Spotlight: Stephen Cardinale for Guild

BY 5 August 2024

Denver-based photographer Stephen Cardinale recently completed a new stills and video project for Guild. Guild is an organization that helps employers attract and retain talent by providing employees with access to tuition-free education, skills training, and career mobility opportunities. As part of Guild’s rebrand with the COLLINS agency, the client needed compelling visual stories about some of the individuals who had benefited from Guild’s programs. Stephen helped capture stills and video for Guild’s website, social media, and print advertising use.

Preplanning

At the time of the project, Stephen was Guild’s in-house photographer and DP.

Guild was really trying to create a brand that showcased real people who had benefited from its program. Instead of using paid talent or stock imagery, the goal of the project was to sift through the thousands of Guild learners, find a diversity of great stories, and tell them in a very matter-of-fact way.

We’d occasionally work with outside photographers, but these brand narrative projects shot in an editorial style were MY THING. I pride myself on my ability to make people feel comfortable in front of the camera, particularly real people as opposed to professional talent. I think it comes from my insatiable interest in how people spend their time both on the job and off the clock. I get a lot out of the conversations I have with people when I photograph them. It’s not easy facing the camera. I really try to bring a sense of dignity to every portrait.

BTS photo of Stephen and flight nurse in uniform sitting in helicopter in hanger,
by Denver-based photographer Stephen Cardinale.

For the shoot, Stephen helped tell the story of Jen Stickley, an emergency flight nurse with Bon Secours Mercy Health, who had benefitted from Guild’s tuition-free education in completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Our producers built the relationship with Jen over several months, then looped in Mercy Health’s head of communications to get all the necessary approvals and coordinate the shoot. Bringing cameras into a hospital brings up HIPAA concerns. We were also working with real talent that had important work to do, so it took some work to convince them that we needed more than a couple of hours with Jen. All we really knew beforehand was that we’d be shooting on the Mercy Health campus in Toledo, Ohio, and that we were hoping we could get up in the helicopter with her at some point.

Photo of flight nurse in uniform sitting in helicopter in hanger,
by Denver-based photographer Stephen Cardinale.

Jen hustles. She’s a mother of 3, a flight nurse working 24-hour shifts, and she found the time to get her BSN on the side. I have so much respect for her, the work she does, and the way she carries herself. I grew up in a blue-collar household to immigrant parents, so hard work is in my blood. It’s through that lens that I connect with people and get fulfillment from the work. I daydream constantly about all the jobs other than photography I could have, especially those that happen away from a desk. I think the people I photograph pick up on that natural curiosity and feel more relaxed in front of the camera because of it.

The Shoot

The shoot took place over three days at the Mercy Health medical campus in Toledo, with one scout day and two days of shooting. In addition to Stephen, there were teams from both Guild and Mercy Health on location, including a creative director, associate creative director, producer, DP, second-camera operator, talent, pilot, facilities manager, and head of comms.

We had 10 people present in total, with some people weaving in and out based on their schedules and whether we needed them to, for example, fly the helicopter. A lot came together on-site. We had a scout day where we got to see all of the locations for the first time. Nothing but fluorescent overhead lighting, and our kit was limited to what we could travel with, so we took advantage of that massive hangar door and got outside early in the AM.

Photo of Mercy Health campus hospital,
by Denver-based photographer Stephen Cardinale.

When it came time to go up in the helicopter, only one of us could fit, so naturally that was me! I had a cinema camera on my lap and my stills camera in my hand. I did my best to get footage and stills on our 20-minute ride. We taped a Lavalier mic to the inside of my headset so we could record Jen and the pilot talking during the flight. The audio sounded really cool.

BTS photo of Stephen and pilot in uniform sitting in helicopter,
by Denver-based photographer Stephen Cardinale.

Challenges on Set

It takes a combination of efficiency and empathy to manage non-professional talent on set. Stephen shared insights on overcoming these challenges, emphasizing the importance of preparation and maintaining a positive atmosphere.

The biggest challenge for this projectwas talent fatigue. Non-professional talent wear out quickly, so you’ve got to know how to get what you need while ensuring they have a positive experience on set. First and foremost, I would made sure everything was dialed in before we called over the talent — lighting, frame, angles, everything. Much like a high-profile executive or celebrity portrait, you want them to walk in front of the camera, have some fun and be done in a matter of minutes. The difference here is that we did it on repeat for 2 days, switching between stills and motion.