Why is your Linkedin Headshot important?
Having a presence on Linkedin is something that most business people should do, even as an undergraduate you are encouraged to start with a basic listing.
Why?
Why Not!
Linkedin is the major platform where business and careers are at the heart of what it is about, it is the place people go to find jobs, business connections and potential customers and at present it is free .
If you want to connect to potential clients or just get hired, your Linkedin listing is possible the first time you are seen by the ‘potential’ so what do we know about first impressions?
You only have one chance to impress!
As in life we rapidly make judgements, we are not been shallow, its just that what someone looks like tells you so much about them, 7 seconds is all it takes, but it is usually less although we have to remember that you can’t or should not judge a book by its cover. Sadly we do.
If you are interested in progressing your career, gaining new clients, you do want to make a good impression, don’t you?
Your Linkedin Page is that opportunity. On your Linkedin page you have the chance to show a great headshot, but also on every communication on the platform it uses that as an icon for you, so it has to be good!
This can be where it gets tricky, the image is very small, so it has to be ‘simple’ it is just your head and a bit of your shoulders, however it should be of decent resolution and ideally well lit.
Even is that small round frame your expression can be read!
Should you smile?
That is up to you, what is your personality? Are you an artistic or creative type, are you very precise? Do you have authority ? Are you well organised?
It sounds like a tall order, but a strong headshot can project the person you are or maybe want to be?
One thing is for sure, you don’t want a busy or distracting background, not trees growing out of your head or a colour that distracts.
If you are with a company and there are brand guidelines for staff it maybe there is a guide.
Colour or Black & White?
Many headshots are now delivered in Black & White, if well executed it can be a great way to stand out, however it may indicate it was taken a long time ago and you are not what you seem?
What Background
If you have a Brand colour or style, that can dictate the background, but a neutral white or grey are most effective, a black can be very good, but on a poor screen it can be too low key.
A portrait photographer should be able to take your photograph and deliver an image that does represents you and who you are, however if you don’t have the budget ! Here is a suggestion
Take your own headshot.
As a professional photographer it is not something I should recommend, however it is better to have a headshot on your Linkedin profile than not, so here are a few handy tips.
Stand with a plain wall behind you.
Get someone to hold your phone ideally a couple of meters away on the long/ portrait lens, have them stand in-front of a window, so the light is behind them and hold the phone at eye level or slightly above, avoid looking under your chin (or Chins).
Take many shots, 10 is a good start, start with a serious face then smile and then laugh, in one you are going to look OK, some you blink, some will look like a stranger and one you will think is OK. Delete any you don’t like, you don’t want them again do you?
If you are unable to get a friend to take the shot, at least get a plain background, stand in the shade if you are outside or look toward a window, hold the phone up and away maybe with a timer shoot many shots. Repeat.
.
Writing the profile is another matter, but now you are a real person and not an avatar!
Whatever you want from Linkedin I wish you well and maybe we can connect or follow me ?
Lorentz Gullachsen – linkedin
Why is your Linkedin Headshot important?
Having a presence on Linkedin is something that most business people should do, even as an undergraduate you are encouraged to start with a basic listing.
Why?
Why Not!
Linkedin is the major platform where business and careers are at the heart of what it is about, it is the place people go to find jobs and business connections and at present it is free .
If you want to connect to potential clients or just get hired, your Linkedin listing is possible the first time you are seen by the ‘potential employer’ and what do we know about first impressions?
They count!
You also only one chance to make a first impression.
We make judgements very quickly, we are not been shallow, its just that what someone looks like tells you so much about them, 7 seconds is all it takes, but it is usually less although we have to remember that you can’t judge a book by its cover. unfortuetly most people do.
Therefore, if you are interested in progressing your career, gaining new clients, you do want to make a good impression, don’t you?
On your Linkedin page you have the opportunity to show a great headshot, but also every communication on the platform uses that as an icon for you, so it has to be good!
This can be where it gets tricky, the image is very small, so it has to be ‘simple’ it is just your head and a bit of your shoulders, however it should be of decent resolution and ideally well lit.
Even is that small round frame your expression can be read!
Should you smile?
That is up to you, what is your personality? Are you an artistic or creative type, are you very precise? Do you have authority ? Are you well organised?
It sounds like a tall order, but a good headshot can project the person you are or maybe want to be?
One thing is for sure, you don’t want a busy or distracting background, not trees growing out of your head or a colour that distracts.
If you are with a company and there are brand guidelines for staff it maybe there is a guide,
Colour or Black & White?
Many headshots are now delivered in Black & White, if well executed it can be a great way to stand out, however it may indicate it was taken a long time ago and you are not what you seem?
What Background
If you have a Brand colour or style, that can dictate the background, but a neutral white or grey are most effective, a black can be very good, but on a poor screen it can be too low key (dark).
A portrait photographer should be able to take your photograph and deliver an image that does represent you and who you are, however if you don’t have the budget ! Here is a suggestion
Take your own headshot.
As a professional photographer it is not something I should recommend, however it is better to have a headshot on your Linkedin profile than not, so here are a few handy tips.
Stand with a plain wall behind you.
Get someone to hold your phone ideally a couple of meters away on the long/ portrait lens, have them stand in-front of a window, so the light is behind them and hold the phone at eye level or slightly above, avoid looking under your chin (or Chins).
Take many shots, 10 is a good start, start with a serious face then smile and then laugh, in one you are going to look OK, some you blink, some will look like a stranger and one you will think is OK. Delete any you don’t like, you don’t want them again do you?
If you are unable to get a friend to take the shot, at least get a plain background, stand in the shade if you are outside or look toward a window, hold the phone up and away maybe with a timer shoot many shots. Repeat.
.
Writing the profile is another matter, but now you are a real person and not an avatar!
Whatever you want from Linkedin I wish you well and maybe we can connect or follow me ?
Festival Faces Project
Stratford Literary Festival 2024
One of the highlights of this year was the portrait photography I did at the Stratford Literary Festival, it is now nine years since I started the project that is ‘Festival Faces’ – portraits at the Stratford Literary Festival I have been privileged to be able to set up a pop up studio at a variety of venues where the festival has been held and take portraits of the authors, artists, academics and celebrities that attend this event that takes place in spring and autumn, the locations have moved but this year a serious Fire at the Crowne Plaza made using the venue impossible and created a logistic nightmare for the team who organise this event, the Spring festival had to relocate to a number of venues but were back at the Crowne Plaza for the Autumn session.
I have tried to ensure that each year the subjects are shot in a uniform manner, using a background and lighting that holds the years shoot together as a body of work, I have always shot portraits, and backgrounds are important, the lighting even more so, but the individual subject will influence the way I put the combination together, often with little time as the schedule of talks, interviews, presentations and performances can dictate the subjects availability.
To have a ‘studio’ set up allows me to produce an image that is consistent with others, and I can quickly adjust to suit each person, I tend to light each subject according to gender, I am usually going to use a harsher light for men, and what I would say is a softer more front on light for females, I have a choice of lights that I can employ or leave off, so although the set up looks uniform, the power and modification are often dramatically different. What usually holds them together is the background.
Ideally I would love more time with the subjects so I am able to develop a rapport and ensure they are relaxed and happy with the process, sometimes I can enjoy the luxury of time with the people who I am trying to record or capture for the project, many are very media savvy, know exactly how to ‘pose’ for the many photos that have taken, there are stylists and agents that train many actors, how to behave on a Red carpet to get the best results, they are great to work with, but I try to get a less cheesy look and often get a picture that takes the of guard or just relaxed and more themselves rather than the public persona. There are some who have little or no experience of been a photographic subject, certainly some new authors or academics are actually camera shy, they require careful attention, often I shall show them the display images to reassure them and help coaxed a more relaxed look from them.
The images are not just for media consumption and a contempoary record but as a record that will become a historic collection of the time in early 21st centuary in the rich history of Stratford upon Avon.
For those who are interested in the technical aspects of such a project, I am happy to share the camera and lens that I use and the lighting I employ, but that is not as important as who the subjects are and their story, also how does the reader react to a picture, a portrait should be about the subject, but it is also about the artist, how they respond and record the image.
The Project Website
I feature many of the portraits from the project on my main website
www.gullachsen.com/portraits, however as each year develops I have now a dedicated website with most of the final edits from each year, here is a link to it.
www.stratfordfestivalfaces.com please explore.
Cameras, Lighting and backdrops.
Over the years the background have changed on an annual basis, for the first few years, I shot on a Hasselblad 500cm, 150mm & 120mm, with a PhaseOne P45 back, as Nikon launched the D850 I started using that with Prime Lens -85mm & 105mm. I am now working with Fujifilm GFX 100mm – 200mm and the Nikon D850. As technology changes I shall embrace it , however for most portraits, having a camera that I can work with at speed is certainly an advantage, especially as I only have I have literary a minute with the subject, that is when I go back to my Nikon.
Lighting has usually been Elincron, I have used the system for all my professional life, and I use a variety of light modifiers, many Cimera which I discovered in New York in the 80’s and have used ever since, I now also use Godox flash heads for their portability and when a venue does not allow a studio style set up. I usually change the basic lighting each year, but as I never stick to rules, I do change as circumstances , subject or just cause I can. I like to use up to 6 heads, however three is my basic kit.
The Backgrounds are a mix of standard Lastolite professional backgrounds and reflectors Black, White or Greys, then I have painted canvas , a joyful process when I play at impressionist painting, and I have used fabric dyes on some Calico, industrial dust sheets and even bed linen sheets , I have used printed fabrics with skyscapes and next year ? Watch this space.
A few of this years (2024) authors
Headshots as Brand?
Headshots as Brand Communication
Jo Henderson – Gone Consulting – recent shoot
Do you need an ‘on-brand’ photoshoot for your business?
All businesses know the value of marketing. They are aware that a website is essential as is the constant need to be present through social media, advertising and even business networking. It’s easy to follow the ‘branding rules’ when you’re a big company with a big budget, but what if you’re not?
How much notice do you or should you pay to your brand?
Standout brands
Many businesses rely heavily on their brand imagery to stand out from the crowd. If this can extend beyond the images on your website, then all the better. If you’re true to your brand, then it carries through your content, across your social platforms and even into your face-to-face appointments, making you and your business memorable and instantly recognizable.
Here are a few brands that stand out near my home in Warwickshire:
- COWBOY TWIST
Spaghetti Marketing have added a western/cowboy twist (or should I say fusilli) to their brand.
They have chosen a distinctive colour palette, with references to the ‘60s Spaghetti Westerns, with a nod to movies such as Sergio Leone’s ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ or ‘The Good, the Bad & the Ugly’. Spaghetti Agency has a constant presence on social media and with images of Todd looking more like Clint Eastwood every day, the team are consistently reinforcing their brand.
- Fishy clothing
A man in a Fish suit rocks up at networking events around the Warwickshire area and introduces himself as a designer. Now, this could be the start of a surreal joke, but Paul Horne is in fact a marketing designer for Cool Goldfish Design and after seeing the suit – he’s someone you won’t forget in a hurry!
- Chin badgers
Another great example is my photographer friend Charlie Budd, who sports a wonderful grey beard as part of his ‘everyday wear’ and heads up Chin Badger Media. What a brilliant business name and one that stands out in every way – visually, creatively & descriptively.
- Orange is the new orange
A specialist in LinkedIn marketing The M Guru, Gus Bandal has chosen Orange for his brand colour and doesn’t leave the house unless he’s sporting something orange. This could be a pair of trainers or a silk tie – or often both at the same time!
As marketing specialists, these businesses practice what they preach.
How to make your business’s brand stand out
If you are a professional business consultant, an architect, a therapist or even a trades person, a standout look might not be what your business needs. So, how do you look professional, and still make your mark?
Branded clothing or a uniform can be a great way to market your business and show the professionalism of your company. I’ve seen tree surgeons and specialist logistics companies, whose employees wear visibly branded clothing. Protective clothing is also branded, so the business continues to promote itself, whilst also showing itself to be accountable.
Use images where needed of your workforce wearing their branded clothing. This will help to reinforce and increase awareness of the brand associated with your business. Even if a prospective client can’t remember your company name, even 6 months on, their subconscious will remember the colour or logo associated with your business, and the positive interaction they had.
Stand out in the digital (google) fog
When creating a personal brand, be true to yourself but try and have a consistent look, it’s a way for people to remember you. It could be something as simple as a certain style of jacket or a chosen colour palette, worn perhaps with a twist.
Many photographers and creatives opt for the ubiquitous black. It’s both practical and easy, but will it help them to be easily remembered?
You might not always be able to be ‘on brand’, so this is where having a bank of professional portraits can come in handy.
A great example of that approach was a recent commission I had for Jo Henderson. She already had the look that reflected her personality, but she wanted to take the idea further and we created a series of stylised portraits that were more like a fashion shoot than a corporate headshot.
Jo is someone who once met you never forget (in the nicest possible way)! She wanted to extend her ‘look’ and style across her brand and developed her website to reflect this. Jo wanted a collection of images that could be used digitally on her website and on platforms such as LinkedIn, to make sure she stood out in the crowd. She has successfully created a brand that sticks in the mind and reinforces her presence and is a simple and effective way for her to market herself to her prospective clients.
Photographically, I approached the brief as I do with many projects, asking myself how I can create a new look that reflects the brand but is visually cohesive? I do not use a regular lighting set up, (which is undoubtedly one of my USPs), so I experimented with different lighting techniques a week or so before meeting with Jo. We agreed a style of photography that she was happy with and the shoot went as planned (with more fun than I’d anticipated). I know the images will serve Jo well for a season or two (as they say in the fashion business)! I am delighted with the outcome. Check out Jo’s Gone Consulting website to see more samples from the shoot.
Nail that brand!
So as part of your marketing strategy consider your personal image, find a look that you are comfortable with, maybe add a twist then make sure the images do you justice. Consider using a professional portrait / brand photographer that you know can deliver (I would say that wouldn’t I).
Invest in your brand image and it will make you the returns you want in the long term. Maybe buy a cowboy hat, grow a beard or wear an outrageous suit – whatever your choice, be sure to make an impression!
What is Brand Photography
What is Brand Photography?
Photography that is used to support and communicate a Brand.
Brand – An entity that is understood to identify a product , person or service.
We all know what a brand is, but researching all the definitions seems to provide more confusion than clarity.
One thing is certain, a logo is not a Brand.
However as the most successful Brands can be identified by their logo it is certainly part of the answer.
Any tech that has an apple on it, there is a good chance its an Apple, possibly the most success brand of all time?
The visual communication that is used often uses graphics, but often in subtle ways, the clarity and simple deign that apple employs is calculated to reenforce the brand, the photography and videos that Apple use provides a design aesthetic that again is communicating the Brand, others shall imitate, but this can be just an indication of a inferior product wanting to be the elite?
Nowadays as every business is aware, you have to look after the Brand!
‘On Brand’ is used to help employees reinforce communication, its not just images, its about ethos, about green credentials and all that the Brand stands for!
I have worked for many famous Brands over many years, from White Horse Whiskey and E&J Gallo Wines to Rolls Royce and Bentley. All were great fun, but I always enjoy a new Brand to work on, having an emotional investment in delivering material that helps establish the company to a state when the marketing and comms communicates instantly the Brand and what it represents!
I became involved early on when Marsh & Parsons decided to enhance their Brand and take on many of the serious players in the Estate agency world.
A campaign that was copy led was already underway, but the idea of using portraits to communicate types of property was a stroke of genius, both for the creatives, but also for the client, to radically change the way an Estate Agency created a ‘New’ Brand.
Although it had been around for ever (Established 1856), it started to create a stir, with metaphor of person as a property.
The initial campaign was shot and started to appear not only in the windows of the Agents offices across London, but then on poster sites across the Capital, mostly on the underground, but also on Bus shelters and 48sheet, poster sites.
The concepts were the developed by Steve & Sarah Stretton and I am grateful that they choose me to help create what has become an award winning campaign. There are many at Marsh & Parsons that I also have to thank, especially all those who became subjects for the campaign when the Brand communication moved into the offices and the staff were celebrated and mini posters were printed across the branches and online.
The campaign won numerous awards especially in the Estate Agency sector, a single image won the best Advertising single image in the AOP awards in 2017, certainly one of my career highlights.
Most of the Brand campaign were original images taken with a small but talented crew at a studio near Stratford on Avon. Where time sensitive subjects were used, the images were stock shots, such as Teresa May & Donald Trump. Eventually more stock images were used and then the company were taken over by Dexters another major Estate agency in 2023, 8 years after I started on the Brand campaign.
A book about the Marsh & Parsons Brand was complied and printed in limited numbers and
It is a prized publication in my library .
I continue to shoot Brand Photography for a number of people and clients, but it is rare to have a consistent campaign that is still remembered for its daring and creativity such as that for Marsh & Parsons.
Marsh & Parsons – Brand Campaign-
Authors Photographer
Authors Photography
image- Sir Michael Morpurgo
I have always been interested in the ARTS, as a child I would happily wander around Birmingham’s Museum & Art Gallery, looking at the paintings, sculpture and artefacts. The theatre, cinema and tv were part of my life and I was so lucky to have access to these worlds through my father who was a portrait and stills photographer working in television and the theatre.
My love of cinema and the arts propelled me into photography, I rejected my fathers area of work and produced work that was more commercial and advertising photography became my life. Working in many genre I carved out a career but early on I shot on location with landscapes as the subject or backdrop to the product or service. I shot hundreds of cars for brochures and ads and produced landscapes that were shot for a variety of products and services, strangely carpets in the Maldives, Scotch Whiskey in the Seychelles and airline destinations across the globe.
But all the time I kept my love for the arts and continued taking portraits often producing personal projects.
After many years of professional photography I am still enjoying every day as a commercial photographer and delivering images in many genre, but I am more and more shooting headshots and portraits of actors, authors & artists.
Maybe because they are my tribe?
No – I photograph all sorts of people because everyone is interesting, everyone is always interested in the arts, so all people are my subjects and hopefully I produce my art when I take their portrait?
As a child you often reject the world of your parents, the classic teenage rebellion can carry on too long and becoming a photographer was probably inevitable but I did choose a different area of photography, my father certainly was more involved with the arts, as a stills photographer on many BBC dramas and ATV productions. I choose to follow the Advertising side, although I would find portraits and lifestyle a large part of my repertoire, it was my large format landscapes that became popular and naturally I followed the money!
It took the banking crash of 2009 and a few personal incidents to change my practice, while shooting an advertising campaign in New Zealand for O2, I realised that I had to return to Worcestershire England to find a change of economic climate that meant that a reasonable run of work just stopped! The Phone & Emails stoped, the bills didn’t!
I was already studying Part Time for my Masters in Visual communication as I had started lecturing at a couple of Uni’s, so change was happening, but my personal work then moved into another phase.
I shot a project ‘In The American West Midlands’ and won the West Midlands Art prize for a portrait fro the project.
‘Art for Art’s sake, money for God’s Sake.’ Had been my mantra but when I realised I could be a real artist , my motivation changed.
I have since worked on many charity projects that are people based, so that continues with people at the core of my work both commercial and my art practice.
In 2014 I got involved with what was an Art Festival in Stratford upon Avon, I set up a pop-Up Studion in the Town centre and took portraits of those involved with the festival and selected subjects, creating a body of work ‘Bards Town Portraits’. Sadly the festival did not receive funding and the project faltered.
It was then that I discovered the wonderful Stratford Literary Festival that had enjoyed a few years of success and was a perfect fit for a portrait based project. I am grateful for the way the festival allowed me to set up another pop up studio and start producing portraits of those authors and personalities who featured in the festival but also those involved with the festival, Annie Ashworth the festival’s director and her team have continued to grow this wonderful cultural jewel despite many challenges, I am grateful to be part of the festival and continue to capture the Authors, actors and artists who feature in the ongoing project.
The work shall be archived in Birmingham’s Central Library Archive along with my work from the last 50 years and also at a location in Stratford on Avon to be confirmed hopefully in 2025.
My portraits of the Authors that have been involved are naturally featured on a dedicated website for the project and the whole body of work can be seen here:
I have since starting this project in 2015 gone on to be commissioned to take many portraits of authors for themselves or their publiser. If anyone is interested on commissioning me, I would be delighted to discuss without obligation, a chat before a photographic session is very important, if possible I like to read some if not all of their work and collaborate with the author about the nature of the portait, from wardrobe, to location if appropriate. The images are very useful for marketing and communication and certain appreciated when scheduling talks and for the reviews.
Photography Case Studies for Marketing
What is case study photography
Case study photography is what it say’s it is, the documentation or photographic illustration of a case, or sample of how a client works in the market, or a study of a practice such as an educator with their students.
In marketing terms a ‘case study’ is a way that a supplier can show an example in the real world how their skills or service can make a difference. It is a tried and tested marketing concept that shows with a few images how a supplier has produced results for their client.
In industry a process output can mean totally different things to different clients, producing chemicals is what a supplier does, but the end application in a variety of industries can be very different.
A telephone provider is simply the business a customer gets a phone and its supply of calls and connection to the wide world.
It can be by using case histories, that a company can have such a great BRAND that the customers shall use the brand, remain loyal and be happy to endorse the brand.
As a marketing idea it has been around for many years, early examples show satisfied customers using or consuming the product. Actors, celebrities and just photo models were and stall are used, but as audiences get more sophisticated and Trents change, now real people are used as case studies to show a positive vision to a wider audience.
In fact no case studies are a way that not only the ‘advertiser’ gets the benefit of exposure, but also the user can benefit from great PR or exposure that they can turn around for their own business or Brand.
If a sole trader is featured as a user of say a telecom company, the use of the images and possible video shall help promote both and although media may cost a lot, it can be so cost effective, going viral and providing all with great coverage.
Before the digital revolution, case study Advertising was often used, even massive campaigns were produced for services like American Express who would use Celebrities to endorse the product, the celebrity is still a useful aspect of Advertising, such as Nespresso & George Clooney, now across many platforms there are many influencers who are endorsing products for free stuff or great financial reward.
Are Case studies just the same?
I certainly hope there is a difference, case studies show ‘real world’ use, the service or product can be seen in context and the audience can be reached by email campaigns or on appropriate platforms.
Real people are seen as much more believable and often if its a specialist area may well be know in their field and that is giving more credibility to the service.
A photographer that is featured in a case study could for instance just use a make of camera such as a Nikon, the type of work they do can have great interest to a large audience of amateur and professional practitioners, the lens they use and the way they light a subject are going to be an extra insight, so the audience are gaining knowledge and are exposed to the Brand that could make them life long customers.
So when marketing campaigns are planned may I suggest that case studies are considered as part of the strategy, it maybe a difficult start to get customers to agree, but when they see others featured and hopefully getting positive reaction , then others shall be eager to be photographed, interviewed and even videoed. This enables your brand to gain a strong following and the loyalty that is experienced helps to develop a relationship that can endure.
Over the years I have photographed many ‘case histories’ from a football team who used Persil to wash their kit, too many clients who used a storage company. The variety of use was certainly interesting as many clients were E commerce start up’s — to Blue chip companies that used a storage Dept as a service engineer’s hub, where spares and products could be left and engineers just collect materials from a small lock up and don’t need to return to HQ or run a small warehouse. Once the human aspect of a business is communicated, potential clients do engage with the business, even just a short background story and a portrait of a happy client can help communicate to others in a similar line of work.
A short video of work practice for the usual platforms can reach many and funnel the viewers to websites or direct action.
Those featured as a case study often find themselves with massive exposure, much more than they could generate themselves and they can repurpose the material ( with permission from client and any body with copyright interests such as music and photography).
A short video that features their business could cost hundreds, if not thousands, so if you are approached to be a ‘case history’ seriously consider the opportunity, it could be a game changer for your business.
Authors Portraits – Stratford on Avon
It is a great privilege to work with the Stratford Literary Festival and continue with my Festival Faces project, Since 2015 I have set up a ‘pop-up’ studio and produced a series of portraits of the authors, celebrities and those involved with the festival . The idea was to create a body of work that celebrates a great cultural event and creates an archive that shall eventually be held with my archive at Birmingham Central Library and with an suitable location in Stratford on Avon, hopefully this shall be confirmed in the near future.
This recent festival of May 2024 almost did not happen as the main venue Crowne Plaza suffered a major fire just before the opening, the amazing team lead by Annie Ashworth managed to relocate the event and delivered another great festival, I am not sure how they did it but they did, the resulting events were spread across a number of locations, but mainly at the Stratford Playhouse & the Welcome Hotel.
Sadly this impacted what I could do as I need a set up studio to capture the images you see, so I elected to be based at the Playhouse, and only managed to set up a ‘small’ studio when schedule allowed at the Welcome Hotel.
Portrait photography has its challenges, often time is limited with subjects, but those I was able to photograph are to be seen on the dedicated project website – Stratford Festival Faces
I am grateful to all the subjects and all involved with the festival, this and every year .
What is a Commercial Photographer?
A commercial photographer is someone who works for commercial enterprises.
Sounds obvious but what exactly do commercial enterprises do?
Everything!
Commerce is business and anything that generates income could be a business and all businesses require marketing and communication to reach their potential clients and therefore most shall require images to use for that purpose.
In medieval times if someone wanted to sell something such as Ale, they would put a sign outside their house that would show that it sold ale, they probably started as wooden boards shaped as a
Jug or barrel and progressed to the signage that you see today.
Advertising and marketing have evolved and the way a commercial enterprise communicates its products or service has changed but it remains as basic as show the potential customer what you do and they know where to go for what that business does.
Commercial photography is simply that, working for commerce, but as businesses have become so complicated in the 21st century, commercial photographers have had to specialise and deliver to specialist sectors.
Architectural photographers will not necessarily have the right equipment or. Knowledge to photograph food for a restaurant in the building they are photographing. A photographer who works with clients that have an industrial manufacturing facility will not be equipped to photograph a family at home using the product that the manufacturer has produced.
However all these disciplines are commercial photographers, some shall have many skills and with experience a commercial photographer should be able to tackle most photography briefs.
It should be reasonable to expect a studio based photographer shall have the knowledge and appropriate lighting and camera equipment to photograph most things that are sold to the public, Amazon has thousands of items and all require photography, some commercial photographer will have photographed many and often the better quality of image the better the customers will understand what it is and does and shall purchase.
A simple old fashioned picnic basket, will look pretty on a website catalogue as a cut out image on a page, but if it is photographed on a seaside beach with a happy group enjoying the picnic and sunshine, that shall be even more attractive and emotional so there is a need for both types of commercial photography.
A studio still life product photographer would produce the product shot, but as a commercial photographer they should have all the skills to also produce the lifestyle images.
I reality commercial photographers do tend to specialise, some as product photographers, some as people or lifestyle photographers, as their folios evolve the types of clients they attract tend to be the same as the ones they are already working for, so a specialisation evolves often without planning.
If you are interested in commissioning a photographer for your business first search for photographers that do state they are commercial photographers, otherwise you shall find wedding and social photographers that seem to be the most plentiful, but maybe search for the specialist skills you are after, a headshot photographer can be someone who is OK to produce a passport photograph but not necessarily a portrait that has substance and has the gravitas that you require as a serious professional for your marketing and communications.
A commercial photographer should have the skills to produce anything that their website has posted, check out the reviews, ensure that the work is consistent and it is commissioned, many can replicate an image with time and the use of Ai, but can they deliver on the day, on time, on budget and to the quality that you require?
A photography studio is often required for a commercial photography it may not be used for all jobs if the photographer is a still life specialist. The space that can be controlled and has the specialist equipment that helps deliver images to a high standard, the photographer uses the space that has neutral surfaces, it has backgrounds and tables that provide surfaces for the subjects, often having many types of materials from rustic wood, natural rock to high tech manufactured material.
Many photographers hire studios for projects, unless the studio is used often it can be an expensive overhead especially in high cost city centres, something that has to be charged on to a client making the fees very high.
This is why many photographers have moved from city central locations to cheaper industrial business parks or mixed use properties out in the sticks.
It is normal practice that a commercial studio photographer will charge a fee for the service he delivers and will include the studio as part of that fee, however if the studio is a drive-in facility or offers specialist facilities the studio cost is then added to the photography fee as a production cost.
You want to become a commercial photographer?
This is a very competitive profession and if you are a skilled photographer it may not be quite what you imagine, as it is so competitive the rewards are not what they were, the market is full of photography graduates who want a foot in the door and see commercial photography as an attractive vocation, the more realistic option to becoming a fashion photographer, however photography is ‘easy’ with digital technology and the need to produce massive amounts of content for social media, but not requiring high resolution quality images. Images are required but also moving images and infographics. The future commercial photographers shall probably be using Ai technology and certainly providing moving and still images for clients. The skills required still will include the understanding of lighting and the mastering of many software apps. Studio space maybe required to capture some images, but the commercial photography world is evolving rapidly and a commercial photographer maybe referred to by another name, such as content producer or visual communicator?
It is a very exciting time and as changes happen job titles shall change, a business of any type will require some communication to reach its potential clients and images are possibly part of that communication, in the future they could be holograms or something we are unaware of, but someone like a commercial photographer shall be producing them, what they shall be called is yet to be decided.
Professional Photographer # Hacks
Over the years I have discovered a few things that have helped my photography practice, some I have ‘stolen’ from production crews or other professional photographers that I have seen using the object / thing / practice, but some I have just decided that they were worth trying. Photography requires a practical mind, solving problems in order to produce the images that you and your client want, hopefully those results are the same, but that’s another issue!
One BIG issue is travel, with a camera and all the extras you need, as a travel photographer working with holiday companies such as Thompson’s and Tourist Boards you would think it was easy, a couple of cameras and a few lens and maybe a tripod? Yes, but what about the lighting, reflectors and film? It was a nightmare, especially with film, that had to be protected from X-ray.
Now, it is easier, kit is still heavy, but nothing like the Hasselblad & Linhof I used in film days, but lens are not light, and as I always have two bodies and a mixture of lens so they all add up.
I have found that looking like a photographer attracts attention and is bad for security, so I use a variety of tactics to keep, low key.
Camera cases and bags are now very good, but many are too expensive and very visible as to their contents.
I was once shooting in Switzerland and returned via Milan ( A helicopter ride from our location at Zermatt) Shooting on a couple of Linhof’s, I could only get one secured in the aircraft cabin, and the spare which I had only had for a few weeks, went into a camera flight case and was checked in, at arrival back at Birmingham International, all was fine, except the camera case, it never showed up!
That was when I decided to disguise kit whenever possible.I try to keep kit in non photo cases and always keep someone with it. There are some camera bags, that are impossible to improve on, I have used many over the years, but now I use a backpack type and Peak Design seem to be the best, they don’t look too extraordinary, looking more like a hikers backpack than a pro camera case and that suits mme, I use three not at the same time, but for many projects, it’s a lightweight, small bag (20 litre) with a Nikon Z7 and three lens. The Main kit is a D850 and three or four lens, but access to a few cases of glass, and specialist stuff, like triggers, filters and remote controls is usually close by.
For lighting and Stands and especially when flying with kit I used luggage suitcases and ‘Golf Bags’ – they are classed as sports bags and attract less excess charge, they are BIG, robust and imply a golf bag and clubs! Not expensive carbon fibre tripods and camera gear, I do not put cameras in but certainly put portable lights, reflectors, and pad with clothes.
I extend the same practice to my current basic lighting kit, rather than ‘this is expensive camera kit’ I use a travel case that looks more like a simple suit case, maybe with a few clothes and shoes?
I am aware that no bag or #Hack has made a great image, but using equipment that keeps my kit safe and me a little more relaxed about security, does improve the way I work, able to travel a lot lighter and not stick out makes my work a little bit easier.
More Hacks – please check out my BLOG again soon, there are more on the way!
Victorian Photographic Background
Ernst Dyche Studio Backgrounds, Birmingham
Victorian Photographic Backdrops
Ernest Dyche Studio backgrounds,Birmingham.
In the late 1970s I was lucky to have found the Ernest Dyche Studio at 354 Moseley Road, Sparkbrook. I had seen the studio many times as it was on a main road I often used,. I was informed that there were some interesting artefacts in what was looking like a run down property .
The owner Malcolm Dyche had ‘retired’ and lived at the property which was obviously a grand house at sometime. Mr Dyche generously showed me his studio, that he still occasionally used, the studio space was a wonderland, which I wish I had photographed, a ‘plaster cast white umbrella that seemed to be used as a reflector although no light source could be seen apart from a couple of basic tungsten lights, at the rear of the studio was a contraption made of wood and iron holding a background of off white canvas, behind were more rolls of canvas, which I was told were painted.
After a while I asked if I could possibly buy the backgrounds as I thought they would work for a commission I had in the pipeline. Malcolm and his wife kindly agreed to sell them with the stand for £200 if I remember correctly, back in the 70’s that was what I thought was a fair and quite substantial figure.
I remember taking a good half day dismantling the unit and loading my VW Combi and taking them to my studio in Digbeth (164 High Street, Deritend). I was amazed what I had found, there were also some smaller backgrounds not as large but also beautifully painted. The collection of backgrounds were used for a few tests then for the calendar commission that was produced as a stock calendar for CBE Moments who at the time were a major client.
Space was always an issue in my studio, so as the Background stand was an interesting object and the painted backdrops looked so good, I took them all home and displayed them in my lounge and that is what happened to them till 2010, they were part of my home furnishings and followed my moves to Worcestershire, Warwickshire, London then back!
I used the backgrounds for the occasional shoot, but they were usually too dominant so the subject was undermined, I did take one to the Stratford Literary festival and used it for a few of the writers and celebrities such Rev Richard Cole who was one subject that did work as he has the face that could be seen as ‘Victorian’ or at least Edwardian.
In 2010 I put the background and much more into storage as my circumstances changed drastically (Property / Banking Crash) and I ended up back between London and Spain.
In 2013 back in Warwickshire I started to think I should get rid of the backgrounds, and simplify my storage as they were OK but taking up room. I also had an archive of 40 years photography and kit that seemed to grow every time I had to get something for a shoot.
I approached a few auction houses and spread the word, but unless I was going to give the backgrounds away there were few options. I managed to resolve my storage issues so I just had to live with the backgrounds in my new space along with archives.
Fast Forward to 2018? When I was attending a tutor meeting in Barnsley with the OCA, there I met Arpita Shah a fellow photography tutor who said she was working on a project with GRAIN in Birmingham and was researching the Ernst Dyche collection at the Birmingham library, she said that she was looking for the backgrounds that the collection was shot against.
I have rarely seen someone so happily shocked as when I told her that I owned them.
Nicola Shipley from Grain and Arpita came to see the backdrops at my studio near Stratford on Avon and then all became a little complex, as the 2022 Commonwealth Games were looming and a major exhibition at the library was planned with the Ernest Dyche collection at the heart of it, the backgrounds were certainly considered for the exhibition as they featured in most of the images that were shot in the 50’s,60’s & 70’s at the Sparkhill studio. The exhibition “From City of Empire to City of Diversity” The Exhibition was I believe devised and put forward by SAMPAD based at MAC.
The exhibition featured one original background set up as it would have been in the day when a generation of immigrants would get a portrait taken to send home to relatives or just treasure as a celebration of their new life in Birmingham. There were also two copies that were used by visitors to get selfies, the exhibition was a great success and the backdrops are now safely in the Birmingham Archive hopefully there shall be restoration work done on the machine that holds the backdrops as 1895 was a long time since it was made.
I still use ‘canvas’ backgrounds, often painted my myself or dyed, as a devise they are as old as photography and certainly with portraiture some background shall always be required, green screen technology and now Ai can place subjects anywhere, but there seems to be a need for us to have our images with a context that informs, a surreal landscape or a glade backgrounds are going to be around for a while longer, hopefully the Dyche backgrounds shall be seen as part of photographies rich heritage especially for Birmingham and its wonderfully diverse people.
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