How to turn a wetsuit into a website marketing tool.

It was a huge compliment recently when a client travelled in excess of 200 miles to come to our studio for a photo shoot. Even more complimentary given the fact that they came to us on a word of mouth recommendation from a current client in the UK.

The Brief on this shoot, however, was a challenge to say the least. We needed to turn unusual products into positive marketing collateral. And for an online medium only.

North-West based firm Northern Diver needed a full range of product shots for their new specialist dry and wetsuits, for promotion on their website.

In effect, we needed to turn their newly-launched suits into powerful marketing tools.

Not easy, given that most dry and wetsuits are black and shooting them well needs stringent and unique studio conditions. We shot the suits on a clean white background to retain the sharp look of the products. To maintain continuity throughout, we worked with the existing shots on the Northern Diver website

Bearing in mind the fact that Northern Diver has a prominent reputation as one of the world's elite wet and drysuit manufacturers, and diving equipment manufacturers.

They are now established as the most innovative, competitive and reliable names around – thus, our photographic website work was of paramount importance for their overall marketing mix, given that the company utilises its online shopping facility heavily. Given that they have no retail outlets, the website is hugely important.

Northern Diver were reassured by the following additional promises to clients:
• Images are delivered processed and ready to go
• Clients are involved in the art direction process
• Years of industry experience

We were able to add value and highlight the suits in the client’s required medium – online. Our photo shoot helped to turn these static products into positive marketing.

Is your photographer adding this kind of value to your products?

Not all photographers are cut from the same Cloth - new fashion magazine shoot

Cloth magazine is a recent addition to the newsstands, and it has been an absolute pleasure to be involved, and help develop an idea from the beginning – this is the second shoot Amango has completed for the editorial team at Cloth Magazine.

Cloth is unusual, in that the editorial focus is on vintage and customising; breathing new life into once loved clothes. Green, it would appear, is the new black!

The last shoot for Cloth was all about lace and stencils, lace collars and customised denim, straight from the catwalk of Dolce & Gabbana.

The first part of the shoot was in the studio, shooting the new pieces, including:
• ruff collar t-shirts
• lace-fringed clutch bag
• lace collar jacket

The second part of the shoot was on location with street art, covering:
• stencil art silhouette on a skirt
• ideas from the high street, with a ribbon bow cardigan

It was great to be working with Harriet de Winton and Ros Marshall again on the editorial team.

Their background is within theatre and television drama as costume designer and wardrobe mistress, so we were in good hands. We were fortunate enough to have Debbie the make-up artist from the set of Bristol-based hit drama series Skins, on hand to style hair and groom the models.

All together, a fantastic shoot, and once more proving that when it comes to Amango, not all fashion photographers are cut from the same Cloth! We will be working with the Cloth editorial team soon, having found a superb location for their next shoot in a fortnight.

Watch this space for the results – it promises to be a visual extravaganza.

Introduction to modelling course – but you’ve got to be quick!

I recently became involved with The International Academy of Modelling (IAM), the brainchild of Clare Wilson from Gingersnap Models. Clare, essentially, teaches aspiring models how to succeed in the fashion industry. No mean feat, given the competition levels.

The course comprehensively covers all elements of modelling - from catwalk skills to photographic shoots, hair and make-up, to acting for camera in television commercials.

Last month was a free taster day, which gave a good insight into the structure of the course, and it was a pleasure to be involved and help out.

The taster day included a short photo shoot with me, where the students learnt posing techniques with guidance from me behind the camera, and Clare giving encouraging instructions from the side.

The models were discovering essential behind-the-scenes knowledge, as well as out front and camera-ready tips. It was also a great confidence-builder for them.

Students were given the opportunity to build up their portfolios, as well as gaining confidence in front of and around the camera. All essential starting points.

But if you want to get involved, you’ve got to be quick! The next course starts Tuesday 20^th April at Filton College in Bristol. Click here for the website

Amango gains prestigious RPS inclusion for Exhibition

It’s with great pleasure that we can announce our inclusion for entrants in the upcoming and prestigious Royal Photographic Society’s (RPS) annual and 153rd International Print Exhibition.

The event, which attracts global interest, has received our submissions for consideration this year, and we’re waiting with baited breath for the response.

The annual exhibition is a significant event in the industry, with selected work being toured across the world by the RPS after an initial exhibition in London in July.

The Society has been running the Exhibition event since it set up in 1853, so the pedigree and quality of the entrants will be high.

We’re really pleased to have been given the opportunity to potentially be a part of this, and to hopefully have some of the Amango portfolio to be viewed across the world in various galleries. An excellent showcasing of our work internationally - hopefully.

We’ll keep you posted on how our submission proceeds, and here’s a sample of the photographic work we’re including in this year’s entry. Keep your fingers crossed!

New Client Recce Service

Given that times are tough and resources for most fashion houses, music promoters, and associated businesses such as accessories, hair, jewellery providers and the like are limited, getting the location right for a shoot first time, every time has become an imperative.

Hence the growing influence and importance of the Recce Service.

A Recce, or reconnaissance, is a pre-shooting visit to a location to establish suitability for shooting – including access to facilities, as well as an assessment of potential lighting or sound issues. Recce’s are commonly used in the photography and film industries, and can save clients a considerable amount of time and money.

With the economic situation still bearing down hard upon the fashion and music industries, I thought it would be useful to offer a Recce Service as a stand-alone offering, so that clients may utilise our scouting expertise on a no-obligation basis.

It is usual in the industry for reconnaissance services to be rolled into an overall shoot costing, but I have seen a number of clients gaining real value from having a Recce Service delivered on an ad hoc basis with them, then deciding to go ahead on a full shoot at a later point.

Providing the Recce as a stand-alone also offers added-value for them, and gives potential new clients a feel for the way we work within the fashion and music industries across the UK, North America and Europe.

Our studio has recently completed high-profile shoots with U2 on tour in North America, as well as working with rock legends Slash from Guns N’ Roses and blues guitar supremo Joe Bonamassa on his latest UK Tour. We’ve also delivered specialist fashion work for fashion houses including Boutique Ethique.

If a client needs to find a location for their next shoot, we can take care of it for them. With strong industry contacts and years of knowledge, we’re confident of being able to source the perfect location for a series of fashion or music shots.

The Recce Service involves a quick client chat, taking a Brief, discussing the client requirements, needs, budget and deadline. Then we’ll get to work on time and in budget, providing the client with the perfect location, having scouted on their behalf.

Testing, testing, testing

It’s a little-known fact that good professional photographers do something called testing.

But what is it, and why is it important in your selection of a top-class professional photographer?

It’s an opportunity for a creative photographer to try out an idea, flex their creative muscles, and demonstrate their range of work. It’s also a great time to stretch the talents of a make-up artist, stylist and model.

Testing is collaboration between the photographer and the creative team, and depending on the shoot, it can actually involve quite a few people involved in the creative process.

Here are a few reasons for testing:
• To try out a newly-signed model to a model agency
• You have an idea for a shoot and need to try out a certain look
• A new make-up artist or stylist is in town and they have a particular style
• You want to test-drive a concept before presenting it to the client.

Testing is a like a personal project, where you pull together a team, develop the idea and a brief, and then plan the shoot - which will involve a mood board or style sheet.

The shoot will usually be art-directed by the photographer, with the team contributing ideas to the look of the make-up/hair/clothes style.

Although it is usual for the photographer to produce and direct a shoot, it is undoubtedly the team effort where everyone involved comes away with a stunning piece of work for their portfolio.

This type of work can be incredibly creative and also push the boundaries of a professional photographer without enforced limits of deadline or client briefing.

Working this way gets you noticed, and will sometimes inspire existing clients to book you on the strength of this work as well as your regular photographic jobs.

It’s the creative stuff that people value increasingly these days - this also helps creative, professional photographers to get more interesting work. Why not push your own creative boundaries as a professional photographer and get testing, testing, testing?

Moda Hairdressing – Or how a photographer can enhance your marketing

The best kind of business always comes from word-of-mouth, and this was the case with Moda Hairdressing recently. It also gives me a great opportunity to highlight how a professional photographer can benefit your marketing.

Mike, who I had met a few years earlier, runs his own website design company Whype, and on his recommendation guided Moda to me.

Commissioning a photographer was something completely new to Tina and Franco, who had recently set up the Moda salon. What I was able to deliver for them, on initial inspection, included:

· A collection of new hairstyle shots for the salon and website graphics

Here’s what I did:

• Gave them ideas on how to prepare and formulate ideas for the shoot itself:
• Provided a theme and look for the shoot
• Advised on the kind of styles they wanted as well as, colours, dramatic cuts.
• Did they want to cover men’s hair, as well as women’s?
• How many styles? This steers how much time I had with them.
• I asked them to buy a pile of magazines they like and to put together a look book/mood board. This helped them to create their own Brief.
• On my suggestion, we started with the finish date/deadline for images and worked backwards for dates for the casting and shoot.
• Prep days to prepare the models, which needed a colour or cut. On the shoot day, this means they only have to style the hair - this makes full use of the time available for the shoot itself.
• Asked them to think about make-up looks, and discussed a make-up artist we both liked, who we’d like to use for the job.
• From the mood board, we developed a style for the clothes and accessories. This helped with styling and shopping
• Suggest on a casting:
• This involves an online casting, looking at suitable models for their look and appropriate styles for the hair.
• An actual casting in the salon. This involved a simple lighting set-up and shooting the model to see what they could do and they were like in front of the camera. This was also a good chance for them to shine, as well as showing their portfolio.
• A web gallery of the shots was made. This allowed them to view the images and make a considered decision, whilst we also had an ongoing discussion during the shoot. A web gallery is added value service I offer to my clients. Particularly if clients do not want to make on-the-spot decisions.
• Tina and Franco were happy to follow my lead with regard to appropriate models.
• The shoot took place in the salon, as they had all the backwash facilities and tools to hand.
• To give them added reassurance, I shot all the images straight to the computer so they could see the detail in the hair. This is imperative when shooting hair, so you can correct stray hairs and get the style ‘camera ready’.
• From the web gallery a short list of images were chosen after a brief discussion, which was edited down to a shorter list.
• These were then processed, re-touched and made print-ready.
• These images were made into large print ready versions for the salon walls, press releases and features, and web-ready versions for the website and relevant social media sites.

So, as you can see, a photo shoot delivered far more than a series of shots – it gave the Moda Hairdressing management team the basis on which to plan and deliver a full marketing programme for 2010. Now that’s the kind of value I’d like to see a photographer delivering to me if I was a client. Wouldn’t you?