Bloomberg staff photographer Brent Lewin describes how he pulled off a portrait of Asia’s second-richest man, Lui Che Woo.
Where was this portrait taken ?
It was taken at the K. Wah Group offices in Hong Kong. Bloomberg News reporter Vinicy Chan organized this as part of an exclusive interview with Mr. Lui. When I visited the office prior to the shoot to scout out possible locations, I really liked this balcony. It was large enough for a set up, and by tilting the camera upward I could frame Mr. Lui against against the sky and light him for a dramatic effect. I think his grey coat and yellow tie play well against the blue sky.
Looks like perfect weather; was that the case?
Yes, we were lucky. It was great weather with clear blue skies and great visibility, which was a bit of a contrast to the smoggy weather that plagued Hong Kong for much of January. The only challenge weather-wise was the wind. The balcony was on the 29th floor, and with a 4×3 foot soft box set up, the wind seemed to want to blow it out towards Victoria Harbor below. It took four people, including some of Mr. Lui’s entourage, to keep the soft box grounded.
How was Mr. Lui to photograph? I imagine he’s a busy man.
Mr. Lui was great to work with. Not only was he friendly and easygoing, he also gave us a lot more time than expected. This gave me the opportunity to improvise and get a few different looks that I hadn’t planned, including exclusive access inside his office. As it turned out, he used to be an avid photographer and has a collection of Hong Kong scenes he captured in black-and-white film on his Rolleiflex twin lens reflex (TLR) camera.
What was your setup for this shot?
I used a Profoto AcuteD4 head on an AcuteB2 Air battery pack with a medium Chimera soft box. The image was captured on a Canon 1Dx with a Canon 24-70 2.8 II lens, shot at f/11 at 1/200s.
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
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