Sara Lee Packaging Overhaul

I while ago I mentioned I was in the running for an epic project for an Aussie favourite brand.

Well, I got the gig, and it was epic! Over a month of shooting.

After Ben Masters and I took the brief, we were still in competition with another Photog/stylist team (photog also with Contacts-awkward), and we had to submit a test shoot. We then presented the print and our chosen approach.

I was stoked when I heard we got the job! Ben and I worked with designer AD Samantha Young at Barker Gray to interpret the brief.

The client and agency had an editorial look in mind, but weren't sure how that would translate into to the regimented stye of packaging photography. I suggested a sort of hybrid, in that although highly styled food was required, it need to look loose and informal.

There were two more interesting challenges

a. the client wanted very little retouching, having being previously burdened with massive retouching costs

b. They would not be attending the shoot, at all, for a month of shooting.

I'm going to keep it short and polite and summarise that it all worked out beautifully and they got both wishes.

I just needed a glass of Cab Sav at the end of each day.

Breakfast of Champions

I really enjoy building sets and creating atmospheres to bring beauty and romance to meaty treats..

What more can I say.

Contacts Christmas Card 2012

Had this idea for my Christmas mailer, which ended up being for Contacts' same purpose.

A North Avalon family kindly offered their home, but the amazing thing is the whole street does the full-on lights thing. Gotta love the far Northern beaches. They are super laid back and and there are almost none of the dramas that Home and Away might suggest.

Rocky, who owns Bike Bug North Sydney, kindly agreed to be our talent, and Rebecca Riegger did an absolutely amazing job of the props and styling. Also ups to Todd Sotheren who did the clipping paths to make the retouch a breeze.

The dog, Reg, makes the shot.

Merry Christmas

Allianz Library Images

One of my repeat clients, Allianz Insurance, commissioned this project, and it allowed me another opportunity to hone the art of directing real people, not models or actors, to their best performance for the shot.

The brief appealed to my documentary roots at first, but I shifted my style in a enviro-portrait direction to accommodate  the wide range of applications that the images would be used for. 

The client quite rightly felt that there was very little in existing stock that suited their needs, and wanted to use real people, in real situations-their own jobs, with a definite sense that we are looking at real Australians.

There were some pretty stressful challenges in getting the right talent and locations logistics sorted within the budget constraints, not to mention the curve ball thrown by the weather, but I'm proud to say the images portray, for the most part, people in their actual jobs, in their actual workplaces. In fact, the situations where hired talent had to be used, I found less convincing

I wanted to hero the subjects subtly with lighting and casual pose, but keep it feeling natural. We scheduled around the weather for the outdoor shots, as hard sunlight is a strong differentiating factor when trying to make images look more Australian.

Our ÜberProducer Penni pulled absolute miracles with regards to talent, locations and even weather prediction, and needed a relaxing massage by the end of the shoot.

Cherith Crozier did a cracker of a job in the styling, and together with myself and AD Sarah Straker, we had a solid team with a clear direction throughout the shoot.

Praise Whole Egg mayonaise

The AD at +Jack Watts Currie, Pamela Parelli, had put together a concise brief which resonated with me straight away. It called for an expression performance from the talent, and the food to look good too. It also needed to work visually with the hands holding plates reaching in.

We were fortunate to find the perfect location, and the weather smiled upon us, being the first clear day in a while.

Had a dream team of crew, with food styling by Kristine Duran Thiesen, wardrobe by Natasha Harrison, and Contacts' Leeby Sotheren doing makeup, and Todd Sotheren as retoucher.

The model Angela Shallis was serene and professional, and while the exclamatory performance was out of her comfort zone, she kept on trying till we got what we wanted.

Everything was shot on location, including the packshot and additional food tabletop shot to keep costs under control.

The AD, agency and client were very happy with the outcome, and so am I. One of my favourites for the year!

Masterfoods Tomato Sauce

The opportunity arose to submit a last minute treatment for what was originally a typographical execution with a simple hand-with-pack shot to overlay.

I couldn't think of much to make a hand more exciting, so I expanded upon the brief a little, suggesting we go for a bit more depth, and instead of doing the headline typographically, I thought of using a stencil on a wooden crate. This would give the type the genuine wood texture.The crate has relevance also, as it further suggests the use of fresh produce, and provided a tactile third dimension for the shot.

The creative team loved the idea, and sold it to the client, who was reluctant at first but happy to put their faith in us.

I stuck to my guns in my efforts to keep it "in camera", and our stylist, Jan Edwards found beautiful crates and painted stencils of varying sizes to suit the layout. We took it a step further by shooting the sauce splats on acetate so that they could be positioned in camera and required minimal comping. It also allowed us to ensure the message was not lost.

Our hand model was a pro, and was able to fine tune the amount of squeeze distortion on the pack. I had mentioned in the treatment that the squeeze is part of the fun, and wanted to portray a bit of bottle throttle, but needles to say we pulled back to a firm hold which yielded a more acceptable label distortion.

The team were stoked with the result, as was the client. 

Synology Server

I'm happy to have finally invested in a high end NAS server as an additional archiving module and a system for clients to access their files should I not be available. I went with an 8 bay +Synology DS1812+, and that should serve my purposes very well. Here it be:

http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS1812%2B&lang=enu

David Stone at +DRevolution did the setup and I can wholeheartedly recommend his services as a super-techie.

The DSM web based interface rocks. This is dangerously geeky shit, I know, but you can't help getting excited about the potential of that much storage.