by Tim Gander

Is Video The Answer?

Is video the answer? Well that depends on the question. This is the second in a short series of articles discussing the various pros, cons and considerations needed to get the most out of video. You can read the first in this series here.

The Fundamental Question

So I’m starting with the fundamental question you should ask yourself, “does my business need video?”

Certainly it’s hard to avoid these days; from YouTube to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and frankly any platform you care to name, video has become a solid part of any social media activity, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your business has to jump in to keep up.

If you want to jump to the spoiler, just scroll to the bullets at the end of this post. If you want more in-depth reasoning, read on.

The first factor to consider is whether your clients/prospective clients would learn anything from the addition of video to your communications. If you just want a ‘vanity video’ that’s fine, but be aware it might not appeal to those outside your organisation.

So flip your perspective and start from the client point of view. Ask whether you think they would sit through a 60-second clip that showcases your product or service. If your video doesn’t say something fresh and doesn’t get to the point quickly, you could be wasting your resources.

You might at this stage consider whether stills and text might not serve you better. Plus if you haven’t got those nailed down on your website, are you sure you’re ready to jump into video?

It’s all too easy to get bedazzled by stats that tell you there are a billion videos uploaded to the internet every 15 seconds, but that doesn’t mean anything. If what you upload doesn’t serve your cause, it isn’t doing its job.

What’s Your Story?

This isn’t to say you should avoid using video at all costs. In fact there are many businesses missing a trick by avoiding the fundamental question altogether.

The reason will often be that they don’t believe their product is worth a video, or that it wouldn’t work because it’s a ‘boring’ product or service. But most businesses have a core story to tell. It could be about their product/service, or it could be about their capability. At the absolute basic level, it might not be about what they sell so much as about the team that makes it all happen; their people.

The people that make up an organisation are often their greatest asset and as humans we like to connect with the experiences of others. So why not bring out the human side of your business? Showcase who you are, not necessarily what you do. Short colleague interviews could be one idea to consider.

A composite of stills from a recent Instagram video for Calvin Klein store opening at Clarks Village in Street, Somerset

Flip It Again

This option can be more complicated, but consider asking your clients what they think about working with you, and commit their views to video. Testimonials are a powerful tool, but with video testimonials remember to keep asking the question, ‘if I wasn’t me, would I watch this?’ They need to be concise. They also need to avoid being self-indulgent (ie too long!)

Time Is Money

Yes, the longer your video is, the more expensive it’ll be to produce. Longer videos require more footage and more editing, and editing costs really can spiral quickly. Think about your own attention span and ask how long you’re happy to sit and watch a product/service video. I bet it’s not much more than 60 seconds, 90 tops.

So you could spend £thousands on all the footage and editing, only to have no one watch the result beyond the first 30 seconds. I’ll wager there are plenty of people who pre-check the length of a video before they’ll even click on it. If they see it’s two, three or more minutes long, they might not click Play at all!

Takeaways (things to ask yourself)

  • Is your product or service suited to video explanation/promotion?
  • Who is your audience and what do you want them to take from it?
  • How short (not how long!) does your message need to be?
  • Would you be better off with a series of short clips?
  • How will you promote the video (and where will you host it) once it’s made?
  • Are there other areas of your website and marketing which need attention first?

That’s a Wrap!

I’ll keep returning to this subject because there are as many angles to cover as there are kinds of businesses in the world, so no single article can cover every scenario. However I hope this has got you thinking about the basics before launching into something that requires time and commitment (and not inconsiderable funds).

In the meantime, if you’re considering dipping your toes into video and would like some personal advice, feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading!

Tim Gander is a freelance photographer and videographer based in Somerset. He covers all aspects of corporate communications, serving clients in the South West, centring on Bristol and Bath. You can see examples of Tim’s video work here.

in Advice / Case Studies / Video 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Through The Round Window

You have to be of a certain age (and British) to get that headline, but it was all I could come up with for this week’s post!

Spotting an Opportunity

This is a tale of how having an eye for a picture can lead to something much bigger.

One day in March of this year, I was shooting business portraits for a central Bristol client when I became aware of an unusual scene through the office window.

There was a building going up incredibly rapidly, Lego-style with large sections being craned into place at a speed I’d not witnessed before. It was only a few hundred yards away, so I had a clear view of its progress.

Anyway, I couldn’t spend the day watching this, but there were occasional lulls in the procession of people who sat for me when I could check on its progress.

Then, during an extended lull in sitters, I could tell something big was about to be craned into place, so I grabbed my second camera with a 200mm lens and shot a few frames. I was fascinated to see this amazing wall panel with its round window as it was gently guided into place by the crane operator, assisted by the construction workers on the deck.

The Decisive Moment

I wanted to capture the moment the worker’s hand connected with the edge of the panel, and that turned out to be the perfect shot. It seemed important to show the coordination and teamwork going on here.

Just as the section was lowered into its final position, my next sitter walked in. We broke the ice by chatting about the new building that was going up, how Bristol is transforming at a bewildering rate, then got on with the business of business headshots again.

A pre-cast section of Building C is craned into place during the construction of Assembly Bristol in Bristol, UK.
A touching moment

The Follow-Up

Once I’d finished all the portraits for the day, I went down to the building site, got the details of the construction company and made contact with them to see if they’d be interested in licensing any of the images.

When I sent a sample gallery through, including the iconic picture, they said it was too remarkable a photo to pass up! So we agreed a fee and they got the high-res image to use for their corporate communications.

The Unexpected Bonus

I thought that would be the end of it, but they’ve since commissioned me to shoot a set of progress pictures for a newsletter, and it sounds as if they’re looking to book me again later in the year.

Two construction workers stand on a concrete floor as another section of floor is craned into position. They reach up to guide it into place with a view of the Bristol skyline visible behind them on a sunny day.
Assembly Bristol, Building B under construction showing the modular building system in action.

The project is Assembly in Bristol; three office buildings constructed using a “kit of parts” method. All the wall panels, stairs, landings, floors and lift shafts are cast off-site, then craned into place. It means the buildings go up with astonishing speed.

I’ll be returning to my headshot client again soon and it’ll be interesting to see the building again so many months on. If there’s time, I’ll be sure to make another progress photo through the office window.

in Case Studies 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

The Pop-Up Job

One of the toughest tasks for a photographer can be to shoot a photo which works well in an extreme shape. Ultra-wide and extreme deep crops from a standard image ratio can create challenges. Shooting a full-bleed image for a pop-up stand is a perfect example of this.

A good illustration of what I’m talking about is the recent shoot I undertook for University of Bath’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. They needed a new image for their Sports Performance course pop-up banner which was needed for the university open day on September 10th. It wasn’t a massively tight deadline, but things had to move apace to get the image to the designer in good time.

The concept was to have a student in sports kit with a library scene behind. I’d shot something similar back in 2013, but where on that occasion I photographed the student against a plain backdrop so they could be cut out and placed against a library shot (literally a library shot of the library), on this occasion we decided to get the whole image done in-camera.

Twin netball players Jasmine and Jemma Nightingale very kindly volunteered to model and we set the shoot up on the 4th floor of the university library. It had the benefit of being relatively quiet, so I wouldn’t disturb too many students, and it just happened to have the right aisle configuration to work. It’s amazing how many aisles just weren’t right. Too narrow, a pillar, a window on the back wall, not “library-ish” enough; I eventually found one aisle I could work with.

I set up portable studio lighting to get full-length, even light on the sitter (I shot mostly individuals of Jemma and Jasmine). Even this was quite awkward because there wasn’t much floor space for lighting stands, and I also had to set up lights behind the sitter to lift the background so it didn’t look gloomy.

There were overhead strip LED lights in the ceiling which also needed to be on, but they were motion-sensor controlled. Every now and then I’d have to jog down the aisle to make the lights come back on. I certainly got my steps in that day!

Of course I forgot to do the BTS shot (I’ll remember one day!), so I can only show you the end result.

Pop-up stand final artwork
The final artwork which went to print
Sports Performance pop-up banner at University of Bath Open Day
The pop-up banner in use
single portrait of netball player Jemma Nightingale in a university library
Jemma Nightingale also posed, but the shot of Jasmine with a slightly different pose just worked better
twin female netball players photographed standing in a library aisle
Jemma (left) and Jasmine Nightingale in a double portrait
Portrait of a smiling female netball player looking to camera
Portrait of Jasmine Nightingale, a useful shot for other materials
two young female netball players walking away from a modern building
A useful stock image with plenty of design space around the subjects

But the location worked well. I made pictures with each student individually and a few of them together. The latter didn’t work so well for the tight upright format, but did make good alternative shots the university can use in other ways.

Once I was happy we had what we needed, I packed down the kit and we headed outside for a few alternative shots, again mainly for other uses.

Among my favourite shots from that session is the one of Jasmine and Jemma walking through the scene – their confident smiles and purposeful strides set against a modern University of Bath building (it happens to be the School of Management) make this a multi-purpose image that will sit well in either a web or print design.

One other technical aspect I brought into play was Lightroom’s new Enhance feature. Using AI, Lightroom can double the resolution of the camera’s native image. In the case of the pop-up stand image, that meant I could supply a file which was now 12,000 pixels on the longest side rather than 6,000, giving the designer a greater quality print out on the finished display.

Thanks to Sophia who sent me the photo of the stand in-situ on the open day, and I have to say I’m really pleased with how well the image works in the design, how it really ‘pops’ and catches the eye.

This kind of project is a creative and technical challenge, but with pre-shoot planning, adaptability on the day and careful treatment of the image files afterwards, it all comes together for a really satisfying result.

If you’re looking to have images taken for potential use in exhibition materials, bear in mind that they may need to be taken specifically for the format you’re working in. Stock images probably won’t be high-enough resolution (and will be too generic anyway), so feel free to drop me a line to discuss your needs and ideas to ensure you’re getting the best for your project.

in Case Studies / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Portrait of an Artist

Any serious photographer will relish photographing a great artist, so I certainly enjoyed this photoshoot.

At just 26 years old, Eli Gander has rapidly built a reputation as one of the finest tattoo artists around. Now if the name sounds familiar, I’m Eli’s dad so you might think I’m biased.

But bear in mind that Eli has a permanent waiting list. She has over 15,500 Instagram followers and she’s just opened her own tattoo studio. She has invitations to work as a guest artist at other studios, which shows how much respect she’s already gained. Did I mention she’s just 26 years old? Think about that for a moment. So yes I’m biased, but her progress has been astonishing.

Eli’s Story

Eli decided she wanted to be a tattoo artist when she was a teenager. She started her training when she was too young to have a tattoo herself, and she pretty much put herself through hell to get there, often holding down waitressing jobs to pay her way.

Now all that grit and determination is paying off, and I can’t tell you how excited I was to visit her newly-opened studio in the heart of Trowbridge to shoot a few portraits for her website and social media channels.

The pictures

These are just couple of the images I took. On the left is one shot into a mirror to condense as much of the mood of the studio into a single image as I could. And on the right is one she hasn’t used, but is a wonderful, un-guarded moment.

Eli’s style is intricate botanical designs and since her studio is festooned with plants, it was inevitable I would bring these elements into the images.

British tattoo artist Eli Gander
This portrait was taken looking into a mirror to compress elements in the space.
British tattoo artist Eli Gander
A joyous picture, even if it never gets used.

To see more of Eli’s work, visit her Instagram account or the Alchemilla website https://alchemillatattoo.com/

I’m looking forward to seeing Eli’s practice grow. At this rate she’ll be taking the world by storm pretty soon.

in Case Studies 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Documenting Challenging Times

On The Vaccination Trail

Regular readers will be aware of my recent work covering the vaccination programme in Wiltshire. I’d like to dedicate this post to all the hard-working front line staff who are the reason the vaccination rollout has been such a huge success.

I blogged previously about the initial coverage of the walk-in vaccination service at Bath Racecourse, but since then I’ve visited a mobile service on a bus, a school vaccination day and most recently, a session on a narrow boat.

The client, NHS BANES, Swindon & Wiltshire CCG (BSWCCG), use the images for social media promotion of the vaccination programme as well as for external stakeholder communications and reports. However, the images are more than just PR. They’re an historical record of the regional effort to control Covid-19 and its effects.

A Client With Vision

Perhaps 20 years ago such a huge national effort would have been covered more widely and in greater depth by the regional and local press, but they are largely absent from from the scene. With few (I suspect now the number is 0) industry-trained photographers covering local news events anymore, there’s a vacuum of photographic coverage of important regional stories.

This is a shame, but I’m thrilled to be able to help document what is undoubtedly a critical moment.

While BSWCCG is not a media company, their communications team have recognised the need for photography not only as a promotional tool, but also as a means to document the clinical effort within the pandemic. And though I’m no Dorothea Lange, this exercise echos that need to record a critical issue to raise awareness.

A young man is seen receiving his vaccine. We can only see the man, who is wearing a mask, and the arms of the nurse administering the vaccine.
August 2021 - Bath Racecourse.
A college student receives her Covid vaccination on board a bus.
September 2021 - Wiltshire College.
A school pupil in his school sports hall is vaccinated by a nurse.
November 2021 - Clarendon School, Trowbridge.
A blonde nurse bends to vaccinate a female patient on board a narrow boat.
A Covid 19 vaccination is administered on a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon canal.

My Approach

Not all of my images are strictly fly-on-the-wall photo-documentary, though I do strive to capture what I witness with as much honesty and integrity as if I was still a staff news photographer.

For example, at Clarendon Academy, the two pupils I had permission to photograph had recently come out of self-isolation after contracting Covid-19. This meant they were unable to have their boosters on the day, so I posed those shots with empty syringes (and they were captioned as posed). However the images of the nurse at the dilution station were all taken as she did her work. Nothing staged, pure documentary.

Meanwhile for the narrow boat visit, as for the Bath Racecourse and Lackham College sessions, the vaccinations were real and I had to get my shots live. I couldn’t ask a nurse to hold a position or pose while I got set up – I couldn’t interrupt the process of administering an injection.

This makes for some challenging moments. In particular, in the cramped confines of a narrow boat I had to be very aware of my surroundings. Hats off to the staff who had to work in there all day; I kept my time on board to a minimum.

Regardless of any challenges, I have to go in with a calm, professional attitude. Being jittery about camera settings, working in the rain, with difficult light, or stressing about working in a mask will transmit to those I need to work with, and they’ll react negatively and rightly so. They have a job to do and protocols to follow, they don’t need a clown in the room.

Clinical nurses at tables in a school gymnasium with blue walls prepare to vaccinate school pupils in Trowbridge.
Setting up in a school sports hall.
Nurses at tables in a school sports hall prepare syringes with vaccine prior to administering the injections.
Preparing syringes in a school sports hall used as a vaccination centre in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
A nurse in mask and apron dilutes a vial of Pfizer vaccine by turning it in her fingers 10 times.
Mixing vaccine.
A registered nurse holds up a vial of vaccine to the light to check it is still clear and good to use.
Checking the vaccine.

Thank You

So I want to say a big thank you to NHS BANES, Swindon & Wiltshire CCG for commissioning me. I value my involvement in this effort and if there is more to come, I’ll relish the opportunity to play my small part. Also to the administrative staff who’ve been so helpful and in particular to all the registered nurses who, while being utterly professional in their work, have accommodated me in mine.

Thank you.

And Finally

This is probably my final post for the year. I’ll be back in January, kicking off with a look back at 2021 and a look forward at 2022. So have a great and safe Christmas and New Year and I’ll see you again soon. Thanks for staying loyal through 2021.

Tim

in Case Studies 2 comments
 by Tim Gander

From the Archive: The Musicians

This week I’m going to talk about a collection of pictures which are relatively recent, but which seem much older. To be honest, anything from 2020 now feels like a different era.

Rachel and Silas

One, a portrait of Rachel Byrt, is already in my Business Portraits portfolio. While the other, featuring Silas Wollston, hasn’t made it in yet, but I think it needs to because it’s a strong image. There are in fact a few potential candidates in the set.

Viola player Rachel and harpsichordist and organist Silas visited my home back in August 2020. It was part social/part portrait session, so for the portraits we made space in our kitchen/dining room for a mini studio. As ever through 2020, the prevailing Covid restrictions were observed.

Viola player Rachel Byrt in black and white, holding her viola and looking to camera.
Viola player Rachel Byrt.
Colour photo of Viola player Rachel Byrt wearing a black coat holding her viola and looking to camera.
An alternative shot for Rachel.
Colour portrait of harpsichord player Silas Wollston holding his virginal and looking to camera.
Silas' profile portrait.

Working Smart

Being such a tight space, I had to be creative with just a single studio light and a black backdrop which I used as a flag to control the lighting. Our bright yellow feature wall took up backdrop duty. This worked very well for both the colour and black and white photos.

Each portrait required a slightly different setup, but for an impromptu music session I took the studio gear away and captured some action using my medium format film camera.

Photo showing Silas Wollston standing with his up-ended virginal, with the photographer's studio light and "flag" in shot.
A tight space for so much kit.
Black and white square format photo of Silas Wollston siting at his virginal (harpsichord), seen through two music stands which are in the foreground.
Silas Wollston during a practice session.

Because Rachel and Silas are busy professionals, it was important to ensure they had a decent choice of pictures for different areas of their work. Also, without knowing where pictures will be used it was important to have a variety of upright and landscape oriented images. Both Rachel and Silas have their own picture galleries from which they can download what they need, when they need it.

Ready for the Comeback

I would love to do more musician profile work, but of course it’s been a tough time in the creative arts. Fingers crossed 2022 will be the year when live music really gets going again. When it does, I’ll certainly be happy to do my bit whenever it happens.

in Case Studies / My News / Older Work 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

A Shot In The Arm for Vaccinations

Just as I thought things were getting quieter for August, last week went from just one photography job on the diary to four. Three were last-minute requests, but all were welcome. All of them were thoroughly enjoyable.

Off to the Races!

The photo session I’m featuring here took place on Thursday when I was asked to make a series of images to promote Covid vaccination amongst the younger population.

16 to 25-year olds have been called forward by the catchily titled NHS BANES, Swindon & Wiltshire CCG to have their vaccinations at Bath Racecourse and I was asked to create a set of images showing the journey through the vaccination process.

I’ll only feature the two images which have already been used in the Twitter campaign so far, but the set came to almost 90 images, more of which I’m sure will be published in the future and across multiple media.

The Look and the Flow

A couple of critical factors helped keep this set tight; avoiding holding anyone up and ensuring only those who’d granted permission were included in the photos. This is a delicate area requiring care and diplomacy. The bull-in-a-china-shop approach isn’t my style anyway, and wouldn’t have got me anywhere.

But working nimble and alert and using a simple set-up all helped give the set a certain look. All the shots were taken using available light and the majority were taken on a single, fixed lens (as were the two images here).

A young man receives his Covid vaccination. He is wearing a mask and we can see the nurse's hands, one of which has just withdrawn the syringe.
Sam receives his Covid vaccination at Bath Racecourse.
A young woman receives her Covid vaccination. She is wearing a mask and we can see the nurse holding the upper arm into which she has inserted the syringe.
Louise receives her Covid vaccination.

In fact using just one fixed lens also helped keep the set unified, and this helps the story to flow. It’s a technique I use whenever possible, and certainly on anything requiring a photo-documentary approach.

Photography with a Purpose

I would have loved to have documented more of the covid crisis right from the start, but without a media outlet or a client commission, it would have been a reckless exercise. I’m pleased I got this opportunity, and though it was brief (and intense!) I can at least hope that my images will help encourage a younger cohort to step up for their jabs.

For the very latest information regarding Covid, please visit NHS.org.

in Case Studies 2 comments
 by Tim Gander

No One’s Bursting My Bubble

I’m not sure “busy” quite describes the intensity of my work recently. The fact is, since April I’ve been busier than at any other time in my 23-year freelance career.

This is a post-covid bubble for sure. Pent-up plans, postponed events and long-neglected websites have suddenly become the focus of many corporate marketing teams, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with many to shoot the stills, and now video, they need to bring those plans to fruition.

Biggest Project to Date

One project in particular has dominated my diary. I suspect this won’t be the only blog post I reference to it either, and that has been the stills and video content for Shaw & Co’s new website.

The Shaw & Co website homepage.
The new Shaw & Co website.

Shaw & Co has been a long-standing client of mine. In fact I first photographed company founder Jim Shaw way back in 2010 when he was at a different, now defunct firm in Bath. But my work with the Bristol-based corporate finance firm came about by a chance google search for a photographer which has kept me going back ever since 2017.

And so for the past 5 years I’ve been taking Shaw & Co’s team shots, head shots and office stock images. But then during 2020 their Chief Marketing Officer Paul Mills brought me into the picture about their plans for a re-brand. This was going to be a bit more than the usual photo session.

This time there would be video alongside stills on the website, so I started to look into whether I could deliver that for them. My cameras were video-enabled, but I knew enough about video to understand you don’t simply switch from stills to video mode and wave the camera about a bit. At least not if you want anything vaguely usable.

Lockdown Learning

Lockdown proved a useful breathing space for me to research and learn the very basics, but there’s nothing quite like having an actual commission on the books to focus the mind. In fact it was essential for me to have a goal to work towards. Video is a huge discipline and you can stray off in all directions if there’s no end-goal. You can also spend your way to bankruptcy if you’re not careful. Knowing what the requirements were for what I needed to deliver allowed me to focus on the kit and the skills I needed to develop as priority.

Being Part of the Process

Perhaps what has been most unusual about this project is just how deeply embedded I’ve been with its development – seeing the brand graphics as they evolved, liaising with the design agency Design By Structure at various stages and even finding my own suggestions being incorporated where appropriate. With some projects I feel I could be a robot with a camera, told to “stand there, shoot that,” but not on this occasion; I was definitely part of the team here.

The website launched this week and given the time period over which it has been developed and implemented, it really is an astonishing achievement. I’ve known much smaller projects to take far longer, which is testament to Paul’s enthusiasm and drive and his ability to enthuse all those around him.

Having Faith Helps

It’s also fair to say that the confidence Paul (and Jim) placed in me has sometimes outstripped my own self-belief, but I’m incredibly proud of the speed of my development and more importantly of the work I’ve turned in.

You can now see the stills and video clips over at Shaw & Co’s new website and even if their work isn’t an area you’re familiar with, I’d love to know your thoughts here.

Is That It Then?

Now I know I said this was a post-lockdown bubble, and things have quietened off a little as we get into August, but I’m still busy with new work and projects which were delayed by covid.

I also know that whatever happens next, I’ve gained valuable skills I can offer new and existing clients. I also know Shaw & Co are keen to build upon what we’ve started, so bubble or not, I’m confident there’s more to come.

in Case Studies / My News 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

IT’S BACK!

After all the grief and uncertainty of the past 15 months, it was a genuine pleasure to be back photographing the SOE Skills Challenge at S&B Automotive Academy in Bristol last week.

There were all manner of Covid securities in place, including testing of all participants and support colleagues (myself included), mask-wearing, cleaning and social distancing.

My Role

Regular readers will have seen me write about this before, but of course last year’s event was cancelled. This year was my 6th Skills Challenge and while it’s become familiar photographic territory for me, each year I try to bring something new to the coverage.

One of my tasks during testing week is to supply “rush” images for the PR team to use for social media posts and updates during the event. I’ll usually choose a selection of the morning’s images and supply these ready-formatted for easy upload to Twitter, Facebook and so on.

Bringing Something New

This year, in addition to those rushes, I decided to deploy my 360 camera so people could get a better sense of the environment and context of the event even while it was happening.

As a result of the interactive 360 panoramas, SOE’s Facebook posts achieved far greater engagement than had been seen previously. For Twitter, the regular still images were perfect (Twitter can’t display 360s properly unless there’s something I’ve missed!)

I don’t have access to SOE’s social media statistics, but my contact was astonished to see how much more widely the posts were liked, shared and commented on compared with previous years. Much of this will have been down to the more immersive 360 images like this one:

As I say, I also supplied regular stills to support the social media posts and of course I’ve since edited and supplied the high-resolution files for SOE’s web and print publications. The images will also be used at the awards ceremony in September, which I’m looking forward to covering too.

Akeem McMurray of Metroline diagnoses an electrical fault under pressure of time.
Chris Little, National Express, checks the quality of his bodywork repair.
George Wilkins of Brighton & Hove - Metrobus checks a schematic.
22/06/2019 IRTE Skills Challenge 2021 held at S&B Automotive Academy Limited, Will Dodd of Arriva on a challenge in the Mechanical category.

Shining A Light on Vital Workers

What I love about this event is how it brings a focus to skilled technicians whose work is vital, yet rarely seen or acknowledged. Next time you’re on a bus or coach, or see one going about its duties on Britain’s roads, you know it’s there and working because of the skills and dedication of engineers, many of whom work unsociable hours to keep our public transport running smoothly.

Next Year?

So now I have a little under 12 months to think about what I will bring next year to keep my coverage fresh and evolving. It might be a change of approach or technique, but I already have a couple of ideas. I guess you’ll just have to watch this space to find out!

in Case Studies / My News 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Smart Power to the People

When communicating an abstract or technical idea, creative photography is vital for engaging your readers.

In this case study I’ll share some insights of a shoot I undertook for University of Bath late last year.

Background.

We needed to illustrate the university’s research into managed power distribution and supply, in particular the regulation of the “last mile” from the national grid into your home. You might not think the subject electrifying, but actually it’s interesting research and vital to anyone who uses electricity!

The research by Furong Li, Professor in Electrical Power Systems, is looking at how mass data can be used to adjust supply to the home according to real-time demand. Currently the supply is regulated using relatively old data and inflexible systems.

You can see the article here, but in this post I’ll go into the background to the photography.

Concept.

When I was approached by the university’s web content editor, she already had the idea to use a model of a pylon, while I suggested we match that up with a location where a real pylon could reinforce the initial idea.

Furong came up with the location and so we met on a slightly dreary November morning to make the pictures.

Actually the dreariness helped because I wanted to use portable lighting to make the shots more three-dimensional, and the clouds added drama.

A simple, portable lighting setup.
Variations on a theme...
I played with the idea of lining up the two pylons. It didn't quite work.
Screen shot from the article with the final image choice.

Execution.

Having got some basic headshots in the bag “just in case”, we then played with various ideas and positions to ensure there was a good variety of images to choose from; not only for the initial article, but also for other uses down the line.

Photographers often forget to shoot “around” the subject or the idea, leaving the client little to choose from should an initial layout change, or when the shots are needed in different media. I’ve just shown you a couple of the other shots here, with the final choice being visible in the article itself.

This was no huge production; the ideas were simple and effective and the final results are eye-catching. Perfect for an article you want people to notice in a sea of online content.

in Case Studies 0 comments