This is a recent shoot that I did for a client in India. It's one of many complex group portraits that I've shot all over the U.S. and in places as far flung as Tokyo, Shanghai, London, Auckland, and Caracas.
My client was one on the world’s largest and most successful engineering firms. They design and engineer huge projects like dams and airports all over the world. For this photograph we gathered 25 of their local engineers who were working on a major road building project outside of Delhi. We wanted an impressive setting, indicative of India. I relied on my knowledge from previous shoots in India plus the advice of an Indiaphile friend of mine to find this spot, Lodhi Gardens, which had good exposure to late afternoon light.
My assistant, Kyle Dorosz, and I went to the location to work out as many details as we could. With my camera locked down on a tripod I photographed Kyle in 25 different spots in front of the mosque. Later that evening he used his Photoshop skills to give us a preview of what the shot might look like.
That dress rehearsal gave us a critical advantage for the real shoot as we had almost every detail worked out including placement of the subjects around complex areas of type and graphics that would eventually be overlaid on the photo. As is the case for many of my large group portraits I needed to allow for the gutter on a double page spread - a split composition that looks a little off until it's actually in print. Thanks to a lot of careful planning along with the considerable logistical support from my client plus the good weather, our shoot went off quickly without a hitch.