Commercial Photography

A commercial photography skill that's indispensable

These are not great photographs. I don't think I've ever taken a great photograph. Margaret Bourke-White, Ansel Adams, Gordon Parks, Elliott Erwitt, Richard Avedon -- these were great photographers, who routinely took great pictures. Contemporary shooters like Annie Leibowitz, Brian Peterson, and my friend Mary Lou Uttermohlen also take great pictures. They bring a vision and an attitude and they're worth whatever they charge.

I would also argue, however, that for many occasions such greatness is not indispensable, but something else is.

For a good percentage of corporate or institutional communication you need a sense of elevation above reality, but not a sparkling work of art. The indispensable result would be: authentic moments. Not something that's so pristine that it feels unreal; something that has the authenticity of imperfection, the grittiness of happenstance. The signature expressions of your people. A cool angle that juxtaposes yesterday with tomorrow. An unplannable moment that reveals true corporate or personal character.

And the indispensable skill that will get that necessary result? Confidence. Not photographer self-confidence, in their vision. Photographer willingness to be a little naked until s/he can wrap YOUR story, message, and ethos around his/her work. It's the experimental confidence of fresh eyes, willing to see without preconceptions and playfully find what's seriously, uniquely YOUR style and story.

Another way to say it: Armed with that confidence skill, a photog can walk into a strange place, ask dumb questions, look with an open mind; find the visual story; and then tell that story in a way that represents, not the photographer's "style", but a vibe that's tuned to a specific audience and a precise topic. I think that's indispensable, and lots of photographers are so good and polished at expressing themselves through their pictures that the ideal self story of the client gets missed.

My aim as your shooter is to be confident that I'll find the heart of YOUR message; that I will aim surely, shoot quickly, keep your message safe, and not miss the mark.

As I said, I am definitely not a great photographer, but I do feel like you can count on me to deliver what you want. Every one of these shots was rushed, and grabbing them was more like drinking from a firehose of visual opportunities than methodically perfecting an idea. A couple of hours in downtown Chicago; 8 setups in 5 hours at the American Institute of Physics; 60 minutes in the Seattle Public Library. Each of these galleries displays an existential confrontation with what is surprising and what unfolds in the moment, as a space is discovered or an activity runs its course. To walk in confidently, find good angles, and zero in on what would be authentic for that place and time ... that's the main skill -- the indispensable skill -- for a lot of commercial photography assignments.

Seattle
Public
Library
DeWaal
Painting
Chicago
Textures
American
Institute
of Physics
Engineering
Excellence
Dynamics

Seattle Central Library was a personal exploration project I undertook with a good friend who needed to study the building for an architecture school assignment. We had one hour, and my goal was to experience the building in ways that its architects, Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Remus, would have intended. This sequential compendium shows a majority of the angles that struck my fancy during the 60 minutes that I was there. I have not done any photoshop work on these images to tweak exposure or correct for architectural perspective.

DeWaal Painting is a small business with a big heart. My goal in helping Jon was to capture his personality and sensibilities for his website. The existing site had some excellent photography of his work, but it felt lifeless without a human being there. There's so much more to the result of a painted house than 4 walls ... no matter how bright and tasteful they may be.

Chicago Textures reflects my personal impressions of this amazing city while visiting. I had three brief windows "on the way" to other things... downtown while taking a Dreamweaver class, on the train and foot from Midway to the Lake Shore area to meet with a client, and with family near dusk in Millennium Park. These are just random subjects that caught my eye.

American Institute of Physics asked me to shoot some photos for their annual report. Linda Ware Dylla, designer for the project, had a well-planned day of shooting worked out for their New York office. Each shot was expected to fit a layout and illustrate a concept, and within those parameters we worked together to decide on each subject, pick angles and direct human subjects to get the images she wanted. We had great fun working together and the finished result looked great!

Engineering Excellence had a theme, a budget, and a deadline. The theme was "rooftop maintenance", the budget was half a day's shooting time, and the deadline was tomorrow. Art directors take note: All of the pictures you see here were composed and framed on the day, within the 5 hour shoot window at 3 different building rooftop locations. You'll notice that I provided different ways of laying out each visual concept, employed a variety of lighting techniques including reflectors, strobes, and available light, and delivered an average of more than a dozen distinct visual concepts per hour -- each with multiple framings and focal lengths -- for the entire 5-hour shoot. You can trust me to follow your concept directions and bring back visual variety, with or without an on-site art director to supervise.

Kindig Dynamics represents a pot pourri of images that I found wherever I happened to be. Some are high dynamic range, and some involve motion blur dynamics within frame.