This week I was doing the stills photography while the Voices from Oxford team recorded video footage of interviews and discussions for their excellent website. I thought it might be useful to write up a few thoughts on how I approach this sort of assignment, looking at the challenges and opportunities. To do this, I've selected six of the photos to illustrate different points but one must always bear in mind that one is shooting to the client's brief, and the single most important point is to understand that brief and deliver the results accordingly.

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The first image, above, illustrates this point precisely. Here we have a discussion group of students, led by the two Professors on the right of the picture. The brief was to capture a sense of the group dynamics showing interaction and communication among the members, so I was looking for just the right moment to press the shutter. The technical issue was the light: bright sunshine flooding through the windows created a very contrasty scene, and I countered this by firing a remotely triggered flash at the (white) ceiling to bounce enough light around to balance the lighting.

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The second image is a straightforward group shot, and I used the same bounce flash technique after closing the curtains to eliminate hotspots from the sunshine. Rather like group shots at weddings etc, this is where the photographer's "soft skills" are important to engage with the subjects and bring out the best expressions. I don't get much time to set up and execute these shots, so fast working is critical and there is no time for faffing around and fiddling with camera settings or lights.

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In this image I'm again illustrating interactions between students and presenter.

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The image above is Denis Noble, Emeritus Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology at Balliol College, Oxford. My objective here was to produce the definitive image that illustrates something of his character.

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Finally, there was an interview between Professor William James (left) and the President of Corpus Christi College, Professor Steve Cowley. We're in the President's office here, and I'm using bounced flash as usual because there isn't enough ambient light. I can't use flash while the interview is being recorded, so my normal technique is to ask the subjects to chat informally while I take the photos. Just to finish up, I took this shot from the President's window of the view over Christchurch Meadow. Not bad for an office view!

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