Jul 13
13
This makes it all worthwhile..
Email from client..
Hi Ian,
Just a quickie to say thanks so much for todays shoot, it’s always a bit nerve wracking using a new photographer on a client shoot so it was a huge relief that you were so flexible, personable, professional and generally on the case. I’m really looking forward to getting the shots back and look forward to working again in the future.
Thanks again,
Sally.
Jul 13
13
Industrial Update
‘We’re doing an exhibition for the Oil Industry – We need an update on some of our machining capabilities’.
Nothing was visualised until we arrived. Just a brief outline of a requirement for a couple of photographs and permission to photograph some large pieces of engineered product. A couple of photographs extends to a few other projects and updates as it does, and the photographs prove really worthwhile for other marketing purposes besides.
Industrial photography of Mecof engineering machinery
6 light were used on this sample, one can obviously be seen, although variations without were obviously taken. As a change, I quite liked this version and it kept all the relevant components together rather than just reproducing a ‘large’ machine image. 6 lights is not untypical for this kind of shot, the intention is to keep the quantity down, but the environment demands otherwise. The faster we can get the images shot the less time production is held up – which is why we use high powered battery portable units so that lights can be placed anywhere without needing to run a power cable. The regular kit includes 12 high powered units and if required there’s a whole lot of mains powered units available in addition. Normally, for extra pops here or there we have smaller flash units available which normally suffice.
Large scale engineered product
Getting the steel to look like steel is the often the problem with these types of photographs. Often the steel can end up looking just black, or just white with no detail or interest. Having the appropriate lighting, and knowing what to do with it is key.
Industry and Engineering don’t exist in a ‘perfect picture’ type of world. The subject matter, viewpoint and lighting all combine to provide the requested result from the client. When you’re marketing your company against other competitors, it’s the photograph which grabs attention first and it will be this which gets you that all important conversation started.
Jul 13
12
The man at the wheel of Stobart
I had the opportunity to photograph Andrew Tinkler a couple of days back for ‘A’ magazine – the publication by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects). This was during an interview for the magazine and on a tight time frame as students from his old school were visiting the company as part of their business studies course and their arrival was immanent.
Andrew is involved with improving local school resources and has invested a large sum of money in the design and build of two new school buildings in the area which he hopes will encourage students to stay in the area and graduate to become employees of his own company. Too much good talent leaves the area and doesn’t come back.
Andrew Tinkler Director of the Stobart Group
Being interviewed by a reporter, photographed at the same time and expecting the soon arrival of a party of students who wanted to quiz the Director of the Stobart Group must have been quite a stressful time. It wasn’t the most ideal of circumstances I would have to admit, but after the interview and visit was over, it was good to receive comments from the reporter that ‘…I like the photos – he looks a lot more relaxed in them than he actually was!’ Which can only be a good thing.
Andrew Tinkler Director of the Stobart Group
Jul 13
12
Say 'Cheese…'
After visualising the new packaging destined for the supermarket shelves all that was left was to shoot it.. Oh, if was ever as simple as that.
Nuances of slight misrepresentation of product needed greatly to be avoided (because ALL cheese is not equal) – and a pragmatic attack of the core elements needed to sell the product need strictly to be adhered to. ‘It takes time to make good cheese’ says a poster on the wall and much the same can be said about a good photograph.
Adapting the artistic license of the Advertising Agency into approved imagery accepted by client, supplier and said Agency can make you smile without the utterance of the word ‘cheese’ 🙂 It did make me smile though when the agency commented ‘You’ve made great use of the natural light.. Was that there when you shot it?’ In fact, not.
Sequence of image production from reccie to final shot
Making a hard cold production environment into a warm cosy happy feely sort of place – like the poster says, ‘..takes time.’ Not ‘just’ the time of being there and setting it up, but the time invested in previously creating similar sorts of images and calling on that experience to make this one work.
Choosing the location on the reccie as a suitable place to portray and having the finished result already composed in my head calls on those times. Having willing helpers on site sharing the vision and willing to make things happen is a added bonus.
What not to do is as important as what it is neccesary to do. In this instance I arrived in a Transit Van complete with 8′ church pew seats to be used as shelves and a circular saw and tool kit to fit them on site if required – (for another shot, but I’ll come back to that later). Oh, and some Industrial Ladders and a 9′ tripod.
On the reccie the storeroom was a spacious cavern of available space, on the day of the shoot production had been busy and filled it with cheese. That’s what it’s there for after all, however the space was gone and some severe remodeling of the layout was required to give us the basis of our requirements and provide access to some electrical power ‘just over there behind those 5 deep cheese trolly’s’.
I had set up the tripod and camera connected to a computer to provide on site approval and commenced building the shot. During the set up shots were taken to check on the progress and I’ve edited them together here out of interest.
The final shot has yet to be decided. Perhaps later when the packaging is produced I’ll add an image here, in the meantime here’s one I prepared earlier.
Master Cheese Maker at work