I’ve been shooting commercial photography in the North West for a good few years now, and have been reflecting on what I like about it, and what I can offer to my clients.
Above all, the appeal of being a commercial photographer is the sheer variety of the work that I’m asked to do. One day it’s a portrait, the next I’m covering an event, then on to shooting products for a catalogue, and so on. Each assignment demands a different set of photographic skills; some require a combination. And it’s that demand that keeps me on my toes, and helps me to keep improving as a photographer. I’m not simply repeating the same old thing time after time, but working in different locations, taking different kinds of images, for different purposes, on each occasion. Shooting in these different styles helps to keep my artistic eye fresh. Each time I pick up the camera I’m dealing with the latest challenge, which means that the images I shoot for my clients don’t become stale or hackneyed.
It was a recent commission for Active Tameside that set me thinking about all this. They contacted me to shoot for them for a couple of days, recording a range of the activities that they promote in the Borough. Today I’m showing some of the photos from the first day, when I visited a Trampolining Centre, swimming pool and High Wire centre to shoot the kinds of things that school groups get up to. These images are all designed to be used in promotional literature within the borough, on the website, flyers in leisure centres, and so on. Active Tameside’s ethos is to show real people using the facilities. What was required from me was a range of shots of the facilities, both wide shots, close ups and details (great for exercising my skills as an Interiors photographer), along with plenty of shots of the kids having a great time (portraits and event photography combined). I needed to provide plenty of images that would allow the designers to both show off the facilities and illustrate how much fun could be had there.
I’m delighted to say that I’ll be working again with Active Tameside throughout the year to create more marketing images for them, for all of their different branches and divisions.
If you’d like to discuss your own commercial photography requirements, please give me a call or drop me a line.
