Most often I take photographs in my Portrait Studio in Katowice. Sometimes I arrange studio conditions at the client’s company if we need the context of interiors in the photos or the client cannot come to the studio.
I also occasionally shoot portraits outdoors, although I use the above options far more often.

The title question can actually be extended: studio, company, other interiors or outdoor?

In the studio, we gain independence from hardly predictable weather conditions: rain or snow, but also heat, high winds, frost, and grey days.
It is so here (in Poland? in Silesia?) that it is usually wet for half a year and the sun can be absent for weeks. In summer, on the other hand, we get run down from the heat.
This year (2024) such a situation happened to me. I was photographing the management and team of GRENKE in Warsaw. In the original concept, we had planned – in addition to shooting in the company using a neutral backdrop and the office space – to shoot on the streets of Warsaw as well. End of June, 30-degree heat… The air was already so hot from the morning that we abandoned this part, replacing it with more shots in the interiors. No one felt like facing the high temperature, the strong sun and the make-up running off.

In the studio, we also won’t be surprised by sudden renovations in a public space, cleaning work outside or cars parked in such a way that they obscure the background – because it matters, of course, what is behind the person being portrayed.
Usually clients want modern buildings, interesting spaces, sometimes – but much less often – greenery. We have interesting architecture in Silesia, but the most attractive is at the same time the most recognisable. Some perceive it as an advantage in the form of a strong identification with their place of business, others do not want to show themselves in popular spaces.

In a studio setting, we don’t have to worry about all that, we can concentrate on our work in peace. Does it mean that I don’t photograph outdoors at all?
It happens to me, but rarely.
Photographs outdoors gain a context – of urban hustle and bustle, architecture, nature, which complements the portrait with a story, shows the person in a certain reality, carries the style of the place. This is attractive, but can sometimes be difficult in realisation.
The best approach in this case is plan B. That is, if it turns out that conditions are not conducive, it is more convenient to move to the studio rather than postpone the session and look for another date.

Personally, I like urban space and its multi-planarity. I have the genes of architects (my parents designed), so I can handle the solids that form the background and blend them nicely with the character of the photo. I give the example of my personal project URBAN YOGA, which I realised a few years ago in downtown Katowice. Take a peek HERE if you feel like it.

But back to the topic. Sometimes clients ask me to use the interiors of public or private places. This is probably the most complicated option. It involves either a paid rental or creating portraits in an environment that we don’t have exclusive rights to. In the case of the latter, you have to take into account other clients e.g. in a café (they shouldn’t be in the photos) and the lack of freedom to build a set (so as not to disturb others).

As well as the comfort of creating them, studio portraits also bring greater versatility through the use of neutral backgrounds. Sometimes it’s difficult to predict the contexts of future publications, so this neutrality can be useful. It’s also very practical, especially if the make-up of the team changes and new people come in. It is then easy to take the same portrait, in the same studio conditions, maintaining continuity and consistency in the series. I work with more than a dozen companies in this way. After a large session and having photographed a dozen / several dozen people, this tabloid can easily be supplemented with new people.

The conditions I have in my Studio are fully under my control. That is, when setting up the light I know 100% what the effect will be, I can focus on the aesthetic nuances and details that build the atmosphere of the portrait. This is by far the most comfortable option for me when creating portraits.
This option is also appreciated by clients. They have calmness, intimacy and a good atmosphere with me. This is important especially when the photo shoot causes tension and discomfort.

There are also times when I am packing up my equipment, going to a client’s company. This happens when we want to have the context of the place in the photo. I use the furnishings: furniture, colours, glazing, I can use daylight and/or studio light.
The second case when I go to a company happens most often when there is a need to portray a very large team. Such a session is very dense, I have little time per person, the pace is fast, so it’s more efficient to do it at the client’s place.
But the location has to meet certain conditions in terms of the size of the room and its height so that I can arrange the background and light. I always check it beforehand and we agree where specifically we will set up the studio.

Reading this text, you might get the impression that I most enjoy working in my Portrait Studio. And probably it is true, nevertheless it is sometimes good to take photographs in other settings for variety.

This text is illustrated with portraits of the writer Anna Cieplak. I was commissioned by Wydawnictwo Literackie for the publication of her novel Rozpływaj się (Melting Up).
Some of the photographs were taken in my studio, one of which ended up on the cover of the book.
In the outdoor space, however, we worked on the dinosaur sculptures, which refer to a scene in the book.
While we were comfortable working in the studio, the outdoors gave us a bit of a hard time. The photos were created in a hurry, catching moments when it rained a little less… 🙂 Deadlines limited us so we couldn’t postpone the session to another day, so we accepted these conditions and focused on what we had to do.

If you would like to read other texts in this series, please click on the ‘business portrait shooting’ category or HERE.