Commercial Shoot with Boxclever Consulting

Boxclever Consulting

Words by Nicole Fazlinia

On a particularly gloomy, cold, generally wintry afternoon, Aire St Studios set out to help take yet another set of showstoppingly wonderful headshots. The weather may miserable in Leeds, but over at Aire St Studios, we’re certainly not (although maybe a tiny bit sleepy, but that doesn’t count) This week’s victim was the creative and crafty marketing geniuses over at Boxclever. 

Boxclever Consulting is a company stationed right in our very own Leeds, focusing on data nd marketing techniques for some rather impressive clients, orchestrating brilliant strategies for an impressive lineup of clients. This extends to Unilever, which is basically the multinational boss of all companies to exist in the history of the world, ever. But that’s not all – Boxclever doesn’t stop at Unilever. They’ve got a truly star-studded clientele. Other notable names include (but are not limited to) Virgin, Daily Mail, and New Look. This isn’t just some clientele list; it’s a testament to Boxclever’s prowess. They’re the go-to brains for data-driven strategies and marketing techniques, and that’s reflected in their awards, earning themselves the 2021 AURA Award for being a Trusted Partner, and for being an AURA Hero. They were also the winners for the 2021 AQR Excellence Award with R&B Distillers, and in 2020 were the winners of The Drum Marketing Awards for best Customer Insight with DFS.

First, we started the day at 7AM, grabbing a much needed coffee for our own mental well-being, packed up all of our bits-and-bobs and drove to meet them at their office. That’s right - Aire Street Studio was taking its one-of-a-kind commercial photography services out of the studio and into the real world once again. We then met Tilly who was kind enough to show us the office, allowing us to (very cheekily) help ourselves to refreshments, and even helping us lug our very heavy equipment around their beautifully Christmas-themed office; our favourite part happened to be the Penguin cakes! We were extra photography ‘equipment-ified’ that day, needing to recreate daylight, specifically with the Elinchrom lights, acting as the perfect fake daylight to combat the late winter sunrise. Incase you weren’t aware, they also fake daylight on some movie shoots using these bad boys, or monstrously huge LED panels  Elinchrom lights are like the Swiss Army knives of lighting gear in the photography and filmmaking worlds, and are absolutely imperative to a photographer’s arsenal (please note the consistent Army metaphors, thanks). They’re wizards at mimicking a warm Summer day’s glow, or adding that extra ‘oomph’ to setups. These bad boys come in all shapes and sizes, giving creatives the power to fine-tune their lighting game for any shoot – from intimate studio sessions to grand outdoor productions. One or two will go a long, long way.

The biggest hurdle of the day was our aim to achieve the same cheery, daylight-like atmosphere as we did with our previous work. The tricky part is that we took those in the summer. Unfortunately, as you know if you happen to live in literally anywhere in the UK right now, if you look outside of your window it becomes upsettingly obvious it is no longer summer. Long gone is the irreplaceable, warm, friendly glow that the sun graced our sets with. Except I lied when I said it was irreplaceable, because we were very determined to recreate it. By playing with light intensity, color temperatures , and smart positioning, we attempted to mimic that friendly, inviting ambiance. To make it as similar as possible to the first set of corporate headshots we did for Boxclever, we took note that the photos seemed to have a cooler tone to them, despite it being in the summer, and managed to fix it with some super clever editing in post. We also spent some time whilst setting up thinking about strategically placing lights to imitate the sun’s angle or adjusting color temperatures to replicate that same sunny feel, taking test shots along the way to ensure the same top-notch service. Determination level? Through the roof.

Bringing the day to a wrap, we packed up our stuff, saying our goodbyes to the lovely office, and headed on back to the studio to reflect on the session. To book actors headshots, corporate and commercial headshots, or studio space, contact Mark Wheelwright here (link).