Wilmington, NC-based photographer Kevin Titus’ recent work for Light Wave Dental results from an 8-day shoot across multiple locations in North Carolina and the company’s headquarters in Virginia. Kevin’s images are a combination of portraiture and lifestyle photography that showcase the company’s employees and dental clients in a range of environments.
For this project, Kevin was contacted by Harber Productions, Light Wave Dental’s video production agency. Since the shoot took place primarily in North Carolina, they were looking for someone local to capture still photography and used a search engine query to find NC-based talent. As they filtered through search engine results, Kevin’s SEO-friendly website and portfolio made him stand out, so they reached out to him to discuss the project.
The video team is based in Oklahoma and used Google to research commercial photographers based in North Carolina. Fortunately, I showed up within the top two pages of the results!
The shoot required someone comfortable with photographing both corporate headshots and lifestyle images in between takes. Kevin’s photography portfolio and experience working with film crews made him an ideal fit for the project as he is comfortable with the fast pace of working in video production.
I would also be working alongside the video team, so they needed someone who could shoot the lifestyle images “run-and-gun” style. I regularly work with film production crews here in Wilmington, so I’m used to jumping in between filming and grabbing key shots in just a few minutes.
To retain an authentic and approachable look, the talent used for the motion and still imagery were all real employees. This also meant Kevin’s team had to work around the video crew’s schedule and the employees’ meetings for the day, so he came up with a system to ensure he could get the shots needed quickly. For each location, Kevin captured corporate headshots of employees against a backdrop and then moved the talent over to a hallway or meeting room nearby for an environmental portrait.
The shoots went incredibly well; I almost felt spoiled. Everyone was super friendly and accommodating. For the headshot component, I think it helped to have a good system in place so that we only took up a few moments of their time.
Kevin then captured the lifestyle images throughout the day while the staff was working. This required a keen eye for detail and the ability to jump right in to capture a moment whenever he spotted a good frame. The nice thing about capturing things this way is that it goes a long way in making the images look natural. Throughout the shoot, Kevin captured candid moments between people while they interacted with each other in meetings or while working with a client.
We only had a short window of time with them before they had to run off to an important meeting or conference call. Most of the group lifestyle shots we got weren’t staged or posed: they were real moments captured during meetings.
Some of my favorite shots were taken during their “all-hands” meeting, of which everyone was a part. It really helped to float around the room and capture interactions between staff members and the expressions on their faces while they were listening.
This flexible approach to capturing photography also allowed Kevin to go with the flow and experiment with natural lighting, using the video team’s existing lighting setup and his own. The variety in the lighting on the lifestyle images adds another layer of visual interest to some of the close-up shots of the staff working.
There were a few times where I got to utilize the video team’s lighting setup. It really made me interested in incorporating continuous lights into my work. I primarily shoot with strobes, but it was nice to see precisely how the light hits your subject in real-time.
This shoot was a rewarding experience for Kevin, who enjoyed getting to know the company’s staff and the crew from the production company while on set. The collection of images showcases the people behind the company and reflects Kevin’s ability to capture a genuine connection between people who simply love what they do.
When you see how driven and passionate they are about their jobs, it’s no secret why the company has grown the way it has! I also really enjoyed working with and getting to know the video production team. We shared a lot of laughs and made some great memories throughout the trip.
The entire experience reaffirmed how important it is to keep a positive energy and make the whole experience fun for your clients. When your subjects are in a great mood, it goes a long way and helps you capture some fantastic shots.
See more of Kevin’s work on his website.
Credits
Photographer: Kevin Titus Photo
Marketing Director, Light Wave Dental: Emily Rose
Video Production: Harber Productions
Assistant: Aris Harding
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