Trajan Medical: Photography, Technical Lighting and a New Approach to Video
Trajan Medical commissioned IJ Productions to create a series of images for their marketing and communications, photographing their products and people across several Melbourne locations.
The photography took place at Monash University in Clayton, the Baker Institute in Melbourne and Trajan's head office in Ringwood.
The brief involved working across different environments while keeping the lighting consistent, clean and controlled. Without an assistant on the shoot, the lighting setup also needed to stay compact and easy to move between locations.
Keeping the lighting setup lightweight
Working on location often means making compromises with equipment. In this case, I wanted to keep the setup small without giving up control over the light.
Small, battery-powered lights made it possible to move quickly between locations and set up without needing a large amount of equipment.
The lighting was built around the environment rather than trying to completely replace it. In most cases, one light was used to shape the subject, with additional light used to control the background and create separation.
This approach kept the images clean and consistent while allowing the shoot to move quickly between different locations.
Photography and video
The video component of this project was produced separately and featured Danielle Tomisich, General Manager, PFS Business Unit, promoting Trajan's new CB emitters.
The video was filmed at Trajan's Ringwood headquarters by videographer and editor Jonathan Ho.
Working with Jonathan has also opened up the possibility of combining photography and video on future productions.
For clients, this can make a lot of sense. A single production can potentially cover both still photography and video content, reducing the need to organise separate shoots.
There is also an advantage from a lighting perspective.
My role on a combined production would include managing the photographic lighting while working alongside Jonathan to make sure the lighting works for motion as well. The same attention to direction, quality and consistency of light can then carry across both stills and video.
For a brand or business that needs photography for a campaign, website or marketing material as well as video content, having both covered as part of the same production can make the process considerably simpler.
If you have a project coming up that needs both photography and video, get in touch. We can work out the best way to approach the production and what needs to be captured on the day.
Client: Trajan Medical
Locations: Monash University Clayton, Baker Institute Melbourne, Trajan Medical Ringwood
Photography: Ivan Lee, IJ Productions
Videographer & Editor: Jonathan Ho
Camera: Canon R5 / 24–70mm f/2.8
Lighting: GODOX AD600 Pro II /AD200 (2)
Making Corporate Portraits Look Natural: The Lighting Behind the Shot
One of the challenges of corporate portrait photography is creating lighting that feels natural while still being repeatable months later.
IJ Productions was commissioned by Kokoda Property to photograph the team at their Richmond head office. The brief was to create portraits that felt approachable, polished and connected to the office environment rather than heavily staged.
To create the soft window-light look, photographer Ivan Lee placed a Godox AD200 with a Profoto reflector dish outside on the balcony, firing the light through sheer curtains into the office.
Melbourne weather had other ideas. With rain moving through during the shoot, a shopping bag became the very practical weather protection for the light.
The constantly changing cloud cover also meant the ambient exposure inside the office was shifting throughout the shoot. The power of the AD200 needed to be adjusted regularly to maintain consistency across the portraits.
Inside the office, a Profoto D1 with a softbox was used to add controlled light to the subjects while retaining the natural feel of the environment. The aim was to create soft, dimensional portraits without making the lighting feel overly obvious.
Several months later, IJ Productions returned to photograph additional staff. This time the shoot took place on a bright sunny day. Because the original lighting setup had been kept relatively simple, the look could be recreated and the new portraits integrated with the existing images.
A variety of poses and framing options were captured for each person, giving Kokoda Property flexibility across LinkedIn, website content, presentations, media releases and other marketing applications.
Good corporate portrait photography isn't necessarily about complicated lighting. Often, it's about controlling the light well enough that the final image still feels natural.
Client: Kokoda Property
Location: Richmond, Melbourne
Art Director: Rosie Wilkinson
Photographer: Ivan Lee
Digital Operator: Jonathan Ho
Brand and Content Photography in Tight Spaces: A Practical Approach to Product Photography Lighting
Shot on location for Flowerdose at their Camberwell store, this was a classic case of working within tight physical constraints while still delivering clean, controlled results. The space didn’t leave much room for lighting gear, so every decision had to be deliberate—compact setup, minimal spill, and consistent output across the set.
For the product photography side of the shoot, the focus was on rendering the flowers with soft, even light while preserving detail and colour accuracy. I used two Profoto D1 heads into a 60×90 softbox, pushing that through a Lastolite scrim to further diffuse the light. This helped take the edge off the highlights and gave the petals a more natural, flattering roll-off without losing texture.
When it came to the wider brand and content photography, the approach shifted slightly. A larger 150cm softbox was introduced as the key light to create a broader, more ambient feel that suited the retail environment. To keep things controlled in such a confined space, I paired it with a gridded reflector—this helped direct the light more precisely and maintain separation without contaminating the rest of the scene.
This kind of setup is a good reminder that strong results don’t come from throwing more gear at a shoot, but from understanding how to shape and control light—especially when the environment is working against you.
If you’re planning brand and content photography or need product photography that holds up across digital and print, feel free to reach out.
