Political Campaign Photography—Blake Duren for Judge

Spring elections are coming up in Wisconsin. Don’t forget to vote on April 2nd! 

Blake Duren for Sauk County Circuit Court Judge is one of the races on the Sauk County ballot. 

Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Attorney Blake Duren on location at the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo. The campaign photography session took place on an unseasonably warm day in February. It was warm and sunny with not a dirty pile of snow in sight. Perfect weather for getting outside of the courtroom for some outdoor portraits!

Political campaign photography is essentially a form of branding photography. The goal is to create images that convey the candidate’s “personal brand” and present them as an approachable, confident candidate to their constituents. Most political photography sessions capture the following types of images: headshots, portraits and marketing photos (lifestyle photos, candids, action shots). Sometimes campaign event photography is also done as a separate shoot.

We started Blake’s session by creating marketing photos and portraits inside one of the courtrooms. I’d been in this courthouse before but didn’t remember what the lighting was like. Although I’m always prepared with enough strobes to light the scene, it was nice to see that the courtroom had white ceilings and some white walls. Much preferred to some of the dark and drab courtrooms I’ve shot in.