Running a commercial catalogue photoshoot

[Tobers]

So here's something a bit different for you...

I was contacted by a top-end American mens clothing firm and asked to shoot the polo-orientated section of their next catalogue. They contacted me via one of the polo sites where they'd seen my photos. The clothes this place sells are just gorgeous - I've never really paid much attention to top class clothing before but having played with (and worn) some of their stuff it is superb.

They were after a very English look to the shots, with an aspirational theme, shot in and around a polo game. No problem. All I had to do was source a couple of models, two old English cars, write a shot plan, get permission from the polo club, get permission and model releases from the polo teams, set out the timetable, get all the clothes sent to me and sorted, arrange for a photography assistant (Gordon) and a wardrobe assistant (my daughter), and we're set.

No problem! We did the shoot on Saturday. As with anything where you've got pressure to nail it there and then, the stress level was very high. We started with a misty morning which rapidly became a hot and very bright, contrasty sunny day. I used a large diffusion screen quite a bit to calm the sun down, and a large reflector to bounce light around especially in the 1954 Riley car that I had (along with a 1964 MG which was lovely).

I'd written out a shot plan beforehand that we sort of stuck to, and I'd sketched out the type of shots I wanted, the clothes to wear and the angles I was after so I could shot the model & players what I was after.

We had a few "money" shots to get right, and I had to rely on creativity for everything else. There's a lot of stuff going on at a polo tournament so we tried to get as much "behind the scenes" stuff in as possible. It made things quite interesting for the other people there as we ran around from one spot to another with a half-dressed model, various items of clothing and reflectors etc. I had the company's UK agent with me and he helped to get the clothes looking right, pin them to get the right fit etc.

My Canon 1D mk3 performed flawlessly as usual, and I used a combination of lenses including a 24-105, 70-200, 100-300 and a 50 1.4. In fact I found I did most of the shots especially the closer in product detail ones with the 50 1.4 as the control over depth of field was vital.

Of course, then came the post processing, selecting the best pics and uploading them to my Smugmug where I've got a commercial photoshoots gallery. I ended up with 58 shots out of 509 taken, so just over 10% which I'm more than happy with. In some cases it was a matter of picking the top shot out of a sequence to get just the right pose/attitude. So far post processing has been just cropping and selecting the pics. I've not had to do any contrast/levels/sharpening etc as the pics look great straight out of the camera. I'll do some experimenting with a few different looks using Lightroom but we are after a very natural look so may just leave them as is.

The client happily is delighted with the shots. They get across the aspirational look and lifestyle that they were after quite well, and show off the clothes effectively. I'm hoping for some more work from them but time will tell....However, next time I'll ensure that I'm a bit better prepared and we've had the clothes measured up correctly for the model we are using. I lost a few shots because trousers were too long, sleeves not right etc. So many things to think about on the day!

I cant put the pics up at the moment but once they go on the firm's site I'll update this thread.

Cheers

Tobers

[electrolyte]

Wow - get you Mr pro photographer! Well done! This sounds both brilliant and very scary so well done at pulling it off. Shame there are no pics but I will wait to see them when you can share them.

[stevegreen]

Good write up Sir

I look forward to seeing the pictures as I am sure they will all be excellent!

[springtide]

Top stuff Tobers! Hope you get some more work from this event.

Sounds like a tough but rewarding day. Can't wait to see the photos!

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Yep it was a bit hairy on the day. I said to Andy afterwards that it felt a bit like we were in an episode of The Apprentice.......but I concur that Tobers pulled the cat out the bag and there are some classy shots of some classy clothes. Also some behind the scenes shots as well which I'm sure will make it online at some point...

[Liquid101]

Exciting stuff - Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

[Steve Zissou]

Gah! I was reading the thread thinking I'll get to see some great shots at the end of it, then.....denied! Ah well, sounds like it was an interesting experience and I look forward to seeing the shots.

[mucca_D]

whoosh, sound like you had a great time, all be it very stressful.. no pressure then

Originally Posted by Tobers

ran around from one spot to another with a half-dressed model

I bet it was this point Gordon started snapping

Looking forward to the pictures

[Garf]

Agreed, sounds like you are moving up in the world.

Well done, and looking forward to the photos.

[hot-fuzz]

Wowser, sounds very good. What a great gig, and hopefully more to come

See you tonight for a talk through ??

[Paulie-W]

Whoa nice one Tobers Looking forward to the pix. Mr GQ here we come. Any discount?

[Farno]

Sounds very stressful and very exciting
Do you get to keep the clothes
Waiting to see the work....

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

I think he should post the link to the website now..it already has a couple of his photo's on the front page.....just not fashion ones...

[chaz 2112]

Congratulations,onwards and upwards.Next stop America for their local shoot??

[Tobers]

Originally Posted by Steve Zissou

Gah! I was reading the thread thinking I'll get to see some great shots at the end of it, then.....denied! Ah well, sounds like it was an interesting experience and I look forward to seeing the shots.

It was indeed very good fun though stressful at the time.

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

I think he should post the link to the website now..it already has a couple of his photo's on the front page.....just not fashion ones...

Not yet....dont want to jeopardise the potential future work...

Originally Posted by chaz 2112

Congratulations,onwards and upwards.Next stop America for their local shoot??

...which might involve going to Miami to shoot yacht and aviation themes .