The Corporate Editorial portfolio of Martin Dixon

So you are told you have to make a very important corporate portrait with many different CEOs and Directors. You don't know in advance how any will arrive. You scout the location days before to choose a neutral background and most importantly you check the ceiling height. You are not able to tell them what to wear. You can only suggest patterns and clothes that might not work. And then you bring enough strobes and diffusion material to light a small village. I once had to photoshop someone into a scene weeks after a shoot because he missed his flight. And no one ever knew he wasn't there.

These portraits were made with a Mamiya Leaf digital back on location. The camera is tethered to my MacBook Pro using Capture One software. Digital moniters surround the client so they can get immediate feedback when I request they change something obscure to them. Each file is over 40MBs before processing. A typical afternoon shoot while require 12 gigs of storage space.

Natural looking office setting are a real challenge and often poorly done. One reason is a lack of proper lighting. You have to duplicate the feeling of sunlight streaming through windows. That means even empty rooms in the background can't be dark. Juggling an office of twenty while they are actually working is a delicate balancing act.

Many corporations require photography of their board room meetings. They must answer to their shareholders and partners for reasons of transparency. Interesting lighting and a patient eye are all that separates us from the rank and file.

In 1996 the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, IL. The Chicago Housing Police force is as large as the the City Police force which makes you wonder just how many people live in public housing. I rode with undercover officers as we patroled Cabrini Greene and Ida B. Wells Houses. As Chris Rock once said, "if you are any where near Martin Luther King Boulevard, there's violence."

Ad campaign for Océan Ogilvy on location in Plateau, Dakar.

Photographing during the UN General Assembly is a challenge because the media are usually forced to film from elevated media booths far from the Assembly floor. It is a huge space which only magnifies how insignificant we are in scale and importance.

Modern corporations also know the value young people bring to the discussion. Today's youth aren't afraid to speak out to big business and smart business people are listening. Tomorrow's leaders are reflected in the plurality of this generation.