Category conceptual

On Giving More

0 Comments read Assignments, Blog, Client Work, conceptual, Editorial, On Location
A little initiative and a lot of hustle turned a project to photograph firefighters for a fund raiser into a project depicting firefighters as always on duty and (over) committed to their work, called “Everyday Heroes”.

I grew up Catholic, which might explain why I have a deep-seated belief that anything good in my life must be accompanied by a healthy amount of suffering.

That’s not the healthiest story to tell oneself,  but I’ve come to replace it with  another, more powerful story:  if you want good value or results—a great shoot, great assignments, great clients—then you have to first give great value.

What does ‘value’ mean? It means that you should do your best to be remarkable in your work, your attitude, your professionalism. It means that you ask first how you can help before you ask for help. It means that you give more value than your client expects. It means that when you are on a shoot, you go that extra mile: look for an extra angle, take a creative risk and push yourself to take something different once you’ve satisfied your client’s needs. Sometimes you’ll end up with something that surprises you and delights your client.

If you consistently do this and have the attitude of giving more than you are getting, you’ll find—like I have—that you get an amazing amount of value in return.

It starts with you.



Client Work: People and Spaces, reimagined

0 Comments read architecture, Blog, Client Work, conceptual, On Assignment

Dunham Group

I recently wrapped up an ad campaign for NAI The Dunham Group in Maine that I’m so happy to be able to share.

If you were to look through my portfolio you’d find…people.  Portraits, candid moments, people doing interesting things.    I’m often called on to photograph locations and spaces for my clients, as well—everything from straight architectural views to images that show spaces being used—lived in, enjoyed, worked in.    While architectural work is technically challenging and I enjoy making images that showcase the feel and mood of a space, I loved this campaign for The Dunham Group because it humanizes the spaces in a unique way.

The concept was to photograph marque properties in the Portland, Maine area in a way that showed how they integrate into the neighborhoods around them.  Instead of focusing on the buildings themselves, my idea was to show the way life—people—flowed around them.  The structures ended up being a key element of each image, but they served more as the backdrop to the activity and life that was the real focus of the image.  I worked with East Shore Studio and Print to conceive of and execute the plan, which involved shooting hundreds of images of the spaces and then compositing them together in an interesting way.

From my perspective, the results achieve the main goal of any image I make: to convey a certain feeling and a sense of context and connection.  Doing so  takes an image from just a static ‘beauty’ shot to something that tells a compelling story.

Here are a couple of the images from the now-complete campaign.   Enjoy!

Dunham Group