A couple of weeks ago I shot an assignment for the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus. The assignment was to create portraits of scientists from the Physics, Chemistry, and Earth Sciences departments. No layouts as usual and the challenge was how to find a good visual situation that not only gave good clues, but also simplify an extremely busy background. I loved the expression of the chair of the physics dept. here and the display of a little of the “magic” of physics.
#corporate photography Toronto
About this portrait
Katharine is a friend of mine who asked me to do a new portrait of her a couple of weeks ago to use for her teaching and judging projects. I started thinking about it and asked her to wear black so I could shoot against a black background. I wanted her body to blend into the background so that her face, hands, viola, and bow would pop with warmth and richness. I also wanted to keep the lighting very simple to support the idea. We shot in my small space where I live and work. She is very pleased with the results.
ch,
Michael
About this assignment
For the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of shooting assignments for MaRS, the innovation hub in Toronto. I’ve had a lot of freedom in coming up with visual solutions that are both aesthetic and informative. As we all know, today the vocabulary is visual and we only get a few seconds to grab a viewer’s attention.
I find it very rewarding as the variety of the entrepreneurs that I am asked to photograph are involved in leading edge technologies that are very exciting and helpful. Shyam Ramchandani is a very nice guy and was very cooperative and generous with his time and enthusiasm. The device he is holding is a non-invasive diagnostic tool. How cool is that? After I scouted his office, I decided that I should photograph him in from of this very cool wall on his floor. Even though I brought lighting, the available light was great which also saved time and cables being everywhere. I did a little Photoshop in post to enhance a scientific feel.
ch,
Michael