Tactical Officers

So a few weeks ago, I posted a blog with shots from a shoot with one of the police cruisers at my other job.  The idea was to use them as promotional items and for our display boards at the local home show.  The pics were a great hit and we had a great time making them.  So, I decided I wanted to do some portraits of a couple of our tactical officers in full gear.  I wanted to give the pics the look of what you might see in ESPN the Magazine or something similar.  Sort of the grungy, manly look, that is so popular with athletes now.  So we set up the shoot in the basement of our City Hall since this had a rough, worn look that would give the impression of the types of areas where our tactical team might be used.  Our team is used to serve warrants, resolve barricaded subjects and respond to critical incidents that have the potential to turn violent.  If these guys come knocking on your door, you've done something you shouldn't have!

The shoot turned out to be very fun and both of my team-mates were really cooperative.  You wouldn't know it from the serious looks on their faces, but they were having a blast between mugging for the camera and the other officers off scene giving them grief!  A few of the out-takes are priceless but I have been sworn to never show them.

For those of you wondering about equipment, settings and such:  All shots were done with a Nikon D700 with between one and three small flashes for lighting.  I used a softbox for the main light and the others as accent lights from the rear.  The rear ones had grids attached to narrow the light and keep it directed.  The images were processed in both Lightroom and Photoshop, using extra sharpening and other filters to give them the look I wanted. 

I really enjoyed working with these guys and we made some great images.  We don't often get the chance to be photographed and portrayed in a good light in our line of work so I know the guys liked the final product.  My plan is to do more of this type of work to include other emergency workers such as Fire and EMS.  I don't believe we appreciate what these folks give of themselves everyday to keep us safe.  Look for more of this in the future. 

As always, thanks for reading!