I had the opportunity to photograph Governor Youngkin in late November. I was prepared with 3 side-by-side backdrops so I could quickly get multiple options, and having worked with high-profile subjects before I was very prepared to get 5 minutes or less with the new Governor. To my surprise he was very generous with his time and the session was un-rushed and we got some great shots on the 3 setups.
First off we have 9 foot white seamless which I needed to put at an angle as the hallway was just less than 9 feet wide. We have a light with just a reflector acting as fill positioned above my head, and then the ket is a large umbrella with diffusion.
For the second setup I moved the Governor so he was positioned between his campaign signs that were up on the side wall of the hallway (I added a few lawn signed at the base). For this I swiveled the same light with just the reflector so it was pointing at him (this light then acts as the key) and then left the large umbrella where it was to act as fill.
The third setup was a 5 foot red seamless with similarly a light and reflector above my shooting position to act as fill and then we have a small octo as the key light.
You can see from all the pictures that I basically just turn on the spot and my shooting position is almost the same in all of the shots, and we just moved the governor from station to station.
Even though the Governor was generous with his time, I still wanted to be respectful and move expeditiously. The first photo I took was at 8.40am, and 183 photos later we were finished at 8.53am. 13 minutes to get a cover photo and potentially 2 interior photos. Here are 11 of my favourites.
