Everyone's Poop Stinks...

...even mine! I learnt a few different things in school; primary amongst them were:

1) How to tie a real bow tie - yep, I actually learnt this during a math lesson - the teacher brought in a whole bunch of bow ties and taught us how to tie them. You may be wondering how this could ever be useful - well...if you're a little tipsy at a black-tie event there's no better chat-up line than actually knowing how to tie up a bow tie.

2) The other lesson I learnt was that only your friends would tell you when you "stank"; your real friends, the useful ones. And this was a really useful life lesson.

I've long been told and believe very strongly that the best way to find success and to accomplish great things very quickly is to find mentors...ones that will tell you that your poop stinks AND how to freshen it up a little, or even make fresh, better poop, that isn't poop at all. This proved invaluable as I made the shift from architectural designer to photographer, a career move that has been unbelievably enriching and challenging.

In architecture the first mentors I found were those seasoned industry veterans who could tell me the pitfalls and the trampolines and most importantly how to think completely differently - learning how to think is very useful. As I moved into photography I found many mentors in the ranks of local and national photographers who were willing to give me incredible advice on how to look. Learning how to look is pretty much essential in this line of work. They also told me how the industry worked and taught me how even though I was a small part of the industry it was essential that I protect that industry and play a roll in improving it. So who are my latest mentors? Luckily my mentors now include the people that work with me at the studio. Last week I had a really challenging conversation with my studio manager, Kate, who's kinda awesome. We made an overview of all the work I've done and then chatted about the industry, clients and both the strengths and weaknesses of my work in it. It was one of those tricky conversations where it's really important to be objective and have an opinion and it was a lot of fun and really bloody productive. You will definitely be seeing the product of this conversation very soon.

So, I would definitely recommend finding yourself a mentor and making sure you keep them very handy as you make decisions and develop your portfolio, your business, your brand and you.

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Art Director + Photographer = Something of Beauty

We were back in the studio and having some fun working on a concept shoot with Shaun Crockett, of AdFarm. It was a pretty cool shoot that we have been working on for a very long time. We actually pre-lit the scene in late December and only just had a chance to return to it and give the shoot the time it really deserved.

As you can see Baxter was in his usual spot - right behind the action and making sure we were safe. In the meantime we were working with some very tricky subjects - a very reflective stainless steel dish and some very shiny objects in them. It was great fun focusing some precise lighting and highlights to give us a beautiful final shot; which we'll be showing you very soon.




Credits:
Art Director - Shaun Crockett
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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Here's the rub...Part 3

This was the last part of our recent mailer campaign and while the salmon shot is a really simple image, it's definitely one of my favorites. We tried a variety of different hanging techniques to support the salmon. We tried using the whole fish and variations on it, but ultimately we found Adam (my wonderful assistant) was a great prop to get over the scale of the fish and show off a fun way of supporting it. Trina did a fantastic job of peeling back the skin, one of the outtakes was so perfect where we trimmed the skin it just looked like we did it in post, so we finally worked with this solution, where we pinned the skin back and kept the rub strictly on the exposed portion of the fish.

Meanwhile we worked with Sarah to get the "Bake" image just right - here we tried a couple of different models and wound up finding the blonde skin and long hair of Haley Middleton was a perfect match.

Definitely a fun shoot, a wonderful mailer and thank you to everyone for all the kind comments we've received.

PS. The rub does NOT work as a sunscreen.






Credits:
Food Stylist - Trina Kahl
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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Here's the rub....Part 2

Part two of our mailer campaign recently went out and again, thanks for the ongoing feedback. On this one we opted for a postcard mailer so we could show off the artwork a little larger. This time we opted to use the rub as a hair tonic with my good friend (and fellow photographer) Phil Peterson stepping in to model for us. Also, that's Kate's hands are doing the rubbing. On the food - Trina prepped a beautiful tied pork roast and this was one of those occasions where we got to eat the props - we finished shooting this one just before lunch and without any obscure adulteration to the food Trina finished it off and we just sat down to reflect on a great shoot. Thanks to Sarah Thompson Lift who styled the head rub shot and made sure Phil left with his eyesight in tact - safety first.

Part three is coming up next. I hope you are enjoying the images.






Credits:
Food Stylist - Trina Kahl
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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We Christened the New Studio with Pasta and AIPC

We got to break in the new studio in the Fall of 2009 by shooting some work for the American Italian Pasta Company. We believe in carbo-loading to prepare for hibernating during the winter months so this came at the perfect time.

We worked for a month and a half creating pasta dishes that would make your mouth water just looking at them. Thanks to Anne Fisher for making all the pasta dishes look so amazing. We worked with the client, who was off-site, to get an entire library of images approved to use in their product packaging, advertising and in-store promotions. We are excited about the final shots and we celebrated with a bowl of spaghetti.







Credits:
Client - AIPC
Agency - Global Prairie
Creative Director - Asher Johnson
Art Director - Sarah Huerter
Food Stylist - Anne Fisher
Assistants - Ryan Yoakum, Nichole Evans, Layne Haley

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VML - RANK

This is one of the many, many missing shoots that I'll be getting on the blog soon. I got a chance a year ago to work with a fantastically creative crew from VML on an incredibly unique project for RANK - "Rapid Acceleration Neck Kink". This was the result. Thanks Brad, Jessi and Sam.










Credits:
VML
Creative Director - Brad Hamilton
Copywriter - Jessi Withrow
Art Director - Sam Hendricks
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Lauren Lemons

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Morningstar Communications - Staff Portraits

Thanks to a wonderful referral from Mike LaMonica I got to meet and capture the whole staff at Morningstar Communications and it was a ton of fun. They're a really cool group of people and we had a wonderful time working with them.



Credits:
Morningstar Communications
LaMonica Design
Art Director: Clara Miller
Stylist: Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Ryan Yoakum

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AIA Personalities - Willoughby Design

Another sweet photo shoot for Willoughby Design and this one involved working with my good friends at AIA Kansas City. We had a superb day capturing Shirley Helzberg, Marc Kline and Kay Barnes; all in ONE DAY! Thanks to all those that made this miracle happen.

It's a great concept, where these public figures talk about the relationship with their architect(s) and how the landmark buildings they're pictured with happened because their architects are so darn cool. The campaign is already out and is receiving great acclaim.



Credits:
AIA Kansas City
Willoughby Design Group
Art Director: Zack Shubkagel
Stylist: Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Ryan Yoakum

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SAVVIS - VML

Thank you very much Lori! This was a great shoot working with VML to record the same images they captured in their new SAVVIS video campaign. We had a lovely time with rocket skates, hanging moons and flying chickens!



Credits:
SAVVIS
VML
Assistant - Neil DeKrey

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