While the big picture is important, details are often more interesting. The 700 plus horsepower engine in this customized Dodge Challenger Hellcat is one of those details. Sometimes it’s a spoiler, or wheels. They are as much fun to shoot and arguably as important as the big picture. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts an comments.
Studio Photography
Custom Charger Hellcat
This customized Hellcat is a beast! Black cars are great looking, but they are a bear to photograph. You can’t make them black or they won’t have any shape. So they have to be gray, but look black, and shiny. It’s the challenges that keep this profession fun.
Commercial Studio Photography
I love shooting in the studio! We recently had a full day shoot for a California client that was a blast. Great clients, great product and a great model added up to a successful and productive day. There were some challenges encountered, like our wi-fi was not up to snuff. We have a fast enough internet connection, but the wi-fi was not. Problem solving kicked in and instead of piloting the unit though the computer, we attached and pulled a fishing line to illustrate motion manually. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Automotive Studio Photography
Finding the best angle for a particular car is an impossibility. Best angle for what? Best to display what the designer was thinking? Or best at telling the story that it’s a zoomy exciting car, or a practical safe family car? You get the Idea. Where you stand and where you point has a huge impact on what a photograph says. It’s one of the best lessons I learned from Walter Farynk when I was in school. As always, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and comments.
Industrial Filter Photography
There are thousands of industrial filters that filter a wide assortment of gas and liquid. We were trying to make an interesting photograph to capture the attention of readers. I like stepping outside the bounds of a standard product shot. This hi-key photograph of filter media was one of the solutions that day.
Product Photography for Industry
People often associate industrial product photography with slap-dash, down and dirty photography; but it doesn’t have to be. In this project, we needed a few pictures for banners for the client’s home page. The purpose of these photographs is to draw in potential customers with visually compelling imagery. Dynamic photography also helps separate you from your competitors. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
Health Care Photography
Medical Equipment is fascinating stuff. We don’t usually think about the tools used in operating rooms. Lots of thought goes into the production of the medical devices that help surgeons to do their jobs. Fortunately for me, these tools are visually compelling as well. Very much a collaborative process, it’s vital to have input from clients who understand how they are used and what’s important to feature. Designers / Art Directors are essential as well; they are able to envision all of the uses for my photographs. I am always interested in your thoughts and comments.
Muscle Car Photography
I had the opportunity to photograph a 66 Mustang recently. I love red cars! You could tell that this is Barry’s (the owner's) baby. He called it a “driving car, not a show car”, and he drives it all over! It was a blast to photograph. This is the first of a few shots. Let me know what you think.
Industrial Still Life Photography
Modern industrial products often start as forged parts. Heated to red hot, then pressed into shape by huge machines, these automotive components are likely in the car you drive. This intermediate stage can be challenging to photograph. A little spray paint and a some additional retouching help make the surface more uniform. Dramatic lighting and an interesting background help further still. As always I’m interested in your thoughts.
Still Life Product Photography
There is product photography, and then there is product photography. What I mean is, you can photograph a product on white which will represent the product and the buyer can glean information from it to better understand what’s being purchased. There are lots of good reasons to do this, and it can be very attractive too. On the other hand, you can put the product in an environment so that it conveys an emotional message as well. A tubing cutter is perhaps not the product you would think of as an emotional buy, but, who doesn't like nice tools? The shiny black one sure does look better! As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
Product Photography - Simple!
If things work like they should, most of us don’t install stoves or clothes dryers very often. If it’s a gas appliance, it’s going to involve connecting up the gas. My problem to solve is how to make a gas connector look interesting in a photograph. Graphic arrangement on an interesting background, camera angle, dramatic lighting all work together. Simple! Fortunately, on this project I had the good fortune to work with a terrific art director. As always, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Larger than life
One of the difficulties of photographing very small parts is that often times the finished photographs are displayed larger than life-size. The products were never engineered to be photographically displayed, much less, up close and personal. Occasionally, I’ll give parts to a jeweler friend of mine for him to clean up with his specialized tools. But the answer in most cases is to retouch; removing visual defects and flaws in the product during post-production. Depending on the product and the size it's eventually displayed, the retouching can be tedious work, but well worth it. For this client, the individual products were photographed in a way that enabled me to assemble them in Photoshop to create an exploded view with visual impact.
Industrial Upgrade
I photographed these filters some time ago for Parker Hannifin. I thought they might be more interesting on a different backdrop. I chose a gritty textured background to contrast with the smooth highly finished surface of the filters. This type of photograph serves an entirely different purpose than the original on a white background. I think it has more visual impact, and might be more suited for an ad or a tab page in a catalog. As always, I’m interested in your comments.
Industrial Tools
I’ve always loved photographing shiny things - doesn't really matter what it is. Reflective things like a car, jewelry, or in this case, an industrial tool, all fascinate me. Controlling reflections to reveal the shape as well as to make a compelling photograph, is my kind of challenge. Spiralock makes this tap for cutting threads that lock a bolt in place without a lock-washer. I just like the way it looks. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
Safety Photography
There are plenty of dangerous places to work around Detroit. But working in a hazardous environment should not be hazardous to your health. Providing that protection is my client's job. My job is to make their product interesting to look at. I did the studio photography and Dave did the location photography for the project. We are always interested in your thoughts and comments.
Industrial Product Photography
Macro Photography
I had a couple of down days so I thought I’d shoot something for me. It’s a series of close-up photos of fruit and vegetables. Can you guess what fruit or vegetable this is? If it weren't a fruit or vegetable what might it be? The rest of the series is on my personal blog. Please let me know what you think.
Industrial Parts Photography
I enjoy the opportunity to work with good designers and art directors. Their collaboration invariable produces better photographs, brochures, catalogs, ads and websites. I had the good fortune to work with Designers & Partners on this project. This photo was assembled in Photoshop from individual shots of all of the parts our client makes for a 9 speed transmission. Shooting shiny parts is almost always fun. As always, I am interested in your thoughts and comments.
Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone
Cutaway Product Photography
When telling a story, sometimes you need to see below the surface. It’s sometimes done with a saw, if it is going to be displayed there is little choice. A display company would be able to find someone with all the necessary skills, but it would be expensive. If it is just for photography, then it can often be considerably more affordable. This image is part of a brochure for a backup emergency lighting system. On the outside it appears to be an attractive red box. The story is inside. Shooting multiple images and assembling them in PhotoShop is how it was done. Let me know what you think.