My last pet peeve has to do with cropping…again, from my studies of art, images with compositionally heavy, broad, dark toned, foregrounds are more pleasing to the eye. For a portrait, the viewer’s eye needs to go toward the face, the eyes of the subject. Compositionally, anything along the frame edge will distract and gain compositional weight. As will light tones pull the viewer away from the subject.
Placing a light tone along the bottom frame edge is unfortunately, a common mistake. The subject torso should fill the frame bottom, left to right…this avoids any spill from the background coming forward. Remember: Lighter tones appear to come forward, darker tones recede. Now go look at a few business portraits and see what you can find. I guarantee you will be surprised once these flaws are pointed out…they are everywhere! When you need a great executive portrait, call a photographer that knows their craft. You’ll be glad you did…and you’ll look your very best, relaxed, experienced, knowledgeable, confident, personable, and approachable. Ready to do business.
Larry Gatz is a commercial photographer in Miami, Florida specializing in advertising, corporate and industrial commissions. Over the past 30 years, his photography has been recognized both nationally and internationally. His clients have included Senators, Governors, Congressmen, national advertising agencies, magazines, and multinational corporations. Larry‘s work may be seen at: www.larrygatz.com and www.executive-photography.com
Call when you or your board, leadership team, need great executive portraits. 305.751.5007
Well, our TV weather people have been taunting the great sunset colors this week due to a huge Sahara Desert dust cloud that has made its way across the Atlantic. Twice we’ve gone out to record the colorful sky at sunset…and twice we have been underwhelmed. Gees’, all we wanted was a little color in the sky!
NBC News recently licensed one of our images of Italy. This view cross the Florence skyline was captured in 2015 and featured in our book “Smiling Through Italy” published by Blurb and available on Amazon.
Miami based Larry Gatz specializes in happy people enjoying life. Larry seeks spontaneity and the body language that speaks to the truth of the moment.
Princess Maeve, Queen of the Fairies
Keep it simple, keep it real.
Beautifully clean image files with attention to detail; Larry’s team is unparalleled and up to any challenge. A collaborator, easy to work with and the experience to make it happen.
Take a bold step today, make that call! Text: 305.775.1635
Clients have included: Bozell, Ogilvy, McCann, Publicis, Miller Brewing, Goodyear, evenflo, Dell, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Knight Foundation.
I am often asked to provide building portraits to be used in leasing activities. Very often the surrounding areas are not as visually interesting as the subject property. In this case, the photographer has a problem to solve, how to show the subject and minimize the surrounding properties…or at least make the surrounding area more appealing.
I like to take two views of any property, the first, relatively close to the subject to negate any negatives associated with the surroundings. Find a good vantage point and create the image, usually showing the front entrance. The second view is from a distance, looking at the subject property from afar, again, thus negating any surrounding elements.
A third possibility is to photograph the subject property at dusk/dawn when the natural shadowing will help to hide any surrounding detail. This technique works especially well when the building is well illuminated. Having a busy street in the foreground, as seen in this image, helps to add visual interest. This image was commissioned by Tishman Spreyer/New York, the building owner.
If you have a property that you would like to see captured in a well done, professional portrait, please give me a call. I’ll make your building look great! www.larrygatz.com
Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, LLP, West Palm Beach, Florida, Partners and Associates Group Portrait
First, just getting everybody in the same room at the appointed time can be a struggle. Then there is the question of background, props, wardrobe considerations, not to mention hair and make-up. Oh and of course, we don’t have much time, so efficiency is vital. Working with corporate directors, senior executives, lawyers..these are busy executives with limited time for pictures. My crew, stylists and make-up artists thankfully understands this and we are setup and ready to go when the first subject appears. No standing around, no wasted time with us. In the portrait above, the room we used was an empty office in the firm’s building. The baseboard and red carpet, a prop, unrolled as part of our setup. The table, books, sculpture, provided by the firm principles. You need a group portrait? We will make you look great! Call us: larrygatz.com
Great series this past week as the two best major league teams played the 2019 World Series. Houston Astro’s played fabulous, coming back from a 2-0 deficit, taking three games straight. Nice to see a franchise win it’s first World Series title…Congratulations Washington!
Seems like a simple thing, a head and shoulder portrait to accompany your business bio in a conference presentation, for the corporate leadership web page, or perhaps to send out as PR with a new position announcement to trade publications. And sure enough, there are tons of photographers that offer “head shots” at as many price points. But buyer beware…not all “head-shots” are the same. First, the term “head shot” has been used by the acting and modeling industry since forever. The first stop of every aspiring talent is a “head shot”…and every talent agent has a list of photographers that will take inexpensive, quick, “head shots”. These are used to show directors and casting agents what the person physically looks like and gives some idea of how a particular talent may, or may not, fit the director’s idea of the character being cast. These head shots are almost always full face, brightly lit, showing the face structure with a bland background. After all, the director needs to see what the talent looks like…and that is all. A business portrait on the other hand, is a different situation all together. A business portrait, a head & shoulder portrait, an executive portrait, should show a careful, sophisticated attention to detail. The business portrait is more than a simple face picture. A business or executive portrait is not about ego. It’s not about looking tough or sexy. We do business with people we like and are most comfortable with, making that first impression vital. My philosophy for business, executive portraiture is that the individual needs to appear relaxed, confident, knowledgeable and experienced, but perhaps most important, approachable. The subject needs to look like they have it together. Business portraits are about sales…it’s all about sales. Skip the fancy, (busy) background, skip the large print blouse, skip the loud tie. Do not change your hairstyle for the portrait. If you wear glasses and people know you with glasses, by all means wear your glasses. A good photographer knows how to handle distracting eyeglass reflections. Navy is better than black, gray better than tan. If you are unsure about what to wear for your portrait, I recommend involving your significant other in the selection process. After all, they know when you look good. Trust them. Business portraits are best when the subject is well rested, crisp and not rushed. That means mornings for most people, before the fires of business get started burning, before the shirt is wrinkled, before the beard starts to show, before the hair style starts to show the effects of humidity. Speaking of the corporate leadership page, for continuity and design, every executive should be shown with the same background. Keep it simple. (KISS) If you have a need for something special, that can be arranged, but here we are only discussing the everyday business head & shoulder portrait. Prospective customers need to know your company is stable and engaged in whatever industry, business or profession. Take the time to schedule a professional business portrait. The reality is that picking out your wardrobe, suit, tie or blouse may take more time than the actual portrait session. A professional photographer knows you are busy and will not waste your time on set. Our job is to make you look great and then get back to work…creating business.
Larry Gatz is a professional commercial, corporate photographer with over 25 years of experience. For more information or a quote for your corporate photography, contact info@executive-photography.com or call 305.775.1635
After hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamians last week, I thought posting my friend “Fred” would be appropriate. Yes, Fred is Jamaican and not Bahamian, but he’s as close as I have to an island friend. We haven’t heard from him lately, trust he and his family are well, man.
Larry Gatz is a commercial photographer in Miami, Florida specializing in advertising, corporate and industrial commissions. Over the past 30 years, his photography has been recognized both nationally and internationally. His clients have included Senators, Governors, Congressmen, national advertising agencies, magazines, and multinational corporations. Larry‘s work may be seen at: www.larrygatz.com and www.executive-photography.com 
