Staff Group Portrait for Salem Law, Winston-Salem Estate Law | On Location Brand Photographer | Headshot and Branding Photographer | Jasper & Fern

The hot sun glanced against my cheek, breaking through the dense overhanging pine needles. The citrus-y musk of the pine tree sap wafting through my open car window. It always feels like returning to my mountain home when I visit the Salem Law team. I could easily see why Daniel, the founder of the business and an avid outdoorsman himself, would be drawn to this location for his small business.

Pinecones crunched underneath my tires as I ascended the blacktop drive up to the Salem Law office building. Not much had changed since I was here last time taking their brand photographs. I breathed the sap and earthy smells into my lungs, closing my eyes so I could memorize them and revisit their scent later. Moduled light danced across my closed lids as a warm “Hi!” met me from across the parking lot. Smiling, I opened my eyes, greeted by Lindy and Caroline’s sunny dispositions.

”Is it okay if we do the headshots out here like last time? Daniel really liked having the trees in the background,” Lindy said as she stopped to greet me. “Oh, and is it okay if Daniel’s dog joins us for the group shot?”

My eyes lit up in excitement and I couldn’t hide my glee, “Wait, Daniel brought his dog?! AAAH! YES, PLEASE!! I’d love to meet him and have him be part of the portraits!” I was already excited about taking new headshots for Daniel and his team and getting to spend time with them. Adding his dog to the mix was the icing on top of the cake!

Re-focusing from my excited dog distraction, I surveyed the shadows in the row of pine trees behind where I wanted to take their headshots. I knew I’d be editing the tones in their photographs to compliment their brand colors and getting the right shadows was key.

As always, we had lots of laughter, fights with the wind blowing hair about, and a careful avoidance of the pokey pine cones on the ground. The heat quickly warmed us all as we swiftly moved to capture the best body language and expression for everyone - pupper included.

Sad to leave the covering pines and good company, I packed my gear back up to head to the next location. Waiving goodbye to Lindy, Caroline and Daniel - and sneaking a few last puppy pets - I headed back down the blacktop, the crunching pine cones and citrus-y musk softly drifting further away.

The door was ajar and a chorus of laughter greeted me even before I knocked on at my clients’ suite at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. Upon my knock, Lauren, the team liaison, ushered me into the bustling room. Hairspray clouds burst in the air as lipstick colors were mixed and cut across mirrored pallets. Against the wall, a team of stylists was hurriedly at work on the hair and makeup of several women.

As frenetic as the room was, if you stepped back to take it in, a symphony of beige, browns, blacks and dusty reds blurred together to create a cohesive, grounded color palette. It was a minor detail but somehow displayed just how well all 13 of these women formed together. This was the eastern division of Lancome. All these powerful, type-A women in one room working together like a well oiled machine. It was hard to not observe and admire.

The group of us briefly chatted. I’d been brought in to photograph their team headshots and team portrait. As I’d only had contact with the team liaison thus far, it was important to me that I gather as much about each person and how they interacted with each other as quickly as possible as well as dictate what could be expected from their time with me.

I worked with each woman one-on-one, focusing on their individual personalities. Then, we also did team portraits, feeding off of each others interactions. There was hair flipping and top-model smizing going on by the end, finishing out the session with just as much laughter as there was to start the day.

I can’t not mention these ladies below either! We had some extra time in our session. So, I made a point to photograph the style team who made the ladies above look awesome!