A Case Study

The Composition

This project began with a phone call from Richard Callaghan of Media Milk who was looking to get some product photography for a client of his. It turned out to be a very exciting and large scale project. When we think of product photography you imagine, jewellery, shoes or crafts maybe, small items shot in a studio. It turned out we had a variety of outdoor furniture to shoot both on site and on location. This was going to be fun!

The Photoshoot

The first part of the project was shooting the furniture as stand alone product shots both as individual pieces and as whole sets. Clearly, the mountain couldn't come to mohammed as it were, so we would have to shoot the products on site. Richard had done a lot of the prep work already which made my life much easier but the hard yards were done by Ian and his team who had built and painted a huge infinity wall (white wall) in one of the sheds so all I had to do was provide the lighting.

Lights, Camera...not a lot of action

The whole place was lit up like a football stadium and we began the process of photographing all the products both individually and the complete sets. I also took the opportunity to shoot a lot of the detail on each piece. Jo and Ian had painstakingly designed each piece and it was important that these details were captured.

The Fine Detail

It took two full days to photograph all the products but the results were worth the effort.

Take a Seat

The next stage of the job was to take certain pieces out on location. They are designed for use outdoors and we wanted to find locations that complemented the furniture. Richard had already arranged to shoot a couple of sets in a garden environment with kind permission from June Blake. We then settled on Brittas Bay for the second shoot. Ian and Jo arranged for the furniture to be delivered to the various locations and we set about shooting them in their natural environment. Two wonderful and willing models were hired for the day and we captured some lovely stuff.

Reflecting

It was a stunning day, and yours truly needed the Factor 50+ for his delicate skin 😉

Reproduced by kind permission of Richard Callaghan!

I had a plan to try and grab images of the furniture at Brittas Bay at dawn. For two reasons really, the obvious one was to grab a beautiful sunrise but also because Brittas can get very busy during the summer so it was important to try and grab the shots before the crowds arrived. We got there for five in the morning and set up the furniture amongst the dunes.

This was a very satisfying project from start to finish which pushed me to my creative edge but the results, I hope, speak for themselves.

Results from the Darkroom