How to turn any boring office space into an interesting background

Many of us have been there. You get a call to go and photograph or film some people in an office somewhere. You prepare with all sorts of cool ideas, maybe we could shoot in the lobby, or the roof garden you think. But no, when you arrive you’re shown to a smallish conference room with a massive table in the middle and beige walls. How are you going to make this look cool?

Well don’t worry, there are a few tricks you can use to pimp up even the blandest of offices. In this video from Epic Light Media you’ll discover how.

So how do you make an office look less boring? Well for starters, you can actually bring along your own vinal backdrop to hang up. In the video, they tape up a faux brick effect backdrop along one of the walls. This instantly makes the background have more of a ‘vibe’. Shooting into the corner then makes it all look a lot more interesting.

Another easy and cheap thing is to find more entering pieces of furniture in other parts of the office to bring into the background, such as a chair, a lamp or a plant. Don’t be afraid to move other furniture around the room as well.

Of course, making any scene look more interesting can be achieved with some well thought out lighting. In the video, they use the key light aimed at the white wall which then bounces back at the subject with the background flagged off to keep it darker. A hair light behind and above the subject completes the effect. And always remember to turn off the fluorescent lights.

These things are all relatively simple things to do but will make increase the production value tenfold. So next time you’re faced with a dull office to shoot in, you can confidently turn a ‘bored-room’ into something with far more panache.