I recently posted some portraits I'd made of Dr. Todd Nobbe at the studio last fall. A few weeks ago, I stopped by his office one morning to make some environmental portraits in their new space. It has a remarkable look and feel to it, and I'm sure it's the only doctor's office I've been in that was decorated with zebra stripes.

The photo above was made at the front desk, the one below near one of the eyeglass frame displays. In the first photo, Dr. Nobbe is lit with a small hotshoe flash inside a 28" Westcott Apollo soft box with just enough of the room and window light dialed in to keep the exposure from going too dark.

Since we were working in a small space in the second photo, I needed a way to separate Dr. Nobbe visually from the display that was just a few feet behind him. I decided to light the background with a purple gel. In another doctor's office, this might be a bit much. But in an office with zebra stripes? I think it works. Dr. Nobbe was lit with the soft box to his left and a silver reflector on the right to soften the shadows.

Many thanks to Dr. Nobbe and his accommodating staff for letting me make these pictures.

Dr. Todd Nobbe, optometrist/eye doctor :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL