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corporate photography

Q&A: Ben Baker, New York

by Alison Zavos on May 13, 2009 · 9 comments

Chevy Chase photo image

Since departing Australia more than a decade ago, Ben Baker has traveled the world from his base in New York City, carving out an award-winning body of work in portraiture. Baker has successfully shot more than forty national covers and has worked with a diverse spectrum of clients, including XXL, Marie Claire, Stern, Sunday Times of London, Elle, New York Magazine, ESPN, Time and Fortune. His images have been purchased by News Corporation, J Crew, Xerox, Zenga and commissioned by Goldman Sachs and Saatchi & Saatchi. He is represented by Redux Pictures.

Diane von Fursteberg photograph DVF photo

Your corporate portraits are atypical in that you manage to inject humor into the shoot. How much is generally planned and cleared with the subject or PR person beforehand and how much is left to chance?
‘They are just all portraits. I don’t really see a difference in any of it/ I might have a business section of my site. But that’s more for the editors to see what they want quickly. Everyone came from somewhere, was a little kid, an awkward teen, an improbable story. Everyone would prefer to laugh at work. It’s just amazing how people seem to think a CEO or politician needs to be some boring picture. Who needs more of those? I know most subjects don’t.

‘I just try to connect and get a very human side. But I do get my share of PR people who think their job is to mess with mine. That’s okay. I make sure they are just far too distracted to get near me or the subject when I make the connection.

I am incredibly respectful, professional, super quick and make sure that they have seen my other work before I get there. So they know it’s not my first day on the job. I try to keep it under the radar and just have a chat with the subject about the little things in life that we struggle with or enjoy. And see where it can lead’.

Ivanka Trump photograph image portrait

I see that your one of your shoots with President Obama paid off with seven magazine covers. Did you anticipate this happening?
‘Yes, a very successful day that one. And we even had the power fail on us. You may have counted seven on my site, but there was over twenty covers and about twelve spreads from that shoot. I recently brought the prints to the White House as a gift for Valarie Jarrett, who I was photographing, who then gave them to the President.

‘Did I anticipate this? Not really, but I knew that it was a big opportunity that I had to take. And I enjoyed every second of it’.

Jim Rogers photograph
You shoot media moguls as well as rap stars. Do you prepare differently for one than you do for the other?
‘Not really. People are people. You couldn’t have a bigger gap than a rapper and a white kid from Australia who loves Johnny Cash. But it’s about strong visuals, clear ideas, respect and professionalism. However, with a rapper, you have to go in with a very open mind. Anything can happen; and everything has. Rappers are either extremely polite or out of their mind. But they all want to be on the magazine cover and find a way to work it out. And I love that it balances out my other work’.

Maria Shriver portrait photograph

There’s an interesting mix of locations in your Fortune 500 photo spread where you shot companies such as The Federal Reserve Board, FedEx, Twitter, and McDonald’s. Did you have control over where the various companies would be photographed and was there any shoot that proved more challenging in this respect than the others?
‘That directors shoot was big in every way. Those boards have their meetings set way in advance, so I didn’t have control. But they had to be out of the boardroom. That’s all. It was a huge team effort with the editors at Fortune. They all had major challenges.

‘The Federal Reserve Board was in the middle of the meltdown and was so serious. They only had fifteen minutes for us to get three different set ups.

‘FedEx would only give thirty minutes in the DC office. We wanted them in a cargo plane. So we had these built in two days. No sleep!

‘Twitter didn’t want to be seen as the cool internet company. Bad luck, as I doubt I was going to get Chairman Bernanke to jump off the playground. Someone had to do it.

‘McDonalds canceled once, then we had to shoot next to the special kitchen. They were really only worried about the food, which took their mind off the rest of the picture to our delight.

‘The most stressful was the Environmental Defense Fund, shot on the beach in San Francisco. Rain, wind, birds, surf, tides, rocks, and we had to get 35 people of all ages all balanced and looking good. Easily the most stressful day ever on a shoot. I was very fortunate to have been working with Nancy Jo Johnson of Fortune, who is always the calm in the storm’.

Read more about this shoot here.

Pamela Levy Gela Taylor photograph Juicy Couture

Warren Buffett portrait photograph

Capturing the Corporate Elite

by Alison Zavos on March 25, 2009 · 6 comments

Matthew Furman grew up in a small town called Hollidaysburg, Pennyslvania, best known as ‘The Birthplace of the Slinky’. He went to art school in Greece, and then moved to New York in 2001 to start his photography career. He currently resides with his wife and two daughters in Brooklyn, where he works as a freelance photographer.

You didn’t get into photography to take corporate portraits. What keeps you interested in this type of assignment?
‘I like the creative freedom. I’ve had a few editors who have called and said, “Just do your thing and make them look cool. We don’t want your typical corporate portrait”. Oftentimes, that’s a lot easier said than done’.

I would imagine that your subjects don’t have too much time to spend at a photo shoot. How much time do you usually have and what are some techniques you’ve developed to use that time most effectively?
‘Most of these guys will give you ten minutes, tops. I’ve had a few ready to walk off the set after just a few frames. I just try to get there early and have everything ready as soon as they arrive. They appreciate the efficiency. And the faster you get done, the sooner they can go back to making money. It’s also good to try and get them out of the office environment. The first question I ask when I arrive is if they have roof access, or a terrace, or even a computer-server room — anything that gives me some sort of backdrop to work with other than the standard-issue white-walled conference room’.

You’ve mentioned that magazines come to you when they are looking for something a bit different. What has been your most unusual assignment?
‘A couple of months ago, I was assigned to shoot a businessman based in San Francisco. Before I flew out to do the shoot, the photo editor warned me that the subject had been hard to get in touch with, and that his people had changed the location of the shoot several times. Right up until the last minute, I wasn’t sure if I had the right place, or if he was even going to show up. Sure enough, as I’m driving to the location, two hours before the subject was supposed to arrive, I got a call from his assistant asking if I could come earlier. I tell her I’ll be there in fifteen minutes

‘When we pull up, I see the location is a nondescript warehouse, not at all what I expected. As we’re unloading the car, the subject walks up and introduces himself. He’s a nice guy, but he’s stressing the fact that he has to leave in fifteen minutes to catch a flight. I’m feeling the pressure because it’s a feature story, the location sucks, and the subject is standing right next to me. I do a quick scout and decide to do the shot on the steps leading up to the building. The assistant quickly puts up one light, I shoot as much as I can, and the subject says he’s gotta run.

‘We say our goodbyes, and as we’re breaking down the gear, a security guard comes up and asks us what we’re doing here, etc. I tell him who I was shooting and what for. He just looks at me like I’m crazy, and says he’s never heard of either the subject or the huge company he runs. I turned to my assistant and say, “What the hell just happened?”‘

Do you think much about the future of photography and the increasing push of content online? How do you think this will impact the way you work in the future?
‘That’s a tough one. Online media is the future, and I like to think that good photography is going to be essential to that. I’m not sure exactly how it will shake out, but from my perspective, I’m thinking this is a great opportunity for photographers, editors, and art directors.

‘One of the most heartbreaking things is when I shoot an assignment and put everything I’ve got into it, only to have one image run. Hopefully without the restraints that come with print, we’ll see more and more cool photo essays. I’d love to see what art directors do when they can use as many images as they want and run them as big as they want’.