Studio

a brief history 

(from what I remember)

Background:

Adrian Heapy Studio, Belper. 8,000 sq ft studio in the centre of Belper offering two studios, one which is large enough for room sets to be built in. They do product shots - jewellery, food and furniture - as well as location portraits. Adrian started in photography at 16 whilst working in a bar in Spain then moved into press photography when returning to UK. His client come from all over the UK and come to him for his ability to turn their investment in him to capture their products into an enormous return on investment.

Equipment:

It seems to me that Adrian either uses equipment he has had for years because he likes the results he gets from them and how to fix them and to keep them going right across to brand new equipment to keep him up to date and on top of the developments in the industry. Kieron has a thorough understanding of photoshop and how to finish the images. 

Workflow:

Workflow is logical and precise and it is essential that an excellent and well followed routine for backing up work and client information is established. To burn everything to 2 CDs and have one on site and the other safely stored off-site is an excellent and well thought out system to accomplish this.

Photoshop:

It is clear that the work produced by the studio would not be suitable for clients without the judicious intervention from photoshop. Adrian even leaves items messy on the set knowing that it will be easily spotted and rectified in photoshop.

Portfolio:

It is essential for a photographer to have examples of his work. It is very difficult to get clients to offer copies of brochures and leaflets that your work appears in but it is essential that you have them so that you can show off your work to future clients visiting students!  

Clients:

They are fickle but they trust you. You need to keep them on track but be willing to bend and adjust as their ideas and requirements form. This can slow down a job and can sometimes means one can be cancelled. Some clients can go bust in the time you are working for them - you need to protect yourself from this with insurance, credit checks and common sense. Some clients will ask for test shots and then use them even though they are tests. You need to have a keen eye for your own work to ensure that it is not misused. Keen sense of copyright issues, clear instructions regarding infringements of use should be on your website and you should also have a good solicitor that understands the law relating to this. Copyright remains a mess and difficult to understand but a good solicitor will be able to help.

(I am not going to recount some of the stories Adrian told us as this is a public blog and I do not want to get him into trouble - I have therefore described things in general terms without specifics).

Roomsets:

It seems to me that being a photographer in this particular studio is the smallest part of what you need to be and do. Chippy, plumber, electrician, painter and decorator, project manager, an A-Z knowledge of local businesses to call upon, accountant, financial advisor, DIY store, builder, creative.

Reflection:
In a way this type of large scale photography might put some people off (I do hope so) but for me I find that exciting. Knowing that photography will mean I can be creative in so many other areas is very exciting to me. I do not want to do the type of work that Adrian does but I do know I am creative in the way I deal with people, generate ideas, deliver ideas and complete projects - and sometimes this all happens without touching a camera.
I was amazed that in creating all the photography for the cookbook Adrian and his team had to buy and cook all the recipes. I had assumed that the client would have turned up with all this themselves! This has intrigued me.
I picked up some many ideas from this visit I am starting a new note book just to get them all written down.
I had a lot of my business ideas and thoughts reinforced by Adrian. I know how important it is to deal with clients in a way that means they will come back for more; I know that you need money before you hand over images (I have learnt that the hard way); I know that I need to protect myself with knowledge about the law and also insurance; I know that I have to charge at a level that means I can survive and also continue to grow; I know that whatever I do this has to be fun and enjoyable.

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Product Studio

Very interesting to see the hasselblad being used for a simple product shot:

"Sledge hammer to crack a nut"

Sledgehammer

Because the H4D was new to the studio it was being used for this test shot. Was fascinated by the set-up and use of the black cards to reduce the amount of light hitting the sides of the product.

Black card

I have used this technique on a photograph I took in the studio a year or so ago.

Black boards were used either side of her face

I have finally received a quote for the adaptations to my product table so I will be able to experiment with this over the Christmas so it was interesting to see how this studio set it up.

Studio set up

Love the idea of having the light directly above - very simple. Most useful piece of advice given in relation to lighting is to start with one light and sort it out because then you know what you are dealing with and what you adjustments are doing to the final image. Do not start complicated.

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Clients

Older and wiser

Being self employed means you can be choosey. Do you say YES to every offer of work? Do you choose your clients with care because you trust them to pay you? Do you work with people you like?

Balance that with the need to earn money. Do you say yes to everything because you need the money? Do you lose your creativity? Do you spread yourself too thin?

Accept every offer:

I already choose who I want to work with - I do not accept every offer of work. I do create ideas and products and services to encourage people to spend money with me. This way I can control my working day and have fun and can specialise and keep on top of my work.

Credit Checks:

How do you make sure your clients can pay - there are company registers and if your client is about to spend thousands of pounds with you and you have never heard of them before then it is wise to check their credit rating. 

Fun:

You do not have to work with people just because they offer you work. You can choose the fun stuff. You can choose the nice people to work with.

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Shadows

Interesting chat with Kieron who described how he handles the workflow of images from the studio - particularly when shooting (tethered) products. Was very interested to see how he uses cutting paths and his meticulous attention to detail. He mentioned that he is updating the website to educate clients about what to expect and what parts of the work cost money and why and showing examples.

screen grab will follow - as web page is being created

The camera is not as effective as the eye and sees white as 18% grey - this means that product shots that need to go onto a white background need work. The web page explains this and is key to their jewellry work. Had a look through some of the catalogues of products that Adrian has created and I was intrigued by the way they had dealt with the shadows on some images and then not on others.

Reflection:

Cutting Paths - Feel I need some advice and guidance about how to do this effectively. Have looked online for information - but feel I need a human being to teach me this one. Have asked Lance for help.

Jewellry - I recently received a catalogue for silver jewellry and can see that the photographer/designer has used the same concepts and ideas that Kieron discussed.

Brochures - I know that now when I see a photograph in an advertisement I will be looking at how they have lit it, how they have dealt with the shadows and how clean and neat they are.

For example I have noticed an issue with this image of Adrian's:

Have some concerns with the skirting and shadows

The skirting board does not appear on the left of the bed but it is there along with a white edge under the wallpaper on the right. There is a shadow from the right as well as the shadows formed by the window on the left.

I appreciate that the products HAVE to be well lit so I understand some of this - but the skirting is odd.

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Continuous Tungsten Lighting

Adrian sparked a discussion about lighting when he talked about his tungsten lights and how he hates flash and the word 'strobist'.

Thinking about this I decided the following:

Pros:  

• Can see where the shadows are and ensure they fall exactly where you want them.
• Offers a natural looking light.
• They were cheap when purchased - rescued from a film studio.

Massively hot

Cons:

• Very hot, uncomfortable for models.
• Uses lots of electricity.
• Might need long exposures - which is difficult for models.

With all lighting (and in fact any area of photography) you prefer what you are used to, because you develop experience, knowledge and skills with that piece of kit.

The lesson learned has to be buy your kit, experiment with your kit, get used to the results, develop a style that is all your own.

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Client L - Training

BACKGROUND:

I have been networking for a year now and know that I do not make the most of this - yet. This is because I need to concentrate on my studies. The reason for networking is to get enough work to cover the costs of networking and in the meantime make sure people know and trust me and I will turn up the dial once I have graduated.

However, as Christmas is approaching I thought about parts of what I offer and how to get people to engage with me, spend their money with me and continue to develop my business.

I produced the 'Gift Voucher' to encourage people to buy them for their family and friends as a Christmas gift. The route to creating these can be found here and here. I have already started selling them and last week I delivered an hour of training to someone I network with.

SITUATION:

Client is an interior designer and needs to photograph her work as she finishes a room so that it can be used on her website, in print, in brochures etc. It is not feasible to revisit with a photographer. She has a camera and did photography as part of her GCSE in Art, so has some knowledge.

TRAINING:

I usually ask what type of camera a person has so that I can familiarise myself with its buttons before I arrive, but I didn't with this client and was surprised to get my hands on a Nikon D200. My first time with a Nikon. She had shown me some of her images and I realised there was something not quite right with the camera. I discovered that although the camera was set to auto it was not actually doing things automatically which explained the problems with the shots she had taken.

After reading an online manual for the camera I figured out how to set it to fully automatic. At least now the camera will be helping her.

I then talked about how the camera focuses and what the lights and information seen in the viewfinder means and how she needs to make use of that. I reminded her about composition, the rule of thirds, depth of field. It was all slowly beginning to come back to her.

RESULTS:

We did not have time during the hour to take any photographs as it was dark and she does not have a flash. She did feel more confident about using it and getting results.

I grabbed a quick shot of Daisy

A day or so later she had taken her delightful dog - Daisy for a walk at Chatsworth and took her camera too and this appeared on Twitter:

"If you want any photography lessons
@PhotoJoanne is amazing...

I can already tell the difference :)".

FUTURE:

We have decided that another hour is going to be necessary once she is more confident to ensure she captures a room effectively and thinks about light, reflections and composition.

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Client K - Author

Brief:

This brief has two parts 1 - images suitable for a book cover and 2 - portrait. Cover - Summary of the chapters helped pin down my ideas. I captured a selection for use by the Designer who was creating the cover layout. When the Author called in to look at the cover designs took opportunity to captured head and shoulders shot for the dust jacket.

Set-up:

Cover: wanted to incorporate the 5 people referred to in the book and also get across some mystery and to have a feeling of being in a forest. Needed a good sunset or sun rise - only available time is Friday - rain forecast for whole week.

Portrait: simple head and shoulders shot in a studio setting. 

The Shoot:

Cover: Friday sun rise was the only time I have available. I used my 'little people' from my Small World project to represent the 5 characters in the book making sure I had 2 women and 3 men. After processing the images I think I have some interesting shots which I will be happy to pass to the designer for consideration.

Portrait: full studio set up - all lighting available. Tripod. Sync leads. Triggers. Fabulous. Brilliant to do this when in control of everything.

Invoice and Delivery:

No invoice as this is a favour for a friend. 

Cover: Low res images emailed 4 days before the deadline and high res versions delivered on disc the following business day.

Portrait: Images were delivered as promised: low res versions by email that evening to Author and Designer and high res versions on disc passed to Designer the following morning.

Issues:

Cover: Really enjoyed the sun rise images with the little people - I am very comfortable doing this and in my element. full on comfort zone stuff.

Portrait: using the studio kicked me outside my comfort zone and had to fight against rising panic. Kind words and tiny piece of advice really helped and I was OK after that. Had one issue with the camera as I was not using my own trusted 5D but using a borrowed 5D Mark II.

Feedback:

Author grateful. Designer able to create a suitable design. 

Mission accomplished.

Images:

Cover Image:

Portrait Image:

Finished Cover Design:

to follow

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Hasselblad

The Rolls Royce of cameras. It is often thought that Hasselblad is a German product but it is in fact Swedish.

The Apollo missions were given slightly Modified Hasselblads. They were given a much larger shutter button so that astronauts wearing large pressure suit gloves could capture an image.

The astronauts were given rudimentary instruction on how to use them and had little control. It is said that there are 12 Hasselblad bodies on the moon. They were left to ensure that the rocks from the moon could be carried home.

Anton Corbijn prefers to use a Leica and a Hasselblad using film rather than digital. "For a good picture I don't need all that information, striving towards perfection but not getting there is how I like to photograph". 

 

There was a Christies sale (Autumn 2011) of images taken with the Apollo mission Hasselblads. They were the original prints from the negatives that had come from the moon. Prices for these prints ranged from £200-£30,000 per print.

Hasselblad continue to make improvements to their equipment.

It continues to offer a Rolls Royce service to its customers and recently began an advertising campaign offering all Hasselblad registered users the chance to use their state of the art studio in London.

"I believe that if you buy a camera from us you should expect more than just a fantastic piece of equipment. These are difficult times for photographers. Costs are rising and work opportunities have seen a decline. The Hasselblad Studio gives professional photographers, serious amateurs and students a seriously viable, fully equipped studio option right in the middle of London, at highly discounted rates for registered Hasselblad users." 

Chris Russell-Fish Managing Director - Hasselblad UK Ltd.

Oh so there is a cost?

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Product Table modification

After trying out the Cold Light I have been in touch with an engineering friend to see if the product table can be modified. 

I have drawn up what I require and am meeting the engineer on Friday to discuss it and for him to find out what it is made of.

Quote excited about this as it means I will be able to start offering a mobile product photography service. I already have one client waiting for this and once I have some images to show others I can market this service more aggressively and more widely.

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First Sale

After producing my 'Camera Appreciation Cards' and beginning to market them at a number of network meetings - I have sold my first one.

SOLD

I have attached this card in a see-through wallet onto a leaflet and all of that in an envelope - this means that the person buying them can pass them on as a gift.

Leaflet currently looks like this - but I am developing this with my Graphic Designer because I think it can look much better.

Leaflet that gift card is attached to 

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Client fullfilment

A client recently had an issue with the CD I gave them with their images on. I work on PC and she has a mac. It seems that the way my PC formats the CD is not compatible with her mac. Now this could be the age of her mac but it is something I need to resolve. I realise this might be an issue in the future so I have been once again investigating the idea and cost-effectiveness of memory sticks. I want to make sure the sticks are branded.

There is a company that will etch or print your logo onto a memory stick. I got a quote for these. The smallest quantity is 25 sticks - bearing in mind VAT and delivery - a 2GB stick costs £8.15

I can buy a 2GB stick without my logo for £4.50-£5.25 each. However as I will be giving these away I want to make sure that people remember who has sent them the stick. I have been investigating ways of attaching tags to the stick and love this idea of attaching Moo mini-cards and my stickers to the stick. Here's where I got my inspiration from:

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Client J - New Bouncing Trainer

Brief:

My personal trainer has employed a new instructor to take her classes on weekday evenings as her business continues to build and grow. She asked me to go along to the Tuesday evening class and take portraits of her new instructor - Matt.

Set-up:

I needed to capture images of Matt taking a class. These will be used on her website and in publicity including press releases.

The Shoot:

This was great fun - as usual. It was 7.30-8pm so it was dark. Although the classes take place inside they are in a room where one wall completely opens - so I knew I could use flash and bounce it off the ceiling and/or wall knowing that the background would be black.

Invoice and Delivery:

I processed the most suitable images and sent my top three to her via email that evening. They were then all put onto a memory stick. We have had a problem with images on a CD. We think because her Mac does not like images formatted by a PC. The stick will be delivered when I next see her (on Monday). An invoice was prepared and converted to PDF and emailed with the top three images.

Issues:

The darkness was difficult to deal with and on one occasion the flash did not sync with camera - but the resulting image is so funny I have processed it for her - Matt looks like an angel. Travelling to the venue it was incredibly foggy - which made the journey much slower. Driving at night is not my favourite anymore and foggy dark rainy evenings are just a bit scary.

Feedback:

I really enjoyed this shoot. Feedback from client: "Thanks for the super fast turn around! Pics look awesome :-)"
Well that is the icing on the cake.

Images:

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