Need film / format recommendation and general hints!

[Matt5791]

I have a project coming up where I am photographing all the members of a set of Barristers Chambers for their new website - for anyone not familiar with "Barristers" they are a type of British lawyer (also found in other contries with British influenced legal systems) who specialise in advocacy. It is now common practice for Barristers chambers (Chambers being the name given to a firm of Baristers, although they aren't a firm) to have a website where each member has a portrait and a write up about them - as an example from another website: http://www.3pumpcourt.com/docs/cv_damien_lochrane.htm

So - that is the project (sorry it is long winded - but I wanted to set the scene)

I'm after recommendation for a colour negative or colour transparency films - I would like to use transparency because I believe it scanns better (put me right if I have this wrong!) but I want something with natural skin tones.

I will be using medium format or 35mm.

I intend to light it with a couple of studio flash and I have umbrellas and softbox - I may use just softbox and bounce fill - either way I want the light to be reasonably directional to add a little drama - they all specialise in criminal law and regard themselves as a no-nonsense chambers - so a slightly gritty, and dramatic look would be appropiate.

With this in mind maybe I should shoot 35mm?

Thanks for any advice
Matt

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Matt,

Have you suggested B+W?

Probably won't go for it -- but they might...

At the very least I'd shoot both and see how they liked the B+W.

Cheers,

R.

 

[bdial]

If it's strictly for the web, 35 ought to be fine. Otherwise, if there is a possibility they'd use it for other promotions, medium format might be better.
As for gritty and dramatic, what if you shoot them somewhere other than their offices? On the street, for example?
No matter how dramatic the lighting, I wouldn't think of a "suit" in an office full of law books as gritty. How adventuresome are these folks?

 

[Matt5791]

If it's strictly for the web, 35 ought to be fine. Otherwise, if there is a possibility they'd use it for other promotions, medium format might be better.
As for gritty and dramatic, what if you shoot them somewhere other than their offices? On the street, for example?
No matter how dramatic the lighting, I wouldn't think of a "suit" in an office full of law books as gritty. How adventuresome are these folks?

There is a possibility that they may want to use for other things later on - so MF may be a better idea.

In an office with some law books with slightly dramatic lighting is gritty for them!

......However - I like the street idea very much - to the extent I will suggest this - may not be practical for all the individuals (there will be up to 50 - 60) but for some a street shot might be excellent.

Roger - I have thought about B/W and if I shoot with the Hasselblad I can of course use a separate back. So I might shoot some anyway, even if only for my own personal ends.

Thanks for the ideas,

Matt

 

[Ian Grant]

Matt have a look at the work of Brian Griffin, he comes from near us.

Ian

 

[MattKing]

You could dress them all up as Rumpole .

Dramatic - the criminal bar - I would try something like a directional and focused light source - a "light at the end of a tunnel" effect.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not the case still in England that the clients retain the solicitors, and the solicitors retain the Barristers? If so, you may want to talk to some solicitors to get ideas from them.

Matt

 

[Matt5791]

You could dress them all up as Rumpole .

Dramatic - the criminal bar - I would try something like a directional and focused light source - a "light at the end of a tunnel" effect.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not the case still in England that the clients retain the solicitors, and the solicitors retain the Barristers? If so, you may want to talk to some solicitors to get ideas from them.

Matt

Matt - you are right about the Solicitor - Barrister thing. Most of the solicitors firms have websites with the portrait shots - however, because for about the last 15 years Solicitors have been allowed to advertise they now have huge marketing budgets and come up with stuff like this, which just looks like someone has tried too hard, apart from the boring lighting (to me anyway).....

http://www.sp-legal.co.uk/OurPeople/Partners/HughBrookes.asp

Ian - I see what you mean about Brian Griffin - the corporate / industrial stuff looks superb.

Thanks
Matt

 

[MattKing]

Matt - you are right about the Solicitor - Barrister thing. Most of the solicitors firms have websites with the portrait shots - however, because for about the last 15 years Solicitors have been allowed to advertise they now have huge marketing budgets and come up with stuff like this, which just looks like someone has tried too hard, apart from the boring lighting (to me anyway).....

http://www.sp-legal.co.uk/OurPeople/Partners/HughBrookes.asp

Ian - I see what you mean about Brian Griffin - the corporate / industrial stuff looks superb.

Thanks
Matt

Matt:

Sorry for the lack of clarity

The point I was trying to make is that as the solicitors will be the target market, you may want to talk to them to get a sense of what they are looking for.

Matt

 

[Matt5791]

Matt:

Sorry for the lack of clarity

The point I was trying to make is that as the solicitors will be the target market< you may want to talk to them to get a sense of what they are looking for

Matt

Oh - yes I see. Absolutely.


Thanks
Matt

 

[roteague]

Even if it is for the web, I would still shoot MF. There is a difference in quality, and the difference between the two is visible even at web resoutions.

 

[dsullivan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not the case still in England that the clients retain the solicitors, and the solicitors retain the Barristers? If so, you may want to talk to some solicitors to get ideas from them.

Matt

Some barristers can now also be retained by the public directly in England and Wales, this was changed in 2004, this may not apply to the persons in question though.

David

 

[Mick Fagan]

As you will have controlled lighting, you could look at Kodak Portra 160NC.

I recently developed some of this for a friend who had photographed the local council officers in their offices, which look remarkably like the barristers offices I have seen.

The clarity of the negatives is a step ahead of anything I have seen in a while. I made contact sheets and we (the photographer and I) decided to enlarge one of the frames.

Very, very good grain (or dye) structure, in fact the film is so fine, it reminded me of Ektar 25 professional, very hard to get enough detail for the grain focuser, and I'm using a Peak focuser.

She later on had the film drum scanned for CMYK seps, I saw the finished 64 page A4 product. The best group picture of the department heads, was presented in a DPS through the gutter print and is basically a pull out mini poster. This DPS has been a talking point amongst the staff and it secured another couple of jobs.

She used an RB67 and I know she only has two lenses, a 135 and a moderate wide.

You have latitude with colour negative film that allows for over and under exposure, transparency film doesn't really have much latitude. Brilliant colour accuracy is one of the Portra strong points.

I would use any camera that has the possibility for different backs, because as Roger says, some may wish for B&W.

Mick.

 

[Brac]

Fuji's current professional colour negative films are claimed to be optimised for scanning. I suspect Kodak's Portra range are too. It would be unusual to use transparency film for this type of work and as already pointed out it doesn't have much exposure latitude, so you would increase the risk of unsatisfactory results by using it.

 

[copake_ham]

Rumpole - shmumpole.

The days of a gritty barrister at the Old Bailey are passe!

Take a clue from how criminal defense lawyers advertise in the U.S.

Proud, pin-stripped and pompedored!

We're talking the late Johnny Cochrane here! A totally distinguished group.

I would do a juxtaposed shot. The barristers in their "decked out pinstriped civvies" against the same group shot in the robes and hoods.

BTW, when are the Barristers there going to finally get rid of those smelly hair/hoods and musty robes?

As to format - 35mm should be fine if scanned into TIF. You will get greater detail with MF - but it won't matter when everything gets shrunk down into a JPEG to fit on the website!