Chill Out, Unplug, and Unwind // INFLUENCE Magazine
Chill Out, Unplug, and Unwind // INFLUENCE Magazine
INFLUENCE Magazine assigned us to photograph imagery for a feature on stress-relieving books in their Spring/Summer 2021 issue. The story, written by Rebecca Renner, recommended six books for readers looking to unwind, and our assignment was to capture photographs of Dominic Calabro, CEO and President of Florida TaxWatch, at their offices in Tallahassee.
The concept for the photography was simple: a busy professional taking a moment to step away from the pace of session and clear his mind with a book. That kind of editorial imagery looks easy on the page, but getting it right requires some thought. You're photographing someone in their professional environment doing something that's supposed to look relaxed and natural, which means the lighting and the composition need to support that feeling without making the image look staged or stiff.
The Florida TaxWatch offices gave us a professional setting to work within. Office environments can be tricky for editorial photography because you're dealing with overhead fluorescents, limited space to position lights, and backgrounds that can feel generic if you're not intentional about where you place your subject. We used Profoto lighting to give us control over the quality of light on Calabro while keeping the environment visible and natural-looking in the frame. The goal was an image that felt like a moment rather than a posed portrait; someone genuinely taking a pause in the middle of a full day.
As Tallahassee photographers, we photograph a lot of professionals in office settings during the legislative session, and each one presents its own layout and lighting puzzle. We have developed a workflow for these kinds of sessions that lets us set up quickly, work within the realities of the space, and deliver images that feel polished without disrupting the subject's day. For a feature like this, where the photograph needs to complement a written piece about slowing down, the image has to communicate calm without looking manufactured. That balance is where the craft lives.
Assignments like this are a good reminder that not every editorial session is a multi-location production or an elaborate setup. Sometimes the most effective editorial photography is a single, well-executed image of the right person in the right setting, doing something that connects to the story being told.
This feature was photographed by The Workmans for INFLUENCE Magazine and appeared in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue and was written by Rebecca Renner. The Workmans are a husband-and-wife photography team based in Tallahassee, Florida, and we work with publications across the state of Florida, in Washington D.C. and around the United States. You can explore more of our editorial photography in the archive, see more of our work across our website and connect with us on how we can best serve you!
