For an in-depth look at the delivered image portfolio, see it here.

Who is the client?  

Alan Stein, Jr. is a performance coach, speaker, and author who helps businesses and individuals develop the mindset and habits needed for sustained excellence. 

I met Alan years ago at a national speaker conference, and we kept in touch over social media. When I spoke at a 1-day mastermind, it resonated with him, and he reached out afterward to set up a branding session. Following that successful collaboration, he booked me to cover this keynote presentation in Nashville.

Why did he need photos?  

Alan was in the middle of retooling his entire online presence and knew the importance of photos in the decision-making process for event professionals. He aimed to increase his speaker fee by 35%. 

High-quality keynote photos are an essential asset when looking to elevate a personal brand and win final mile decisions with event organizers.

How did we prepare for the session?

For keynote sessions, I don’t use a formal strategy call questionnaire. 

Instead, I ask a series of targeted questions to identify key moments before, during, and after the keynote that need to be captured. Alan mentioned that in addition to his presentation, he wanted photos of a few other activities—BTS shots of a video message he needed to record for the event organizers, attending a VIP welcome party, and signing books after the keynote. 

Having already photographed Alan’s portraits months before, I had a sense of his personality and was well-prepared to capture the energy and emotion he brought to the stage.

What camera gear did you use?

I used the Nikon Z9, rotating between the 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses for most of the shots. 

The Profoto A10 flash was used on-camera for the VIP welcome reception and the book signing, while the keynote itself was shot with ambient and stage lighting due to the event’s no-flash restriction.

What challenges were faced?
How did you overcome them?

One of the challenges for this keynote was the large space with a sparse crowd, which required me to be strategic in how I framed the shots to make the room feel more full and engaging. 

Based on my past experiences, I knew that a combination of framing out empty seats and shooting the space in a way where I can crush the blacks and turn empty seats simply into negative space in post-production would work fine. And that’s what happened.

Additionally, since I wasn’t allowed to use flash during the keynote due to event restrictions, I had to work with ambient lighting and push my ISO settings to ensure sharp and exposed images. 

The fast-paced nature of his solo rehearsal and the VIP party also put pressure on me to move with urgency while still not being a distraction. This is why I mostly relied on my 70-200mm to maintain a fair distance from the action and be out of eyesight.

how was visual variety achieved?

Alan’s portfolio is packed with visual variety, covering before, during, and after his foot hit the stage for his keynote. 

We captured wide, medium, and close-up shots from different vantage points, including from the upper bowl of the venue to give the impression of a larger crowd. 

His book signing session was particularly successful, with over two hours of participants lining up to meet him. This allowed for a wealth of different angles and expressions, from wide shots of the crowd to close-ups of Alan signing books. The 360-degree approach also created opportunities for dynamic, visual storytelling images that shows his genuine interaction with the audience.

Describe the post-production process.

I backed up the photos and culled, cropped, and colored the images from the moments captured THE NIGHT BEFORE at the hotel bar that night. 

For the DAY OF photos, including the rehearsing photos, keynote and book signing, I started editing them during breaks in the morning, backed up the entire day, including the book signing, in his hotel lobby as I waited for him to pack up and check out, and completed the low resolution shots on the plane ride home. Those were sent to him before I passed out. In the morning, I completed the album with the high resolution shots.

In total, the portfolio contained 609 photos, with 3 post-production passes for each section.

At the end of the day…

Alan was happy with the results - his testimonial was awesome. Before our flights, I showed him some unedited images while in the airport lounge. He was so pumped to see the photos and couldn’t wait to get them implemented on his website and social channels. 

Working with Alan is a rewarding experience because I enjoy our conversations about life and business more than anything. I’m excited to see what we collaborate on next!