John Furlong Photography

Jonathan Hick, founder of The Directorbank Group, shot for publicity surrounding his appearance on Secret Millionaire. Picked up by Real Business, Yorkshire Evening Post, Sunderland Echo and The Business Desk.

Here’s a recent shoot at AESSEAL, a world class designer and manufacturer of mechanical seals, based in Rotherham. They hosted an open day to promote skills and training to young people, attracting Rosie Winterton, Minister of State for Pensions and the Aging Society and Minister for Yorkshire and Humber. (MSPASMYH?). Press release and images were picked up by The Yorkshire Post, Rotherham Business News and The Business Desk. Originals first, then the papers – plus free bonus portrait of Rosie Winterton.

It often pays to simplify. The end product is usually more striking. Take this corner of a large furniture warehouse for example:

There are a number of ways to shoot and light this. I chose to light just a small part, not use any ambient light at all, and emphasise the rectilinear nature of the furniture by shooting from an elevated angle. This meant the background went black, there were no colour casts to deal with. Sometimes giving the impression of size can be good enough.

When it comes to office portraits, I’m often led into the only room in the building that is not being used – the boardroom. This, not unexpectedly, has a very large piece of furniture filling it, leaving no room for lights, background or a little camera-to-subject distance. What tends to work much better is to use the corridor outside. Often I can use the depth of the corridor to make the picture more pleasing. This picture has three lights at work. The first on the subject, the second shining through the glass door to stop the background becoming dull, and the third to add some shading to the wall on the right hand side. Photographed for Common Purpose at The Yorkshire Building Society.

This is from a series in an MOT garage and used in recent Business Link literature. Lit with two lights from the side. Original below.