Los Angeles Corporate Photographer
Gregory Mancuso is an award-winning photographer based in Los Angeles with over 20 years experience. He is a top ten excellent and affordable corporate photographer who creates captivating images in the LA area. The types of shooting he does includes events coverage, headshots, portraits, conferences, meetings, parties, and corporate working images & facilities–which are utilized by people in corporate communications, pr, marketing and social media.
He is considered one of best corporate photographers in Los Angeles and specializes in business and lifestyle photography, and shoots environmental portraits that reveal the natural warmth and personality of his subjects within impeccably designed compositions.
He has worked for many of our finest magazines, agencies and corporations. Using sensitivity, respect and heaping helpings of humor, Gregory is able to relax and gain the trust of his subjects, capturing their inner personality and essence within exceptional photos.
Gregory has a knack for making those involved in the shoot, willing co-conspirators of the creative process, resulting in everyone contributing to the pleasant task of making striking imagery. Many consider him one of the top ten corporate photographers in Los Angeles.
PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES
Los Angeles corporate photographer recommendations
“Greg is probably the best photographer in Los Angeles. He’s a very talented and a top notch professional. I highly recommend him not only as a photographer, but also as a creative consultant who is attuned to the client’s needs. His sense of composition and lighting is way above the crowd. But don’t take my word for it–a quick glance at his portfolio at LinkedIn or at his website will testify to the high degree of his artistry. The body of work speaks for itself. Fabulous creative shots, and very cost-effective. You are welcome to contact me for details, or with questions.” Monica Ballard
“Greg is one of the best corporate photographers in the country – I would consider him always.” Allen Spiegler
“I have worked with Greg for more than five years now. He is extremely dependable, quick and a true master at his craft (photography). I have hired him to do a wide range of events ranging for industry events featuring various Senators and Hollywood celebrities to my son’s third birthday. In all cases, Greg has been the consummate professional. I highly recommend his work and would be more than happy to give anyone who is interested more information.” K. Forrest Beanum
“I would not hesitate to hire Gregory again and again. Terrific work.” Harry J Friedman
“Greg was spot-on with high profile talent, right out of the box. John Daly was our talent for a Spot TV shoot and internet video, a ton of material to cover and only a day to do it in. Greg had to shoot around the film crew (PGA Tour Productions) and deliver material for the web and for print. He did it in a totally unobtrusive way and still managed to deliver great material that most shooters would have needed several days to capture and even then wouldn’t have picked up the subtleties Greg lensed. I definitely will use Greg again when I’m in Los Angeles, particularly when there is talent like John Daly involved.” Fred Page
“Greg has an easy-going personality that relaxes people and dissolves the stress of a shoot. He just has a flair for bringing out the natural warmth and personality of people and his sense of humor helps to make the whole experience fun. He has a real gift of making everyone feel comfortable. I’ve also found him to be very dependable. I first hired Greg back in 2002 and still use those photos because they were exactly what we wanted. Have used him other times since then, most recently this year and once again, he delivered exactly what we were looking for. He knows his stuff!” Pattie Lincoln-Tanzman
“Greg’s work proved to be phenomenal! I was very pleased with every aspect of his work and would hire him again without hesitation for our next photo shoot in Los Angeles.” Courtney Vorachek
“I have used Greg for photography assignments several times. He is dependable photographer, on-time, listens carefully to our project goals and then can be left on his own to deliver them. Results have always been very good and creative with lots of variety among the shots taken. He also delivers his assignments on time. A number of his photographs have been used in our annual reports.” Marilyn Freemon
“I recommend Greg for anyone considering a photographer in Los Angeles, no matter the assignment. I’ve used Greg’s services for more than 15 years, and for the majority of that time he was the only photographer I used. He is always on time, personable, readily understands the work to be done and completes it in a timely manner.” Ken Preston
“The non-profit I work for has hired Gregory Mancuso to photograph several events which required extraordinary flexibility due to demanding schedules and high profile attendees. Every step of the way Greg’s professional attitude, demeanor, and photographic skill enabled him to deliver exactly what the organization was looking for. The photographs have been used to promote the organization in online and printed materials. All feedback we have received about Greg following events has been positive.” Diane Baldwin
“Greg is seasoned, professional, personable, and reliable photographer. He gets the assignment without any hand-holding and delivers images that get the job done with an extra gleam.” Andrew Rasanen
“I hired Greg at rather short notice to do a shoot at a television playout facility in the Los Angeles area. From the point we had confirmation of ths date, Greg took over and was happy to liaise directly with the facility to make sure the shoot happened to meet my tight deadline. The results were great – excellent photography and a whole range of shots to choose from. More than I would ever be able to use! I would definitely use Greg again when we need a photographer and would have no hesitation in recommending him.” Laila Bishay
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words…so my write-up of Greg’s work won’t do his work justice. Simply put, when I have an important client project on-line, I want Greg behind the camera, working with me to deliver a top-notch project.” Matthew Klink
“As a talent manager, I have often recommended Greg to my clients in Los Angeles. He has always delivered!! Fantastic photographer — in pretty much every area. I cannot think of anyone I would recommend more strongly. Awesome work. Incredible personality. Fair. Honest. Creative minded. Greg is simply…the best.” Heidi Ifft
“I’ve been using Gregory Mancuso as a photographers for The California Endowment for the past 7 years and couldn’t be happier with his work. I recommend him to any company seeking a highly competent, reliable, flexible and professional photographer.” Jeff Okey
“Greg is a talented, creative, and experienced photographer. We have hired him on many occasions to do photo sessions with various artists and musicians, as well as special events. He is relaxed and easy to work with, and open to suggestions and collaboration.” Scott Price
“We hired Gregory to do a variety of photos from exterior building shots to headshots of our top executives. I was impressed with his range, professionalism and ability to work so well with our busy executives. I would definitely hire him again and highly recommend him.” Winnie Jong
“Greg is a great photographer. He’s creative, thoughtful and dependable. He’s my go-to guy in Los Angeles.” Ken Johnson
“We hired Greg for photography and graphics composition services on a kitschy doggie card traditionally sent to company associates for the holidays. Over a dozen employee’s dogs were costumed in festive Hawaiian attire for individual photography on a tight Saturday schedule at our offices – requiring much patience and flexibility from our photographer – but Greg was clearly up to the task. The dogs all loved him and the shoot had such great results that perhaps our biggest challenge was selecting which images to actually use for our marketing piece. Great job, Greg!” Tammie Richards
Los Angeles corporate photographer – GregoryMancuso.com – GregoryMancuso.com/los-angeles-corporate-photographer/ – GregoryMancuso.com/2013/07/excellent-los-angeles-photographer-corporate-portrait-magazine/
Video | Another Day in Los Angeles shot by a corporate photographer
Video Time Lapse Photography shot in Los Angeles by photographer: Rob Naples – Composer: Jeff McDonough
“Greg M.- we don’t have lots of occassions – but when needed, we hire Greg to cover PR events, corporate photos and other creative needs. He is on time, reliable, does excellent work and does a good job of keeping in touch. MBPR has used his services throughout several years.Happy to recommend him as a photographer.” Marje Bennetts
“Greg is definitely a “no drama” photographer. He has the ability to put his subjects at ease and let you know he is in control. I always enjoy working with a photographer like Greg.” Anne Shackman
“Gregory does excellent work. He is very personable. As a subject I felt quite at ease while he was able to achieve just that right look that was more than flattering. I would recommend him for any kind of photography need AND his prices are very reasonable for Los Angeles photographers.” Don Monroe
“Greg finds the most important element of a subject to create amazing visuals. He is extremely friendly and loves to work with animals as well.” Megan Perry Moore
“Greg Mancuso was a joy to work with. He handled all the preparation and details beautifully. We just had to show up. He was patient, informative and had control of the situation. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The photographs are pictures that will be handed down generation to generation. One of the best photographers in Los Angeles” Angela Jackson
“I was lucky enough to find Gregory and use his services in April of this year. Gregory is a genius in the photography world! He was detail oriented, precise, trustworthy, and really affordable photographers. I highly recommend him for all of your photography needs. I look forward to working with Gregory again…Thanks Gregory, for making us look so good!!! peacelove” Sheri Marlowe
“Our results from a photo shoot with Greg were fantastic. He is very creative and adept at handling the talent and subject matter.” Bill Farhood
Clients of Los Angeles corporate photographer Gregory Mancuso who have hired him for photography shoots in LA area
PUBLICATIONS
Time, Business Week, People, Forbes, TV Guide, Discover, Parenting, AARP, Woman’s World, First for Women, ESPN Magazine, HR Magazine, Risk Insurance, American Banker, Architectural Digest, Sunset, Popular Photography, 7×7, Feature Film, LA Times, Gannett Newspapers
COMPANIES
Coke, Pepsi, Anheuser Busch, Miller, G E, Motorola, Dove, Sears, Lowe’s, Carpet One, Macy’s, Levi Strauss, Vans, Axe, Lane Bryant, Paramount, Turner, Steamboat Ventures, Blizzard Entertainment, Gas Company, SoCal Edison, Verizon, Pac Bell, Mobil, Chevron, Unocal, Honda, Toyota, METRO, Clorox, Dupont, Sav-On, Nestle, Playboy, Lane Bryant, Wells Fargo, Investors Business Daily, Union Bank, Bank of America, Country Casual, Ernst and Young, Mesirow, Ridgestone, Panda Inn, Omni Hotels, Aetna, Farmers, Transamerica, Hewlett Packard, ICANN, Oracle, RAND, New Egg, Jade Yoga, Affymetrix, Transwestern, Targus, Paradigm Global Logistics, Getty Center, PhRMA, Bravewell, California Health Underwriters, California Endowment, UCLA, USC, Syracuse University
AGENCIES
Hill and Knowlton, Edelman, Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Rogers Group, Burson Marsteller, GCI, Fleishman-Hillard, BumperCar Inc, CKPR, Cerrell Associates, Manning Selvage and Lee, Perry Com, Stoorza Ziegaus Metzger, The Empire USA, Pop2Life, GMR Marketing, Tractenberg, Alison Brod PR, Goodman Group, Lee and Associates, Paine Associates, M Bennetts, Spelling Communications, Fahlgren Mortine, The Hoyt Organization, Chase and Associates, Monaco-Viola Design, Landis Design, Sharp Design
Los Angeles corporate photographer – GregoryMancuso.com – GregoryMancuso.com/los-angeles-corporate-photographer/ – GregoryMancuso.com/2013/07/excellent-los-angeles-photographer-corporate-portrait-magazine/
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Los Angeles Photography Galleries and Museums
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, and is adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits. LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States. It attracts nearly a million visitors annually.[3] Its holdings of more than 100,000 works span the history of art from ancient times to the present. In addition to art exhibits, the museum features film and concert series.
shows Los Angeles corporate photographers images
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art was established as a museum in 1961. Prior to this, LACMA was part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, founded in 1910 in Exposition Park near the University of Southern California. Early trustee Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. made the lead donation of $2 million, convincing the museum board that sufficient funds could be raised to establish the new museum. In 1965, the museum moved to a new Wilshire Boulevard complex as an independent, art-focused institution, the largest new museum to be built in the United States after the National Gallery of Art.
The museum was built in a style similar to Lincoln Center and the Los Angeles Music Center and consisted of three buildings: the Ahmanson Building, the Bing Center, and the Lytton Gallery (renamed the Frances and Armand Hammer Building in 1968). The board selected LA architect William Pereira over the directors’ recommendation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the buildings.[4] The LA Music Center and LACMA were concurrent large civic projects which vied for attention and donors in Los Angeles.
Photography
The Wallis Annenberg Photography Department was launched in 1984 with a grant from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. It has holdings of more than fifteen thousand works that span the period from the medium’s invention in 1839 to the present, and photography also is integrated into other departments. Although LACMA’s photo collection encompasses the entire field, it has many gaps and is far smaller than that of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
In 1992, Audrey and Sydney Irmas donated their entire photography collection, creating what is now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection of Artists’ Self-Portraits, a large and highly specialized selection spanning 150 years. The couple donated the collection two years before a major exhibition of the collection was mounted at LACMA; the display included photos of and by artistic photographers ranging from chemist Alphonse Poitevin in 1853 to Robert Mapplethorpe in 1988. Among other self-portraits in the collection were those of Andy Warhol, Lee Friedlander, and Edward Steichen.
Audrey Irmas continues to buy for the collection, but now all the additions are gifts to LACMA. In 2008, LACMA announced that the Annenberg Foundation was making a $23 million gift for the acquisition of the Marjorie and Leonard Vernon collection of 19th- and 20th-century photographs. Among the 3,500 master prints are works by Steichen, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Eugène Atget, Imogen Cunningham, and Man Ray. The gift also provided an endowment and capital to help build storage facilities for the museum’s photographic holdings, leading to the its photography department being renamed the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography. In 2011, LACMA and the J. Paul Getty Trust jointly acquired Robert Mapplethorpe’s art and archival material, including more than 2,000 works by the artist.
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Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
The Central Library houses and archives the extensive Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection of over 3 million historic photographs from varied sources and collection acquisitions. Many images can be viewed by the public via the online photo collection.The physical Photo Collection an important resource for researchers, writers, curators, and educators
Sources
The Photo Collection’s sources have included: the former Los Angeles Herald-Examiner newspaper photo morgue (2.2 million images); the Security Pacific Bank Collection (250,000); the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce image archives (60,000), Hollywood Citizen News/Valley Times Newspaper Collection (30,000), and the ‘Turn of the century Los Angeles’ collection (150,000).
and some photos are by Los Angeles corporate photographers
Collection sources also include the portfolios by noted local and regional photographers, such as: the Ralph Morris Archives (25,000) of the Los Angeles area from 1939 to the late 1970s; a collection of 1940s L.A. images taken and donated by Ansel Adams, and the William Reagh Collection (40,000—800 online) of post-war Los Angeles to 1991.
Shades of L.A.
The “Shades of L.A. Collection” is an archive of more than 10,000 images donated/duplicated from family photo albums (collected by former Photo Collection director Carolyn Kozo Cole) that expanded the archives to include the many diverse ethnic histories of people in the city, beyond the already well represented ‘Anglo’ population.
The project’s success expanded to the California State Library creating the “Shades of California” collection to represent the state’s diverse communities, using the LAPL methods and model. The book “Shades of California: The Hidden Beauty of Ordinary Life” resulted from the successful statewide project. Over a dozen California city and county library districts also created local Shades of California collections, such as Monterey, Riverside, and Humboldt County.
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M+B Gallery – 612 North Almond Drive – Los Angeles, CA 90069 – (310) 550-0050 – mbart.com
Price: Free – Hours: Tues to Sat – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sun and Mon – closed
The M+B Gallery displays “Compulsion” by contemporary artist Alex Prager. The exhibit includes a selection of color photographs, several of them interesting close-ups of the eyes, plus the artist’s new short film entitled “La Petite Mort.” The Los Angeles show will be displaying simultaneously with shows in New York and London.
The G2Gallery – 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd – Venice, CA 90291 – (310) 452–2842 – theg2gallery.com
Price: Free Hours: Sun to Thurs – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fri and Sat – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The G2Gallery will be showcasing the work of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), an American photographer who became famous for his black and white pictures of the American West, often of Yosemite National Park. Aware that a picture can say a thousand words, Adams’ pictures of nature intended to inspire positive changes on behalf of the environment. The next exhibit at The G2Galley will be “Wild on Earth,” the wildlife and cultural photography of Piper Mackay.
Drkrm – 727 S Spring St – Los Angeles, CA 90014 – (323) 271-5635 – drkrm.com
Price: Free Hours: Wed to Sat – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sun – 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Mon and Tues – closed
The Drkrm will be showcasing Steven Rubin’s “Vacationland”. Rubin is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Penn State University, and in the past has worked as a documentary photographer with assignments in the Middle East and in Latin American countries like Chile and Cuba. His work fits right in with what is often displayed at the Drkrm – cutting-edge documentary and photo-journalistic work that displays cultural images of the past and the presen
Annenberg Space for Photography – 2000 Avenue of the Stars, #10 – Los Angeles, CA 90067 – (213) 403-3000 – annenbergspaceforphotography.org
Price: Free Hours: Wed to Fri, Sun – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat – 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Mon and Tues – closed
The Annenberg Space is showcasing “Digital Darkroom,” the work of 17 artists from around the world who fuse art with technology. Each artist has mastered a particular digital technique such as layered imagery, 3D imaging, picture “stitching” and so forth. Each of the artists has contributed two to six works for a combined display of over 80 prints. Jeff Brouws, Franchised Landscape, Signs Without Signification Portfolio, 2003-2007
Craig Krull Gallery – Bergamot Station – 2525 Michigan Ave, Building B-3 – Santa Monica, CA 90404 – (310) 828-6410 – craigkrullgallery.com
Price: Free Hours: Tues to Fri – 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat – 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sun and Mon – closed
Starting May 26th and and going through July 14th, the Craig Krull Gallery will showcase the work of San Francisco born artist Jeff Brouws. His work is a survey of American rural, urban and suburban landscapes. His pictures turn the mundane and every-day situations into subjects for consideration – from abandoned gas stations to hotels and fast-food restaurants, Brouws makes his viewer give thought to the effects of development and “civilization.”
photo la – The Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition
photo l.a., the longstanding photographic art exposition, returned to the historic Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for its 22nd edition.The fair closed with a strong attendance of over 10,000 and exceeded expectations of its co-producers Claudia James Bartlett, Wayne Fernandez and founder Stephen Cohen, “We are honored to annually bring together the photographic community for a weekend of incredible energy, sales and learning”.
photo l.a. continues to prove itself as an institution and as a platform for dealers from around the globe to come together for the exhibition of vintage masterworks and contemporary photography, as well as video and multimedia installations creating the juxtaposition that differentiates photo l.a.
photo l.a. continued to present outstanding programming with a series of lectures, roundtables and docent tours with Keith F. Davis, Senior Curator, Nelson-Atkins Museum; Weston Naef, Curator Emeritus, Department of Photographs, The J. Paul Getty Museum; Deborah Bell, Vice President, Specialist Head of Photographs Department at Christies and Gordon Baldwin, former curator, Department of Photographs, The J. Paul Getty Museum. Programming highlights included Weston Naef’s Collecting panel, the Fashion and Photography, New Technologies & Social Media and the Architectural Photograph roundtables. Renowned photojournalist Bill Eppridge spoke about his experiences documenting the 1960s, specifically, Robert F. Kennedy’s final campaign. Matthew Thompson, curator and author of “The Anxiety of Photography” – led a round table discussion with a mix of younger Los Angeles artists Andrea Longacre-White, Anthony Pearson and David Benjamin Sherry.
Point of View, an installation featuring selections from noted Los Angeles collectors was a centerpiece of photo l.a. This well received exhibit highlighted the wealth of connoisseurship that exists in Los Angeles. Collector’s statements, placed alongside the photographs, put into perspective the relationship between artist and collector.
© Steve Kahn, The Hollywood Suites, 1974-1976, Courtesy of Joseph Bellows Gallery
Photo LA
Los Angeles International Fine Art Photography Expo
If you’re a collector, a fan of great photography, or an aspiring photographer, photo l.a. in Santa Monica is the place to be. photo l.a. is an international fine art photography exhibition and sale. Galleries from around the world converge on Santa Monica, California to showcase and sell fine art photographs from some of the most famous names in photography as well as emerging fine art photographers. The approximately 70 exhibitors bring work from most major American and European art centers. In addition to the gallery booths, there are lectures by photographers, photo editors, and photo collectors. The weekend usually kicks off with a celebrity fundraiser. Info: www.photola.com (323) 937-5525
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MOPLA – Month of Photography Los Angeles
ABOUT
In April 2009, the inaugural Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA) showcased the enormous photography community, inclusive of commercial, fine art and photojournalism. As the second largest photography community in the United States, Los Angeles provides a distinctive backdrop to the celebration of the photographic image.
MOPLA was established and exists to advance the celebration of Photography through a variety of events and programs designed to inspire and invigorate the photography professional, enthusiast, emerging professional and collector.
MOPLA’s two-fold mission is to advance dynamic programming designed to engage and stimulate the photography community, as well as to present a comprehensive resource of exhibitions and events in April.
2013 THEME
MOPLA 2013’s theme, Wide Angle: Exploring New Photography from Los Angeles and Beyond aims to showcase bodies of work that have been previously unseen or exhibited in Los Angeles. While continuing to focus on creatives in the Los Angeles community, a number of international photographers will be featured throughout the month.
FOUNDERS
MOPLA was conceived and is organized by the individuals who founded The Focus on Aids Photography Auction, The Lucie Foundation, and the Lucie Awards.
HOSSEIN FARMANI
Hossein Farmani is Founder and Chairman of The Lucie Foundation, Co-Founder of Focus on Aids, and Co-Founder of The Palm Springs Photo Festival. He is Principal of The Farmani Group whose roster of companies include PX3 (Prix de la Photographie Paris), The International Design Awards, FYI Design, London International Creative Competition, The International Photography Awards, The Lucie Awards and The Farmani Gallery.
CAT JIMENEZ
Cat Jimenez is Co-Founder of the Month of Photography Los Angeles, Executive Director of the Lucie Foundation, and a photographer. She studied photography at the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California and was featured in the Smithsonian Institute and The Los Angeles Filipino American Centennial Commemoration Committee Project entitled “I am Today’s Filipino”, recognizing and preserving the stories of individuals making a contribution to American Life.
Los Angeles Photography Studios
Smashbox Studios is a premier photo and film studio in Los Angeles that regularly hosts photo shoots, film shoots, and events for photographers, producers and celebrities.
History
Davis Factor and Dean Factor, great-grandsons of Hollywood cosmetics legend Max Factor, founded Smashbox Studios in 1990.
studio is used by corporate photographers in Los Angeles to shoot various subjects
The enterprise expanded to include a photo studio, modeling agency, production company, clothing line, and, in 1996, a cosmetics line called Smashbox Cosmetics. The cosmetic line was sold to Estée Lauder in 2010.
In 2002, IMG and Smashbox Studios began hosting Los Angeles Fashion Week at their Culver City location. 2007 marked its 6th consecutive year.
In 2007 Smashbox Studios merged with Quixote Studios,[3][4] an LA based film and photo studio founded by Mikel Elliot and Jordan Kitaen. Smashbox Studios and Quixote Studios together comprise 15 studios between three locations in West Hollywood, Culver City and Griffith Park. They also have a production supplies and expendable store located in Hollywood and a vehicle lot in West Los Angeles housing a fleet of production trailers, trucks and motorhomes. Each location has grip and lighting departments; espresso bars; and private, celebrity green rooms.
Smashbox Studios has also been featured on various cycles of America’s Next Top Model.
Los Angeles Fashion Week
In 2002, IMG‘s fashion division, which produces Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, made its first foray west, with Mercedes-Benz Shows LA in downtown Los Angeles at The Standard hotel. Simultaneously, Davis Factor and Dean Factor produced Smashbox Fashion Week Los Angeles at Smashbox Studios in Culver City.
photo shot by a Los Angeles corporate photographer
Dozens of designers showed their collections to journalists, celebrities, family and friends at these two centralized venues, while others still chose to show their collections in unique off site venues such as nightclubs, private estates, train stations, churches and lofts. In 2003, IMG and Smashbox united under one banner to streamline services and venues, choosing the Factor-owned Smashbox Studios Culver City location over downtown Los Angeles venues.
In 2009, IMG and Smashbox Studios ended their 5 year relationship on amicable terms and suspended LA Fashion Week.
F.A.C.E. OFF
Smashbox Studios holds an annual photography competition known as the “FACE OFF(Fashion Advertising Celebrity Editorial) for young photographers and photo assistants. In 2007 the 12th annual Face Off show was held at Smashbox Studios Stage 5 in conjunction with Flaunt Magazine and Splashlight Digital.
Los Angeles Corporate Photographer Shooting Tips – Books
Commercial Photography Handbook By Kirk Tuck This excerpt from the Commercial Photography Handbook is provided courtesy of Amherst Media. To purchase the book and learn more about the publisher, visit the Amherst Media website.
Los Angeles companies hire photographers for more than just advertising shoots. Learn about the kinds of images they need, the skills and tools you need to create them, and how to get and keep clients and be one of the top ten corporate photographers in Los Angeles with this excerpt from Kirk Tuck’s Amherst Media book Commercial Photography Handbook.
This is my favorite category of photography and the field in which I’ve been able to photographers earn the most money, most consistently. In this niche you work directly with large corporations and supply them with all different kinds of images. Though they will usually have a large advertising agency that services their account executive portraits, the agency will be tasked with creating global or national ad campaigns with large photographers budgets. The agencies will want to hire specific photographers to match the look and feel of the concepts they create. You may or may not be what the ad agencies are looking for. They will be focused on finding a very specific look that is very much “of the moment.”
But those advertising shoots are short lived and, by their very nature, don’t engender much additional work from the same client. And those photographers ad shoots are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the day-to-day imaging needs of major corporations. They will also require a never-ending stream of executive head shots, product documentation shots, press style coverage of major announcements, and lots and lots of event photography.
Though a style is everything in the realms of photographer fashion and advertising, you never want your style to overpower the content in a corporate CEO portrait. The whole point is to put the attention on the person, not the presentation. For a shot like this, I use a fairly straightforward lighting design that consists of two lights. One is used in a big umbrella or softbox to the subject’s right, and the second is used in a small photographer softbox to illuminate the background. A white board or reflector is used on the opposite side of the subject’s face, providing fill light.
Encouraging Repeat Corporate Photography Business
Working for major corporations is so different from advertising photographer photography that it is nothing short of amazing. An ad agency is generally looking for the current “hot photographer.” They want a polished and practiced “one-trick pony” who can overlay his cutting edge executive portraits style onto their client’s ads. Once the photographer style is mainstream it becomes dated and the photographer is no longer in demand.
In corporate photography work the opposite is true. If you get your foot in the door at a Los Angeles corporation (generally through the marketing services or public relations departments) and you do a good job at an acceptable rate, you will most likely be invited back again and again. The people inside a corporation are generally looking for good, consistent photographer work that is in a widely accepted style which evolves relatively slowly. They seek repeatable results. They adore “known” resources and reward consistency. In many cases, if you are invited to do a portrait of the CEO (and if the CEO, his staff, and his family like the portrait), you will find the executives all down the hierarchy will demand that their next portrait be taken by the same photographer. Excellent corporate executive portraits are always in demand.
Once you’ve been accepted by one Los Angeles department, and done good work for them, your name will get passed on to the next department. The new department may be charged with getting great photographs of their products. Product photography is a discipline that’s totally different from portraiture, but in the eyes of the corporate guys you are already a proven commodity, and if you say you can do a different kind of task, they will believe you until you prove otherwise. For one high-tech company in my market I provide executive portraits, product photography, complete coverage of all their events (internal and external), and even the artwork on some of their walls.
You get a Los Angeles corporate photography client like this by building trust assignment after assignment, year after year. And, while corporate rates tend to be smaller than the day and usage rates for advertising photography, you may have gotten a hold of a client that uses you monthly for a decade or longer. All that’s required of you are these three things for executive portraits:
Never promise something you can’t reliably deliver! Always deliver more than you promise, both in images and in service. Never forget to thank your corporate clients each time they use you.
Corporate Photographer Top Ten Tips
If your client needs microphotography of corporate products using a specialized light that you’ve never even heard of, you’ll be laying your future assignments with them on the line if you try to wing it. You’d be much smarter to help them find the right specialist. If you’ve built a strong relationship with the Los Angeles photographers client, they will continue to support you. If you try your hand at a technique and fail, especially under a tight deadline, you will have squandered the trust you built and may never recover.
When I say a Los Angeles photographer should always deliver more than you promise I mean that if a client needs a photograph delivered by noon the next day, you should aim to deliver that photograph by 8AM instead. If you see beads of sweat on their foreheads as they make their request for a noon delivery, you would be an even bigger hero if you could deliver the shot by the end of the day. Not all jobs will be a rush, but they will remember that you made their lives easier when it really counted! If you Los Angeles photographer are asked to do a product shot, you should deliver what was asked for but also deliver several variations that they might like even better. If you develop a reputation within the organization as a valued team player, you will be giving yourself a tremendous amount of free word-of-mouth advertising without even trying.
Headshots
You’ll need to provide flattering and consistent headshots. Once you start with a certain custom backdrop you’ll need to use the same basic lighting style and that backdrop for every corporate executive headshot you photograph for that particular client, whether in the studio or on location. The web designers and graphic designers want the consistency because in many cases multiples of executives will be used on the same pages. And nothing is more jarring than warring backgrounds and wildly different Los Angeles photographer lighting styles juxtaposed to one another. You’ll need to be able to deliver retouched files that work well as small Web images, but you’ll need to shoot them at high resolutions in case they decide to make large prints.