Featured Project · Commercial Real Estate

Cushman & Wakefield

Who
Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate company with executives and employees across a national network.
Goal
Reimagine how the organization and its people appeared online without reducing employees to generic corporate archetypes.
Outcome
A five-day, four-city production generated a library of 4,000 images and 150 final photographs, followed by additional executive portrait assignments.

Since 2018 | Commercial Real Estate | Events, Executive Portraits, Group Portraits, Headshots

A referral brought Matt in to create executive portraits for Cushman & Wakefield's C-suite, including the CEO and CMO — the kind of assignment where the goal isn't simply a flattering photograph, but an image that carries the weight of the role. It worked.

Day 5 of a five day shoot across four cities and five locations from Chicago to LA for this global commercial real estate behemoth.
Taken in the LA office, Matt got up on a step ladder and shot down on this collaborating pair.
@mcguirephoto assist

Later that year, an internal event in Chicago followed, and with it, a bigger opportunity: help reimagine how one of commercial real estate's biggest names shows up online. In ten days, Matt and his assistant designed a production spanning four cities, five locations, and five thousand miles, executed over five days. The result was a library of four thousand images and 150 final photographs — each one a real employee, individually seen, not styled into a generic corporate archetype.

The rooftop at 225 Wacker Drive is a magical place to shoot - flowers and city views in every direction.
Day 1 of a five day shoot across four cities and five locations from Chicago to LA. 
The trick with lifestyle images is to keep them natural looking - from the lighting to the poses and expressions.
Day 2 of a five day shoot across four cities and five locations from Chicago to LA for this global commercial real estate behemoth.
One of many shots in this St Louis, MO office. While this this was captured at noon, it was made to look as if the sun was just breaking through using a powerful strobe light with an orange gel on it. Arranging people and furniture must be done quickly so as to keep their interest. Tethering the camera to a computer helps this process because Matt can shoot and see the rest very large very quickly.
@mcguirephoto assist
@raelynncantrall MUA

It's one thing to photograph an executive team. It's another to make 150 different people, across a national footprint, each feel like the subject of their own portrait rather than an extra in someone else's brand refresh.

Day 2 of a five day shoot across four cities and five locations from Chicago to LA for this global commercial real estate behemoth.
This is from St Louis, MO office. It is always great when the client has a talented artist on staff who can create amazing drawings on the boards in the background. While the lighting may look natural, it was anything but. At least three strobes are working to light up the room and the subjects.  
@mcguirephoto assist
@raelynncantrall MUA

Cushman & Wakefield later brought Matt back to create executive portraits of their incoming Chief Technology Officer — a small, telling sign that the trust built in that first frantic ten-day sprint has held.

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