CASE STUDY

Client snapshot

OC Lawyer Magazine is the official publication of the Orange County Bar Association, distributed to approximately 6,000 members. The January issue features the incoming OCBA president. This is one of the most visible editorial placements in the regional legal community. Images are used on the magazine cover, across the attorney's professional profiles, and in firm marketing materials.

What triggered the project

Christina M. Zabat-Fran was named the 2024 President of the Orange County Bar Association. The January issue of OC Lawyer Magazine would announce the appointment to the full membership. A cover image was needed, one that reflected the significance of the role and met the magazine's editorial standards.  The occasion created a fixed deadline. The shoot had to happen, and it had to produce the right image the first time.

The real problem

A generic headshot wasn't going to work. The cover of a bar association publication carries institutional weight. The image needed to feel authoritative and editorially considered, not like a standard office portrait pulled from a firm website.

At the same time, the attorney's schedule left limited availability. There was no room for a session that ran long, required multiple rounds of selects, or returned images that needed to be reshot.

What made it complex

The art director and the attorney each had a stake in the outcome, and their priorities needed to be aligned before anyone arrived on location. The magazine had editorial standards. The attorney had a professional reputation attached to how she appeared on that cover.

Getting both right inside a 90-minute session, with a production deadline waiting, left no margin for a process that wasn't already planned before the shoot began.

How it was handled

The art director and Christopher Todd Studios aligned on the full visual direction before the attorney's time was involved; wardrobe guidance, location, setting, and editorial tone were confirmed in advance.

Location was chosen around the attorney's professional context, not around what was convenient. That decision is made in the planning stage, not on the day.

The session ran under 90 minutes. The attorney made her selections, and images were delivered to the magazine within two days, inside the production window, without a follow-up needed from the art director.

The result

The January cover of OC Lawyer Magazine, distributed to the full OCBA membership. The images were used on the cover, across the attorney's LinkedIn profile, and in firm materials marking the appointment.

The art director had finals on deadline. The attorney had a cover image that reflected the significance of the role. Neither had to manage the process to get there.