breakfast in the offices. It’s good to mix up these photography approaches to show different sides of office life.

The 3 day shoot was really enjoyable and it was great working with the Cavendish team on this rebranding project, and to see the images being used so extensively throughout their website.

To find out more about the new Cavendish brand, visit their website and see more examples of my corporate lifestyle photography work.

Derwent London commission corporate team portraits for Annual Report

Posted by Richard Boll on 9th November 2023 – 3:43 pm

Filed under Corporate Photography, Location Photography, London, Portrait Photography

Derwent London Plc

Group corporate portraiture by Richard Boll Photography commissioned by Derwent London.

Derwent London’s ethos has always been distinctive and design-led. From modest beginnings, they’ve grown steadily to own a portfolio of 5.4 million sq ft (507,200 sq m) of commercial real estate, (predominantly in Central London) valued at £5.2bn as at 30 June 2023.

Based on Savile Row, they are the largest London office-focused real estate investment trust (REIT). Recently named in the ‘Sunday Times Best Places to Work List 2023’ in the medium-sized organisation category, 91% of their employees said they were proud to work there. 88% enjoy their job and 86% felt they were employed in a well-run organisation.

I was recently commissioned to photograph several corporate team portraits, in and around three of their London-based commercial properties, for their 2022 Annual Report & Accounts.

Annual Report & Accounts 2022

The 2022 Annual Report published on their website, is the third Derwent London Annual Report that I’ve taken photographs for since 2019.

For the images in this report, I worked closely with an Art Director and together, we visited some of the recently completed properties in central London to find visually interesting with aesthetically strong compositions.

Corporate Group Portraits for Derwent London

Derwent requested group portraits of their various teams from the following departments:

Finance
Health and Safety
Leasing and Marketing
Valuation and Investment
Asset and Property Management
Development and Sustainability &
Building Management, Facilities, and H & S

A corporate portrait of four people taken for Derwent London by Richard Boll.

It was a logistical challenge to get this number of people lined up and available for the shoot requiring meticulous advance planning.

A group portrait taken in London for Derwent.

Group portraits are always interesting to photograph and come with their own set of challenges. Initially, the challenge is to scout for suitable locations which could be an elegant room or a grand reception area. The challenge then becomes how to compose and photograph numerous different people within that space to create an effective photograph.

Group corporate portrait taken for Derwent London Annual Report.

It’s important to ensure that everybody in the photograph is looking at the camera with their eyes open, which can be a challenge when you have a significant number of people to position and photograph. The whole process typically takes much longer than photographing an individual portrait or headshot.
The Derwent London employees are great people to work with and this is a corporate photography project that I always find really enjoyable.

Find out more about Derwent London by visiting their website and seeing other corporate portrait and lifestyle photography projects I’ve worked on.

UK Visual Artist Photographic Portraits 4 of 4: Gordon Cheung – contemporary multi-media artist who blurs the line between the virtual and reality

Posted by Richard Boll on 30th May 2023 – 5:21 pm

Filed under Editorial Photography, Editorial Portrait, Environmental Portrait, Fine Art Photography, Gordon Cheung, Location Photography, London, Portrait Photography

UK Visual Artist Portrait Series

When I first developed an interest in photography and started learning about well-known artists and photographers, I appreciated seeing portraits of them taken by other photographers. A portrait can be an effective introduction into the life of an artist and can tell a visual story and open a window into that person’s world. I found it really intriguing and was curious about why that person had been photographed in a particular way. I’ve decided to continue this rich photography tradition, by shooting a photographic series of well-known visual artists currently working in the UK.

Gordon Cheung

The artist Gordon Cheung wearing a mask ready to spray paint a new picture. Portrait photo by Richard Boll of London.

The fourth set of images in this series features Gordon Cheung, a London-born contemporary, multi-media visual artist from Chinese parents. Cheung has developed an innovative approach to creating art, blurring virtual and actual reality and raising questions about what it means to be human in a capitalist society. Working with a variety of media including stock page listings, spray paint, acrylic, inkjet, and woodblock printing, he blends his art into dreamlike spaces of urban surreal worlds, using the topics of culture, mythology, religion, and politics.

The London-based artist Gordon Cheung facing toward a picture that he's about to start painting.

His work centers around financial market crashes, incorporating elements of the Financial Times into his art to make 3D sculptural pieces. Tulips crop up in most of his work as a symbol because ‘Tulip mania’ was reputed to be the first ever market crash in February 1637. Tulip mania was a period during the Dutch Golden Age when contract prices for some new and fashionable bulbs reached ridiculously high levels – a handful of tulips would have cost the same as a house nowadays.
Gordon has pioneered a now iconic digital glitch technique, involving taking an image, whether it’s a painting or a portrait, and altering the structure of the digital file, getting into the programming behind it. This process produces a really interesting aesthetic, dragging the lines down and blurring the virtual with reality.

The photographic concept

The original photographic concept for this series was to shoot four different elements of the visual artist: behind-the-scenes studio shots, finer details referencing their work, the artist working, and photographic portraits. As part of this project, I also wanted to introduce a collaboration and crossover element between the visual artist and myself and I asked Gordon if he would be prepared to digitally glitch a portrait that I’d taken of him. I’m keeping that particular portrait under wraps for now to reveal at a future exhibition of the visual artist series. I chose Cheung for this series as I find his work fascinating and unique, in particular how he incorporates financial elements and assesses financial institutions. I regularly shoot corporate portraiture for an investment bank and I’ve even noticed his work hanging on the walls of their offices.

A close-up detail photograph of an art work by the London artist Gordon Cheung.

It was great collaborating with Cheung on this project and it’s encouraging to see my imagery being extensively used on Gordon’s own website and in a newsletter produced by the Cristea Roberts Gallery, the worldwide representative for Cheung’s original prints.
Watch this space for the next visual artist in this series – Yarli Allison. Visual artists previously featured in this portrait series were Gavin Turk, Adam Chodzko and Jake Wood-Evans.

Discover more about Gordon Cheung and his work by visiting his website.

Six of My Favourite Corporate and Personal Photography Projects in 2022

Posted by Richard Boll on 24th January 2023 – 12:17 pm

Filed under Corporate headshot photography London, Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, headshots, Location Photography, London, Portrait Photography

When a new year starts, I like to look back on the year before and review photography projects that I’ve worked on. I’ve handpicked 6 of my favourite corporate and personal images from 2022, depicting a range of different photography styles, including corporate headshots, corporate products, corporate portraits and two portraits from my personal UK visual artist project series.

1. UK Visual Artist Portrait Series: Gavin Turk

This portrait of Gavin Turk forms part of a personal project from my UK Visual Artist Portrait Series, inspired by his own work including the ‘Portrait of Something That I’ll Never Really See’ (1997). I love this double portraiture combination shot particularly in black and white, as I think it’s more graphically powerful giving a direct, punchier effect to the stripes on his shirt. Both of these elements also echo Turk’s previous work using combinations of double portraiture and stripes. What I like about portrait photography is quite often, an unexpected result can emerge either during the shoot or in post- production as in this case. There’s a need to be open to chance and not overly plan the end result.

2. Corporate Headshot Photography: Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy is one of my regular corporate photography clients and this image is from a series of shoots that involved photographing staff in 3 of their offices based in London, Manchester and Leicester. Working alongside an Art Director, we collaborated to produce a whole library of corporate headshots and lifestyle imagery. This shot shows a flavour of the natural, documentary ‘fly-on-the-wall’ photography style that I think suits the Octopus brand really well. What I like about this particular image is the employee looks very relaxed and is clearly having a real, natural conversation with a customer, oblivious to the fact that she’s being photographed.

3. Corporate Product Photography: Kin Chairs, designed by Pearson Lloyd for Allermuir

Allemuir came up with the original design concept for this image. Taken in their Preston studio, I attached a camera onto a scaffolding tower looking down onto this range of Kin chairs. What I like about this shot is that it shows off the products in an interesting and visually intriguing way. There’s the play on colour of the chairs around the table and it was fun choosing the props to co-ordinate with the chair colours. Having to direct a model was an interesting aspect of the shoot, in order to get a good range of images that worked. I like this particular photo of the model reaching into the bowl as that worked well compositionally, as a focal point in the middle of the table.

4. UK Visual Artist Portrait Series: Adam Chodzko

This portrait of Adam Chodzko, is another favourite image of mine from the UK visual artist portrait series. It was a particularly enjoyable shoot with a strong collaborative element to it. We discussed the images at some length beforehand with Adam letting me know what he thought would work and wouldn’t work. I like this particular image because it highlights the collaborative approach to the shoot, and echoes Chodzko’s love of water and use of crossovers between different spaces. The recording equipment he’s holding picked up both urban and rural sounds within the space and I plan to use the sound clip as part of the installation for a future exhibition.

5. Corporate Product Photography: John Lobb, Frank Sinatra’s Wooden Lasts

John Lobb is a bespoke, traditional shoemaker to celebrities and royalty alike. Central to their process is the creation of a pair of wooden lasts, shaped to the exact contours of the wearers feet. What started as a purely personal project, initiated by asking if I could photograph the wooden lasts, has now developed into a regular commission shooting images for John Lobb’s marketing and social media.
This photograph of Frank Sinatra’s wooden lasts is one of my favourite images from the project. It’s not just the fact that they belonged to Sinatra who was an icon that many people can connect with, but I love the fact that they’re well-worn with interesting textures that suggest that many shoes were made from this pair of wooden lasts. In a way, they speak of a history and a life well-lived.

6. Corporate Portrait Photography: Elrige, Master Last Maker at John Lobb

This was a commissioned portrait by John Lobb who requested photographs of their Last Makers. I’m particularly fond of this image of Elrige, Master Craftsman and Last Maker. He is a real character and I love the intensity of his stare in this photo. I also think this portrait captures the essence of the traditional establishment of John Lobb with its traditional working methods, where each wooden last is carved by hand.
Elrige may appear to be wielding a lethal weapon here, but the tool he’s holding is essential for last making and is known as a Last Knife. It’s used to get a block of wood down to the rough shape of the last. Afterwards, a surform, various grades of files and sand paper would be used to get the last down to its final shape and measure.

See more of my corporate portrait and corporate lifestyle photography projects taken on location in London and around the world.

UK Visual Artist Portraits 2 of 4: Adam Chodzko – Conceptual media artist, YBA and Saatchi 2007 ‘Sensation’ Exhibitor

Posted by Richard Boll on 6th December 2022 – 1:42 pm

Filed under Artists, Editorial Photography, Editorial Portrait, Environmental Portrait, Fine Art Photography, Location Photography, Photography Award, Portrait Photography

UK Visual Artist Portrait Series

When I first became interested in photography and started learning about well-known artists and photographers I appreciated seeing portraits of them taken by other photographers. Initially, I might not have known who these people were, but an interesting portrait can tell a visual story and open a window into that person’s world. I found it really intriguing and was curious about why that person had been photographed in a particular way. I decided to continue this rich photographic tradition, by taking a series of photographs of well-known visual artists, currently working in the UK.

Adam Chodzko

The second set of images in this series features Adam Chodzko, a Kent-based, highly acclaimed conceptual artist working across a wide range of media, including video, installation, photography, and performance, and considered to be one of the Young British Artists (YBAs). The YBAs are a group of visual artists who are noted for shock tactics, the use of throwaway materials, and wild living. They attracted considerable media coverage and dominated British art during the ‘Cool Britannia’ scene of the 90s. Chodzko’s art relies on the viewer’s imagination and personal experience to create the meaning behind his work. Using elements of science fiction, he explores the space between documentary and fantasy, conceptualism, and surrealism. His art explores the interactions and possibilities of human behaviour by investigating the space of consciousness between how we are and what we might be.

Spotted by the art collector Charles Saatchi, he was invited to take part in ‘Sensation’, the highly controversial, contemporary art exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (London) in 1997. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, this significant exhibition drew a lot of media attention at the time and showcased work by 42 different artists, including Gavin Turk, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin.

The photographic concept

This time, the approach was slightly different from the previous Gavin Turk shoot, in that Adam doesn’t work out of a traditional studio. I couldn’t take shots of him working in a studio, so we focused purely on portraits. Chodzko was really good at engaging with my ideas and very clear about what would suit him. I really enjoyed the collaborative elements of this project, born from a combination of both our ideas and an open, creative discussion, that generated the final images.

1. Collaboration, crossover, and a portrait prize

The idea I had for this portrait was Chodzko being in the countryside and somehow connected with water. He then took my idea and suggested wading around in a pond holding recording equipment, because that’s the sort of thing he might do for his work. An extra element of this shot was the sound clip of the space that was produced during the shoot. You not only hear countryside sounds like birds and mosquitoes, but as we were close to a road, you also hear cars, a car stereo and a dog barking. There’s an interesting crossover between the urban and rural spaces. I requested this sound clip from the artist as it might be suitable for an exhibition of these portraits in the future. I’m pleased to report that this image went on to win third prize in the Kuala Lumpur Portrait Awards and was exhibited in Malaysia and Japan. It was great to get this extra element of exposure for this portrait.

a photographic portrait of the conceptual artist adam chodzko in a pond copyright richard boll

2. Wasteland in the future?

This portrait was inspired by ‘A Hunting Scene’ (1992) by Canadian photographer Jeff Wall. Wall’s photo is of two men walking into a wasteland from a road and they’re both carrying guns. It’s an image that has always stuck in my mind and Adam said that it was a photograph that he’d always liked. Chodzko suggested we put an alternative spin on it. Instead of carrying guns or an axe, he tied white bedsheets together and dragged them around in this waste ground off a main road between a car park and scrubland. There’s a feeling of an in-between, non-space and I hope that it’s intriguing for the viewer in that what has happened in the image is ambiguous and is left up to the viewers’ imagination.

the artist adam chodzko dragging a white sheet in whitstable kent copyright richard boll

3. Whitstable in a (Wet)Suit

Another water-themed portrait was shot in the sea off the beach at Whitstable, where Chodzko lives and works. The idea surrounding this image was that the viewer can imagine that he’s just arrived on the beach and traveled from somewhere else, perhaps the strip of land that can be seen behind him across the water. Again, it’s left up to the viewer to imagine what the back story of this image might be.

a portrait of the artist adam chodzko in the sea in whitstable kent copyright richard boll

Watch this space for features on 2 more visual artists, currently working in the UK that I’ve also photographed, Gordon Cheung and Jake Wood-Evans. Future plans include an extensive exhibition of the complete UK Visual Artist Portrait Photography Series.

Discover more about Adam Chodzko and his work by visiting his website and reading about the controversial 1997 ‘Sensation’ exhibition.

Corporate headshot photography: Why every business needs fresh and up-to-date professional headshots

Posted by Richard Boll on 11th July 2022 – 10:35 am

Filed under Corporate Portraiture, headshots, Location Photography, Portrait Photography

How professional headshots reflect and elevate your successful brand.

Professional, high-quality corporate headshot photography is a necessity for any successful, well-established company, to portray an authentic business image that suits your specific brand. These unique portraits should reflect the individual employee being shot and the overall values of the business.
Headshot photographs can be used in a variety of ways:
– They form the first impression of the business and its employees and can be used for marketing, not only on your website but also for LinkedIn profile pictures, press stories, business plans, annual reports, and presentations.
– To help build a connection with your potential customers, as people are more likely to reach out and make enquiries if they can see the faces of the CEOs and employees behind that company.
– Brand headshots can help to represent certain values and qualities, such as warmth and sincerity, generally giving the impression of your staff being friendly and approachable.
– When new colleagues join and with more people working remotely, it’s a good way to build that connection internally and introduce new faces to the business

corporate headshot photograph of individual by richard boll for the brunswick group

Styles and approaches to headshot photography.

When producing corporate headshot photography, it’s common to shoot either against a completely neutral backdrop or to show the interior of an office space.
The advantage of using a white or grey coloured background is consistency and neat uniformity for each headshot. Every photograph, even if shoots are carried out six months apart, can look entirely uniform. It’s useful on a company page, to reflect the level of organisation and togetherness of a business. If shots are taken within an office interior, often the background will be made deliberately out of focus. You can still see the photograph is taken in an actual office, rather than against a backdrop paper. Your choice comes down to the nature of your company’s building and if it’ll suit the image you want to portray. It’s worth giving this some thought before you choose a particular style.
I’ve helped many clients in the past work out the best style of headshot photographs to suit their brand and company values. We’ve discussed various ideas and options that I’ve used previously and potential suitable locations and styles, to help make this important decision.

A professional photographer can make or break your corporate headshot photography.

Any photographer you commission will bring their own level of expertise, creativity and style to your brand headshots. Many companies that I’ve shot for have set style guides and dress codes, to ensure the same consistent approach is used by multiple photographers around the world. It doesn’t matter if the photos were taken in London, Mumbai or New York, every shot will have the same look, even if photographed on different continents by different photographers.
I photograph people using a wide range of set poses, which means I can shoot them efficiently in a fairly short space of time. Typically, I only get 15 minutes at a time (sometimes as little as 5 minutes) with each person. People don’t have hours to spend having their picture taken and my approach lets them get on with their working day.

corporate brand headshot portrait photography commissioned by octopus energy

The old adage that everyone has a best side is absolutely true. Rather than spend a great deal of time trying to work this out, I shoot the same series of poses facing to the left and the right. By the time I’ve photographed the whole range, I’ll have about 60 images per person. I delete the off shots, for example, someone blinking, leaving around 40-50 shots to choose from. I prefer to use a portrait lens for headshots which has a particular focal length considered optimal for taking portrait photographs. Flash lighting is also an important element to consider. I always bring at least two professional flash lighting heads with modifiers, such as softboxes or umbrellas. These provide a flattering, soft light and in combination with other lights, create a visually pleasing aesthetic.
Once you’ve chosen your favourite shots, these images will then be optimised and refined digitally in Photoshop. Sometimes, retouching and fine-tuning is needed if people have creases in their shirts or stray hairs, for example. Unwanted objects in interior shots, such as fire exit signs and other distractions in the background can also be removed. The final headshots are as polished and refined as possible, providing a consistent look across a complete set of images.

In summary, successful and well-established businesses will be expected to have a regularly updated set of professional, fully optimised and consistent corporate headshot photography taken by an experienced, technically adept, professional portrait photographer.

Examples of headshot commissions that I’ve carried out for clients including Citibank, The Brunswick Group, Numis Bank, and Octopus Energy can be found here. If your own brand headshots need an update, please feel free to email me at richard@richardbollphotography.com or call +44(0)7812 908229.

Lifestyle Photography for Wizzard Advertising Agency in London

Posted by Richard Boll on 4th February 2021 – 4:35 pm

Filed under Advertising, Advertising Photography, Commercial Photography, Environmental Portrait, Lifestyle, lifestyle Photography, Location, Location Photography, London

I was recently commissioned as a lifestyle photographer by the London advertising agency Wizzard. The taxi company has taken the risks posed by Covid-19 very seriously and is taking significant measures to protect their customers in London. I was asked by Wizzard to source models for the lifestyle photography and suggest suitable locations in London. The models were then selected and the shoot was carried out in a relatively quiet square in Pimlico in London. Due to the prevalent risks posed by Covid-19 everyone on the shoot was observing social distancing and wearing PPE. More of my lifestyle photography can be seen here.

Corporate Portrait Photography for Derwent Annual Report Commissioned by Merchant Cantos

Posted by Richard Boll on 2nd November 2020 – 3:41 pm

Filed under Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, Environmental Portrait, Location, Location Photography, London

I’ve been providing corporate portrait photography to the global communications agency Merchant Cantos since 2017 and it was a great pleasure to be selected for a commission to take portraits for the Derwent London 2019 Annual Report. Derwent London is a property investment and development business with its headquarters in London. It was a significant project carried out over several days, producing group and single portraits of key members of staff. The group portraits were taken in a variety of different locations across London. Each portrait required the location to be scouted and compositions discussed in advance with art directors from Merchant Cantos. The project included group portraits taken in interiors of key Derwent London buildings, as well as exterior locations including building sites and rooftop spaces.

The portraits were deemed a great success and discussions have begun for commissioned imagery for the next Derwent London annual report.

More of my corporate portraits can be seen here.

Corporate portrait for Derwent annual report by London photographer Richard Boll

Group portrait for Derwent annual report by London photographer Richard Boll