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Author: Iwona Krawczyk

  • Rebuild the Portfolio for Each Pitch

    I once spent three hours obsessing over a client’s mood board, convinced that if I just found the right high-end grain preset or a slightly more “cinematic” lens, I’d win the job. I ended up sending over a curated selection of my absolute best work—the stuff I was most proud of—only to be met with…

  • Radio Beats Optical Every Time

    I once spent forty minutes in a drafty studio in East London, sweating through my shirt while trying to coax a CEO into a natural smile, only to realize the issue wasn’t my composition or the light—it was the fact that my trigger had decided to go on strike. There is nothing quite as soul-crushing…

  • Show Twelve Images, Not Eighty

    I remember sitting in a cramped, windowless meeting room three years ago, clutching my iPad like a shield while a creative director stared at my best work with an expression that said nothing at all. I had spent weeks polishing my selection, convinced that if I just showed enough high-end lighting setups and perfect skin…

  • The Email That Answers How Much

    I remember sitting in a drafty studio three years ago, staring at a blank email draft while my coffee went cold and my client’s “quick question” about my day rate sat mocking me from the screen. Most business blogs will tell you that the secret to winning work is a polished, high-gloss sales pitch that…

  • Removing the Bin From the Background

    I once spent three hours chasing a perfect light for a corporate headshot, only to realize at the very end that a stray, bright red fire extinguisher was glaring from the corner of the frame like a neon warning sign. Most people will tell you that you need a high-end retouching suite or a master’s…

  • Eyes Need Contrast, Not Glow

    I was sitting in a cramped studio in East London three years ago, staring at a monitor and feeling that familiar, sinking sense of dread. I had a client—a brilliant architect—who looked absolutely exhausted, and no matter how much I tweaked the exposure, her eyes just looked flat. I remember thinking about all those expensive…

  • Low Angles Need a Longer Lens

    I remember a corporate shoot three years ago where the client insisted on a “heroic” angle, but the photographer—some kid fresh out of a workshop—kept shooting from waist height. By the time I stepped in, the CEO looked less like a visionary leader and more like a giant with a massive, looming chin. It’s the…

  • Shooting Down Changes More Than Size

    I once spent forty-five minutes in a cramped, drafty studio trying to figure out how to shoot a portrait from above, only to realize the problem wasn’t my focal length or my tripod height—it was that the ceiling light was casting a shadow that made my subject look like a character in a noir film…

  • Two Faces, No Shadow on Either

    I once spent forty-five minutes in a cramped, overheated studio trying to figure out how to light two people facing each other for a corporate profile, only to realize the “problem” wasn’t my strobe settings or my modifiers. It was the fact that one subject was wearing a high-gloss silk blouse and the other had…

  • Guide Numbers Mean Less Than Recycle Time

    Stop looking at the spec sheets for a second and listen: most of the gear reviews you read are just expensive marketing disguised as advice. They’ll tell you that a higher guide number is the holy grail, but they won’t tell you what happens when you’re stuck in a windowless corporate boardroom with a client…