Carl Costas: Executives Take to the Streets

Recently, California-based commercial and editorial photographer Carl Costas took on the role of creative director and photographer, shooting some top executives in front of quite an astounding backdrop… all of San Francisco.

This was a project for a startup company looking to establish its brand identity. Carl had complete control of this project, saying that he knew the city was a perfect backdrop:

 San Francisco is an international destination for good reason. That part of the project just fell in my lap, all I had to do was look around. Opportunity was everywhere.

Of course, one of the main challenges Carl ran into during this project was the hustle and bustle of San Francisco, however, he handled it well, even talking his way onto a rooftop:

To say that San Francisco is a busy place is an understatement. People move like heats of athletes and traffic moves in fits and starts. I kept my head on a swivel and almost always had someone to watch my back. I also knew I wanted to shoot from a rooftop. It took a flurry of phone calls and emails between me, the execs, and the building manager before we got the green light. Ultimately, it was a message from my business insurance agent showing proof of two million dollars worth of liability insurance that sealed the deal.

Carl was careful about the lighting equipment he chose, seeing as it had to be lightweight and mobile but still substantial:

I opted for two Elinchrom Ranger Quadra packs with four heads — and enough lithium batteries to jumpstart a dump truck. I like the Quadras specifically because they’re light and powerful, but also because I have control of the light output from my camera with the wireless radio transmitter. I also brought along a number of rolling light stands, but because we were so mobile I did a lot of the work with my assistants holding lights and modifiers attached to the end of paint poles, sometimes known as voice-activated light stands.

All but a few of the executives shot commute from different parts of the country, so the work has been seen far and wide. Soon after this gig, Carl landed a five-day project shooting annual reports and marketing materials for a network of West Coast-based hospitals.

Check out a behind the scenes video below:

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