The Documentary Photographer » Corporate

Ardsallagh Goat’s Cheese

Roger Overall — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:32:20 +0000

Food really interests me, so it’s nice to get the occasional food shoot. This one for Ardsallagh Goat Farm and Dairy was very simple. Window light and little else. This is the first shot I took. A little too dark and moody for Ardsallagh’s intended supermarket use, so the final images are much brighter. I like the feel of this frame, though. It has atmosphere.

By the way, did you know that goat’s cheese has no cholesterol?

Ardsallagh Smoked Goat's Cheese. (c) Roger Overall 2011

What Is Documentary Photography?

Roger Overall — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 +0000

The biggest challenge that I have is convincing people that documentary photography can be used across a broad range of disciplines.

People like to be able to pigeonhole photographers, but for some reason there isn’t a “Documentary Photographer” category. There are “Wedding Photographer”, “Commercial Photographer” and “Photojournalist” categories and, mostly, I get put in with the wedding photographers. My own fault for showing so much wedding work.

To help me get round this when I next go on the road to meet prospective corporate clients, I’ve been working on my website. Specifically, I’ve created a landing gallery of sorts that shows the range of ways in which documentary photography can be used. I’ve also beefed up the corporate portfolio section of the website.

In doing so, I came across a lot of work that I haven’t had a chance to show yet.

Here are some favourites:

Roger Overall 2010

And not a wedding photograph among them.

Mind you, just wait a few days – I have loads to show you from the Christmas holiday period.

Garden Build

Roger Overall — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:44:29 +0000

I’m photographing the construction of a garden for Dominick Cullinane, a terrific garden designer based here in Co. Cork. The plan is to produce a body of work showing the build and the final product. There is also a video aspect to the project, which I’m finding challenging and exciting at the same time.

Here are two quick favourites from the project so far.

This gives you some idea of the scale of this project. To ensure water integrity of the water feature large sheets of impermeable material are laid down at the bottom of the pools that make up the garden. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Dominick is a man of stone - that is, he is passionate about it and it is one of the key features of many of the gardens he designs. Here he is helping to place a rock as part of a large garden build in Co. Cork. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Despite the sun in most of the photographs, the work is being done in all kinds of weather. Just listen to this:

Light Load

Roger Overall — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:49:05 +0000

There was a time when my camera bag weighed more than my daughter. In fact, filled to the brim with my gear, it probably still does.

As I get older, my body gets increasingly less tolerant of heavy equipment. I’m looking to lighten the load.

Nowhere does this apply more than the lighting gear that comes with shooting corporate assignments that have a portrait element to them. I used to bring studio lights. Then, with the help of the Strobist movement, I managed to pair that down to small flashguns. But there was still quite a bit to carry, which was inconvenient when traveling overseas on assignments in particular.

So, I stopped bringing flashguns – a move that coincided with my increasing interest in documentary photography.

Hit the play button below to find out what light I use these days and how it benefits my clients. (Takes about 10 seconds for the audio to start once you press start – my bad).

Single light source and reflector. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Single light source - the big bank of windows on the left. (c) Roger Overall 2010

A Week In Pictures

Roger Overall — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:43:02 +0000

It’s good to be busy, so I’m not complaining. Here is a selection of photographs from five shoots in the past five days.

Corporate Assignment 1. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Corporate Assignment 2. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Corporate Assignment 3. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Wedding Assignment 1. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Wedding Assignment 2. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Beyond the Horizon

Roger Overall — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:12:41 +0000

I’m at a very interesting place in my career. I’m no longer at a crossroads. In fact, there never was a crossroads. It was an illusion. With the help of some very inspirational people I’ve come to understand that even the road-less-traveled is far too mundane. The road-that-wasn’t-even-there-until-you-came-along is the one to be on.

This has given my business outlook a remarkable boost. Firstly, I’m developing new products and services unique to me. More about those as they come to fruition.

Secondly, it’s changed the way I view clients and how I approach potential business. I’d like to share a little of that with you here.

The photograph above was taken as part of a trial shoot for a bakery here in Ireland. They have a lot of work for a photographer and I had been recommended. More or less, the business was there for the taking. However, I wasn’t sure that my style of photography was what the company was looking for. So I suggested a trial shoot.

The trial shoot, which cost the client nothing, would give them a good idea of how my style would translate their business into photographs, and at the same time give me a feel of how well we’d work together.

Why bother doing a trial shoot? Why not just take the money?

I deliver my best work when I collaborate with people who want to work with me. I already have this approach to the wedding side of my business. I am very open with potential bridal clients about what it is that I do, and how I approach a wedding. In the past six months, I have turned down at least half-a-dozen wedding enquiries, either on the phone or at face-to-face meetings. In these instances, I have been able to direct couples to photographers better suited to their needs and their tastes.

This transfers to the corporate environment as well. In fact, in this arena I hold a better hand. I can’t simply approach brides on the street. All I can do is make the market aware of my existence and hope I reach the right kind of couple. In the commercial sector, I can pick companies I’d like to work for and approach them with a proposal. My last two commercial shoots (one a medium-term documentary project, the other documentary shots for the packaging of a new product) were won this way.

As a result, my role as a photographer and my work is being valued. There is a real connect between me and the client, and between my work and their marketing goals. The respect I’ve been shown as a consequence has been wonderful. As a for instance, I’ve been kept in the loop about how my work is being used on the new product packaging. How great is that?

I want more of this (who wouldn’t?) and have a list of companies and individuals I want to approach with proposals, all of which excite me. At the moment I’m laying the foundations for what I hope will be some very interesting discussions in the closing part of 2010 and into the future. Some of these will lead to dream assignments with dream clients.

That is what I hope for beyond the horizon: assignments for clients for whom I am a perfect fit.

And the bakery?

Well, I have to hold my hand up. I called it wrong in a previous version of this post. I had taken a three-week silence to mean the match between us wasn’t meant to be. This afternoon, however, I received a very enthusiastic email concerning the trial photography.

PictureBoo – 15th July 2010

Roger Overall — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:30:59 +0000

This week’s PictureBoo gives a little insight into photographing in public for an annual report.

I’ve also had a request for a longer post about shooting documentary work for corporates based on this assignment, and that will follow soon, most likely in the form of a permanent article called called “The Art of Documentary Corporate Photography” to accompany the articles on wedding photography.

Meanwhile, hit the play button or the link below the photograph to hear its story.

CorporateBoo #3 – Musgraves

Dominick Cullinane

Roger Overall — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:30:47 +0000

Now for a change of pace. People-free documentary photography. And all in colour too.

Dominick Cullinane is a terrific garden designer who lives here in Co. Cork. He is a man with a true passion and drive. His dream is to design a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show. My dream is to have him design one for me.

One of Dominick’s regular jobs is curating the annual Mallow Garden Festival, half an hour up the road from me. This year he asked me to shoot some stills of the gardens. The weather could have been kinder to us, but we still managed to fit in few hours spread over two days.

He also asked me to shoot some video, something I’ve been meaning to look into, but hadn’t really found the time for. Now my hand has been forced and I’ll be working on a short film in the days ahead. More to come on that.

Meanwhile, here is a quick selection of stills from the Mallow gardens.

Earlier Still

Roger Overall — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:04:20 +0000

You might remember that I’m not fond of early starts. But if getting up at 4.50AM recently seemed bad, I hadn’t reckoned on a 3.50AM start for an assignment last week.

Temporary accommodation specialist Allspace were putting in one of their largest units at Cork airport for a helicopter company. Problem was, the unit was too big to get through the nearest access gate, and overhead cables meant that lifting it over the fence into place was out of the question.

That meant using an alternative gate.

On the other side of the airport.

Except there wasn’t a road as such from the alternative gate to where the unit needed to go.

There was a nice, straight, broad strip of perfectly good concrete they could use. It even had lights up either side to guide them. Of course, they’d have to make sure nobody else needed it – you know, for landing aeroplanes on or anything. So, the operation had to be done so early in the morning even Ryanair doesn’t fly.

In the end, we didn’t get the shot we’d hoped for. Airport security is such these days that I wasn’t able to shoot from a vehicle driving alongside or ahead of the convoy going up the runway. Everyone had to stay tightly single file. And I certainly wasn’t allowed to park out on the runway and wait for the convoy to pass.

In the end, I decided to wait for the convoy at the helicopter company site. It allowed me to get a shot that was at least suggestive of the airport environment.

Allspace delivering a Portakabin Titan unit at Cork International Airport. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Final preparations are made to the site where the unit will be placed. Cork airport's new terminal in the background. (c) Roger Overall 2010

The large unit wasn’t due to be lifted into place until a few hours later, after the arrival of two smaller modules. While not part of the assignment, I decided to get photographs of the final lift as well, to soften the disappointment of not getting the runway shot.

In the end, the client was thrilled, prompting the local director to email me: “…those images are outstanding – better than anything I’ve ever seen in all my years of Allspace and Portakabin”.

Makes it worth getting up early for, no?

This man is lifting an entire Portakabin unit with only one hand ... All right, he isn't. There's somebody else on the other side helping him. (c) Roger Overall 2010