Charles Elliott for Multifamily Executive Magazine

Wow!  It has been a really long time since I’ve had a chance to write about my recent work.  In that time though, I traveled throughout Germany for two weeks and returned to the U.S. to get married a week later.  After that, it was off to Key West for a few days with my lovely and very supportive wife.  So a lot has happened since I last had the time to write here, and it’s time to play catch up.

Way back in July, I had the wonderful opportunity to team up with the crew at Multifamily Executive Magazine.  They gave me a call a day or two before the shoot had to happen.  Luckily, it was an off-day for the Washington Kastles tennis team, so I was able to photograph Charles Elliott for their September 2015 cover and inside spread.

The art direction was to photograph Mr. Elliott on a grey or black backdrop.  In addition to that, they forwarded me another idea of using an orange rim light, which instantly reminded me of my recent cover shoot with PEO Soldier for GX: The Guard Experience. 

The shoot was to take place in a newly opened apartment building near Nationals Park in D.C.  When I arrived, the staff there hooked me up with an empty studio apartment that worked perfectly for the shoot.  I got set up, tested the lights, and Mr. Elliott arrived.  The shoot was pretty smooth.  No hiccups, but it was pretty simple to begin with.

I didn’t have a lot of time with Mr. Elliott, so I kept it simple with a mixture of one and two light setups.  The two light setup was only needed to add that orange (CTO) rim light.  I’m extremely happy with how the cover shot turned out.  It’s probably obvious, but I’m a big fan of very soft light that has a smooth and gradual fall-off.  It just feels better to me, which I know sounds a little odd.

In the end, the crew at Multifamily Executive Magazine was very happy with the results, and that’s what matters most.  Now here’s a couple iPhone snaps of my temporary studio space and the final layout.