Shaffer and Shaffer, LLP is a small family firm based in the City of Westminster, Maryland. Their team practices Family Law, Administrative Law, Liquor Board Licensing, and Commercial & Residential Real Estate matters.
Team member Katie and I planned away for their photo shoot, and we scheduled a very early photo session for two reasons. First, their team wanted to feature the Locust Lane mural in downtown Westminster as their headshot and team backdrop. Before outdoor photo shoots, I don’t just track the weather forecast, but I look at the path of the sun on Google Maps’ satellite view. Familiarity of this location helped too, but I knew we wouldn’t have shade there long, even early in the morning. This is something easily predictable with Google Maps, even at locations I haven’t visited before (we can always rely on the sun rising in the East, and setting in the West). Even as early as we met for photos, the sunlight was creeping all the way up to their toes.
Another challenge about this location is that the mural begins so high. To showcase the mural behind my subjects, I either have to crouch low and shoot up (not ideal for headshots), or do some Photoshop magic. So just to be safe, I took some shots of the mural at different angles and different focal points. And I’m glad I did, because I made use of those images for backdrop swaps in Photoshop!
The extra level of “Photoshopping” is why I wanted to share Shaffer and Shaffer, LLP’s photo session right away. It is one of the first projects that I tested the capabilities of the new editing and retouching tools. With swapped backgrounds and nearly hassle-free removal of large distracting elements (like my umbrellas glaring in the windows and venetian blinds gathered at the top of the windows), I highly doubt you can even tell! Even the tools I use for skin retouching have had an upgrade, saving me time and giving me better results… not just for Shaffer and Shaffer’s final images, but for their photo proofs too.
