Queensland Brain Institute
New work for the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to celebrate 20 years.
This was lovely simple design concept from @brightyellowdesign and while we didn’t have much time with any of the scientists, it ran really smoothly.
The Challenge
I had eight different people to shoot and being leaders in their fields, they are incredibly busy so time was of the essence. The images needed to work together as a family but be different enough that they weren’t boring. There was always going to be type overlaid on the images so leaving enough space and the right tone in the background for the designer to work with was key.
Oh, and then there is the small matter of these aren’t professional models. They need to look relaxed and comfortable in front of my camera and we did it over two different days weeks apart, due to the scientist’s availability.
Hmm just the usual Erik Williamson puzzle job then?..
The Approach
Shot on location at UQ, I kept the lighting simple but surprisingly hard for a portrait session. That’s not something I would normally do with such a diverse range of people and especially with only a short period of time to achieve the desired result. However, the dappled light really worked with the plain white wall.
Each person was shot individually, both for their portraits and the group shot, so which meant two lighting set-ups with two cameras ready to swap from one to the other and don’t forget two different days!
For the group shot, we had to plan the positions for each person and consider where shadows would fall . Measurements and notes were taken so that everything could be replicated later. We had each person stand on a Laminex surface to provide reflections and to eliminate the grey carpet in the room.
I did rough Photoshop comps on the fly, to make sure everything was looking right and then I constructed the final piece in Photoshop later.
The Results
The final printed piece was a magazine that QBI uses for education and marketing purposes. I’m really happy with the results and photography is always most rewarding when you photograph really, interesting people, for lovely interesting people!
Client: QBI | Product: The Brain 20 year edition
