by Tim Gander

Three In One

The majority of my work is based around photographing people; professional headshots, people in business, in their office environment or at corporate events. However, every so often I’ll be called upon to make purely architectural images too.

It’s a side to my practice which I enjoy, so it’s a particular pleasure to get to work with property development company Bellhammer through their design agency Blast Design Limited.

Those with a good memory will recall that my relationship with Bellhammer’s Bristol city centre project (Assembly Buildings A, B and C) started during a headshot session for another client, when I took an opportunistic photo of Building C under construction. Since then I’ve returned to the site a few times to capture various stages of the project.

I was there again in June, with a brief to capture various aspects of Buildings B and C, but also to get an angle which included all three buildings in a single shot. That’s not as easy as it might sound, requiring some consideration of how the light falls on the buildings at various times of day, as well as trying to exclude other buildings or scrappy bits of cityscape.

However, give me a challenge and I’ll rise to it (within the bounds of feasibility of course).

What I came up with was two options. One based on a reference photo supplied by the client, the other an angle I found by walking the site until I located a spot which would work.

The more ‘standard’ angle is the stronger of the two images, but the one looking up at the buildings also has its strengths and uses. Giving a client a choice allows them to adapt images to whatever design and format they need, even if they don’t yet know what they need it for.

Sections of three modern office buildings shown together in a 'compressed' view using a long lens. From left, a burgundy-coloured building, the centre building has yellow accented balconies and the righ-hand building features green external steel girder construction.
Left to right, Buildings B, C and A.
Wide angle view looking up at buildings C, A and B with blue sky beyond their rooflines.
Left to right, Assembly C, A and B

Some of the images are included in the micro-sites for the buildings, including this (see below) from Building C taken during a previous trip.

Screenshot from the Assembly C website showing the open-plan reception area with the letter C layered over and the square footage available. A blurred female figure is striding through the photograph, carrying an opened laptop.
Still from the Building C web page.

Architectural photography, done properly, won’t generate anything like the quantity of images that something like a headshot session or event coverage might. More time and consideration is required; finding the best angles, setting up a tripod, making sure verticals and horizontals are correct (unless you’re after that leaning look, of course) and often having to wait until a person or lorry or whatever has cleared the scene.

The challenges of architecture are very different to pretty much any other genre of photography, but if you have a project which needs photography, I’d be delighted to hear from you!

Email me, or call 07703 124412 for that initial creative chat.

in Architectural Photography / Bristol / Case Studies / corporate communications / photographer 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Awards, Ceremonies and Celebrations

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t leave my blog unattended for almost two months, but things haven’t been quite normal lately.

A busy work schedule and personal circumstances (he said, cryptically) have conspired to keep me from posting, so this is a round-up of recent work.

Looking back, that work has involved a fair number of award ceremonies, certificate presentations and celebrations of all sorts. From fairly low-key and intimate events to grand occasions, I’ve applied my photographic approach to them all. That is to say, I work to capture the general tone of an event alongside the smaller moments, as well as the presentations themselves.

Photographing events for my clients is always a huge amount of fun. People tend to be relaxed and generally accepting of a photographer there to capture the occasion. It’s their moment, and they’re happy to have it recorded.

For clients, they need my pictures to tell the story and to give them a range of pictures for use across social media channels, press releases, websites and brochures. So this work engages multiple of areas of the brain; I’m thinking about telling the story of the event, making pictures the attendees will enjoy, ensuring the client has images for immediate PR communication, and for the longer term, images which can stand the test of time. Some of the photos will need to be used to promote a recurring event for years to come, so they need to be of a quality that endures.

The gallery is just a handful of recent events I’ve covered, mostly for University of Bath (their events just seem to offer the best photographic opportunities!), but also for Clarks Village in Street who hosted a PRIDE tree where people could post positive sentiments on LGBTQIA+ rights, or just say or draw something up-lifting. That was a riot of colour!

A young female student is smiling into the distance and she is pictured through a hole in a Connect 4 game board.
Click photo for caption...
A grey-haired, bearded man in a suit stands smiling while holding a large cardboard Instagram-style frame. He is flanked by two towers of balloons.
Click photo for caption...
A man wearing a multi-coloured PRIDE lanyard is smiling to the person seated next to him.
Click photo for caption...
A young woman in sunglasses smiles to camera while holding her phone at arm's length for a selfie in front of colourful ribbons. She's holding a message of support she wrote on a plastic yellow flower tile.
Click photo for caption...
A colourful wooden PRIDE tree at Clarks Village in Street as shoppers walk past, blurred by the camera's shutter.
Click photo for caption...
A University of Bath graduate stands smiling broadly at the audience moments after receiving his graduation. He is standing next to the Pro-Chancellor and the background is the interior of Bath Abbey.
Click photo for caption...
A University of Bath graduate hugs his dad. He has a look of relief on his face.
Click photo for caption...
A female University of Bath graduate looks directly to camera and smiles. She is wearing a laurel wreath on her head, a tradition of Italian students.
Click photo for caption...

I’ve got more events coming up later this year, so if your organisation is planning a celebratory event in the coming months, drop me a line or call 07703 124412 and I’ll be delighted to help.

in Case Studies / corporate communications / coverage / event photographic / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

How Much Should Photography Cost?

One question which ties up too much time, energy and headspace for most businesses is, “How much should we be paying for photography?”

In the modern business landscape, we have to extend that to videography too, of course. While this article focuses mainly on stills, read to the end for my thoughts on video as well.

The shortest answer I can give is that the corporate communications photography you commission shouldn’t cost you anything. “What?! Free photography?! Where can I get some of that!!” I hear you wail, but of course that notion is ridiculous. Free stuff, as we all know, is often worth exactly what we’ve paid for it.

What I mean is, the photography and videography you commission for your business should, either fairly immediately, or over time, generate more income for your business than it cost to get done. If your photography/videography isn’t winning new clients or gaining fresh business, then you need to look at why it’s not working before deciding you’re paying too much. It could be how you’re deploying the work, it could also be that you’re not paying enough to get the quality you need.

A useful exercise is to start from the other end of the process. Ask what it is you want to achieve with your images, then work backwards to find the solution. That is to say, the photographer you choose is more important than what they charge. Ask yourself if the photographer’s style fits your brand and whether their quality adds a perception of high value to that brand. What they charge should reflect the outcome you’re aiming for. It needs to reflect the quality of their work, the uses to which that work will be put (the Licence to Use) as well as the standard of service they offer.

Just to explain the Licence to Use a little more deeply, a set of photos destined for a one-off press release for a small business won’t command the same fees as a high-production single image used in a national advertising campaign for a global brand.

There are many scenarios between these usage examples, but if you’re open with the photographer about who and what they’re shooting for, they can give far better guidance on the likely fees. And when it comes to the shoot itself, they can plan their own approach and deploy their resources far more effectively for a more successful outcome.

Oh and on that last point, be VERY wary of any photographer who doesn’t ask how the images are to be used. This should be an alarm-bell-moment. If they don’t care what you do with their work, it means they don’t care about your goals. This will be reflected in the results and that’s when photography becomes really expensive, regardless of how cheap it was to acquire.

A blonde female in a black top writes on a whiteboard which has multi-coloured postit notes stuck on it.
If you're planning a photo or video shoot, start with the goals and work your way back to the budget.

Much the same approach applies to commissioning video, albeit the costs associated with that tend to focus more on post-production time than on aspects such as licensing. However, if you’re going to commission video, you still need to think carefully about your goals.

Identifying who you’re trying to reach, what their expectations are and how you’re going to win their business should be considered long before commissioning a videographer (ie me!) to press the record button.

If I’m shooting video for a client, of course I want to understand my client’s aims, but I also want to know who they’re trying to win over. If they’re aiming at people who might do business with them, the content, message and production values all need to be of a high quality. There’s no point spending money on a video which is aimless and poor quality. That’s just a waste of money and a drag on valuable resources. It might grab audience attention for a brief moment, but will soon be forgotten in the constant stream of online content marketing. Poor quality production will also harm your brand and cost you sales.

The main message of this post is to think quality first, then work out your budget based on the value you’re likely to gain from the results. Setting out with an unrealistic budget plucked from thin air isn’t going to get you where you need to be, which is why I’m happy to spend time working through these questions with clients before they commit to working with me.

I would be delighted to discuss your stills and video needs, so drop me a line and let’s get your photography and videography making money, not costing it.

in Advice / corporate communications / photography / Press Release Photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

If You Want To Get Ahead, Get A Headshot

We all know how important it is to have a professionally-taken business portrait, so how come mine is so old?!

Yes, it’s time for the cobbler to mend his shoes and for the physician to heal himself. The photographer needs to take his own portrait. I’ve been putting it off because like most of you, I don’t like having my photo taken.

But that’s no excuse. Time has pretty much the same effect on everyone – it ages us, and I have no immunity against the ravages of time.

For a start, I have fewer grey hairs now; that is to say, I have fewer hairs. Apart from that, it’s just good practice to update your profile photo every three years (five at a stretch).

The issue is that while a simple selfie is easy enough to do, taking a selfie that looks like a professional portrait is a bit of a circus act. Modern cameras make it easier than it used to be, especially now that the camera can be operated via a phone app, but it’s still quite a feat of organisation and coordination. Maybe I should hire a photographer?

That would be fine by me, except I also take the opportunity of using myself as a model to really work on new ways of setting up, new approaches to getting the correct angle and perhaps more particularly, finding interesting tweaks to my current style. So making my new portrait will also be a chance to adjust and refine my portrait style.

In all likelihood the development will be more incremental than revolutionary, but it’s still a good exercise to go through.

And what could possibly go wrong? Artists and photographers have been making self portraits since the dawn of time. Vincent van Gogh famously did a few, and he turned out fine *googles the life of van Gogh and… “OH MY GOD! WHAT THE ACTUAL…?!!* Ok, maybe I’ll delay making my self portrait for a while longer…

Except there is always an excuse, from “I need to get my hair done” to “I’ve cut off my ear and presented it as a gift to my favourite prostitute”; I’ve heard them all and I can no longer wriggle out of it myself.

Now that I’ve said it, I need to go and do it. And I want you to nag me if I haven’t updated my profile photo in a week’s time. For the record, here’s my current one. Gosh, I looked so young!

Screen shot from the timgander.co.uk About page.
The last time I looked this young was about 10 years ago.

And if you’re now realising it’s been six years (or more!) since your business profile portrait was updated for your website or LinkedIn profile, drop me a line and we’ll organise a nice relaxed photo session. No excuses, let’s do it.

in Business Portraits 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Co-working Spaces For Corporate Photography

Tips for hiring a co-working hub when you have no office, or your office isn’t suitable.

While co-working spaces have been a growing trend for more than a decade, the Covid 19 pandemic definitely accelerated the move away from fixed, permanent offices for many businesses.

More generally, the co-working or shared office trend also reflects the post-pandemic rise in entrepreneurial ventures as people move away from wanting to work within large organisations, and more towards fulfilling their own dreams and ambitions.

Even large organisations have migrated teams out of big central hubs in favour of smaller, regional centres. It’s a trend which is currently growing, with little sign of abating.

Whatever the size of your business, there could be many reasons you don’t want a shoot in whatever space you have – perhaps it’s too small, or maybe it’s an uninspiring red brick cube with cramped desk-filled cubbies and a boardroom that serves its function, but isn’t aesthetically pleasing.

The Hiring Option

So if hiring a suitable space in a co-working environment is an option for your next corporate photography session, what are the advantages and disadvantages? And how can you get the most out of it?

This article will guide you through some of the challenges of finding the right spot for your office-less office shots and corporate portraits.

The Advantages

There are genuine advantages to having a photo session in a co-working hub:

• The look to suit you – from ultra-modern to supercool, you can find a space which reflects your attitude, personality and business values. Even better, all that interior design work has been done for you; it’s a photo set ready and waiting for you.

• Flexibility – depending on the requirements of the photo session, you can negotiate anything from a couple of hours to an entire day. Likewise you can scale the size of space you need depending on whether it’s a few simple headshots, images to reflect a meeting, a huddle or colleague collaboration across desks.

• All the kitchen and toilet facilities are there, and in the best hubs the staff will be only too willing and helpful when it comes to accommodating you and your team.

• Accessibility – if people are coming from various locations, co-working hubs are normally easily accessible by public transport or have parking nearby. Most co-working buildings, though sadly not all, are easily accessible by wheelchair too. That’s certainly worth checking in advance.

• A chance to get away from the desk – taking the time away from your usual surroundings to concentrate on your business image is no bad thing. It’s often a good time to have those “blue sky” thoughts while your brain is distracted by having to pose for the camera.

What To Look Out For

Of course you need to be aware of some of the pitfalls of this way of working.

• You’re away from the office! Although, I’d still argue the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of this.

• Finding the right space – with so much choice, it can be hard to find the space that fits your ethos precisely. I’m happy to help with this by offering ideas for locations I’ve used, or ones I’ve spotted and thought would be good. Here’s a search based on Bristol, my main city for work. Likewise for Bath, Chippenham and Swindon.

• Cost – It is an additional cost on top of the actual photography, but by leaving you (the client) to liaise directly with your chosen space, I don’t end up charging VAT on top of VAT, so it might not cost as much as you think.

• Finding enough space – Getting the right look can require a surprising amount of empty floor space, but I can usually advise on the best room to hire based on its size and flexibility.

Blonde female and brunette male wearing glasses, both dressed in smart black tops, smiling to camera for a business portrait.
Using the features of a room brings a unique style to the photos.
Blonde female dressed in a smart satin black blouse, smiling to camera for a business portrait.
Portrait of Stefanie Blundell of Pohco in Bristol
I'm seen crouching on top of a meeting room table while my subject stands against a white portable backdrop.
I also posed Stefanie against my portable white backdrop for a clean head and shoulders portrait.

• Fixtures and fittings – It’s surprising how many great looking spaces become difficult to work in because whichever way you turn, there’s a black monitor screen on a wall, an exposed conduit, light switches, thermostats, fire extinguishers, radiators, shelving, white boards… I could go on. The (often essential, sometimes arbitrary) wall clutter and objet d’art can ruin an otherwise promising space because it all gets into the background of a photo. It’s worth asking the host to send additional current photos of the space to include what’s on the walls from floor to ceiling height. Some things might be easily moved, others will be fixed, but hopefully some will be useful features in the photos.

• Lighting – I bring my mobile studio lighting kit to shape the light how I want it, but it’s still helpful to know in advance what windows or skylights are there and also what the light fittings look like. A chandelier might be groovy in real life, but it can look very odd in a business meeting shot. Again, a handful of current photos from the host can be useful here.

• It’s a shared space – While it might be easy to shut off a meeting room for a photo session, often the shared open spaces are full of photographic possibilities. This requires some diplomacy then if people are already set up and working in these areas, but I usually find a quick conversation about what we’re doing and how long we need is enough to minimise potential irritation.

• Things might change – From one photo session to the next, a co-working space might be refurbished, or they might close down. Ok, it’s a risk, but then few offices stay the same forever and there’s often a time at which it’s good to get everyone’s headshots re-done from scratch. That’s when a fresh space might be worth considering anyway.

I'm crouching in a corridor photographing Paul Albone who's sitting on a colourful sofa.
If you're wondering what potential this odd angle might have, see the next shot.
Paul Albone is seated on a colourful sofa. He's smiling to camera, wearing a black leather jacket, blue jeans and stylish black boots.
Paul Albone changes outfit and location for a less formal look.
Stefanie Blundell is seated casually on a comfy sofa, smiling to camera.
A change of top and location for a more relaxed business portrait.

Planning Planning Planning

The key to a successful photo session in a shared co-working facility is in planning the timing, location and access. Everything else is just the same as in working in your own space, such as choice of clothing and how you wish to present yourself to the camera.

With a little forward planning, your out-of-office photo session will not only be more successful, it’ll also be a more enjoyable experience.

If you would like more help on this, or any other aspect of planning your next corporate photo or video session, do drop me a line.

With thanks to Paul Albone and Stefanie Blundell of Pohco Consulting and their new venture Pasamelo for posing so brilliantly, and for their BTS shots of me, and to Futureleap Clifton for hosting us so brilliantly. I also recently used Origin in Berkeley Square, Bristol, who have some fantastic spaces and an incredibly friendly and helpful team.

 

in Bristol / Business Portraits / Case Studies / photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

You Can Photoshop That (truth in pictures)

When does photo manipulation matter?

I’m not going to dwell on recent events regarding the Royal Family and photo manipulation, but I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while. This post is not a judgement or criticism of the Princess of Wales, I’m merely using this as a springboard to a wider topic.

Very often I’ll be taking pictures for a client and the phrase “you can fix that in Photoshop” will rear its ugly head. Sure, many things can be fixed in Photoshop (other image editing software is available), but let’s run through the basic considerations before leaping on the cut-n-paste tool.

Editing time

Moving things around in Photoshop during the editing process usually takes a lot longer than physically moving (or removing) them at the time of creating the photo. Any decent photographer will strive to get everything right in-camera, ie at the moment the photo is taken.

On the whole, I build my editing time into my fees so clients know from the get-go what they’ll be paying for a project. If I then need to extend the editing time to correct for something I wasn’t given time to fix on-site and in-camera, I then have to go back to the client with a revised bill. That’s not always popular.

Deadline

Following on from the previous point, if editing takes longer than planned, this can impact my ability to meet a deadline, so why not save the grief by making sure everything is as it should be at the time the photo is taken?

My Sanity

One thing I try to do when shooting corporate portraits, is ensure the sitter’s hair is tidy, that there aren’t strands across their face and that their clothes aren’t covered in bit of fluff, flakes of skin etc. If it’s a post-lunch shoot, I’ll check there’s no food in their teeth before I start.

Sitting at a computer for hours, endlessly retouching stray hairs, spotting out bits of fluff or removing food bits from between teeth (YUCK!) makes me die a little inside. Far better to spot these things in advance and deal with them in real life.

Ethics

Ok, so this ‘could’ get complicated, but I’ll try to keep it clear and simple.

A retouched or manipulated photo can be used in a business website, leaflet, brochure or corporate social media post (provided the post isn’t put out as a news piece).

Manipulated photos are often used in advertising, which explains why McDonalds’ burgers look edible in the roadside billboards, but taste like damp cardboard whenever you come to eating a real one.

A retouched or manipulated photo CANNOT be used in a press release or as a news image, regardless of destination (web, print, social media, projection onto the Moon). The only retouching allowed would be, for example, the removal of dust spots caused by muck on the image sensor. Minor colour, lightness and sharpening adjustments are fine, but the image has to be an accurate reflection of the captured scene.

Does this make advertorial* a grey area? I don’t think so. Provided the article is labelled as advertorial, image manipulation is acceptable because anyone seeing the article will know it’s not a news piece.

There is a real danger in the area of corporate communication via social media, as Amnesty International discovered when they used a series of AI-generated images to highlight their reports into police violence and sexual harassment in Columbia in 2021. In Amnesty International’s case, they did label their images as AI-generated, but their ethical stance was damaged by the use of fake imagery and they subsequently pulled the posts.

Now AI is a whole new kettle of weird fish, but the principle is the same; images put out by organisations as news or current affairs need to be true. The humble, local press release photo is not exempt just because its’ not going to be picked up by the BBC or Reuters.

And it’s easy to think that a small change doesn’t matter; inserting/removing/tweaking the colour of a company logo, moving or removing an element, addressing some sticking-up hair, putting a hard hat on someone who wasn’t wearing one on a building site – all these are no-nos when the images are destined for any kind of news use, which includes press release material. It doesn’t matter if it’s the local mayor presenting a giant cheque to the local hospice, or a national news event; if it’s offered as a news item it has to meet the criteria of a news image.

For more detailed guidelines on what can/cannot be adjusted in a news image, the Getty guidelines are a very good start.

Staged pictures

This set of pictures from 2023 is a great example of when PR coverage involves a mix of ‘live’ and staged images. The captions for each image explain more of this concept:

Graffiti artist Silent Hobo is wearing a baseball cap and respirator mask as he spray paints a mural onto a wall in Bristol.
This is a fly-on-the-wall photo, so no manipulation or staging.
View from behind a Deliveroo motorcycle delivery person looking at a colourful mural of Bristol fast food outlets painted onto a large wall space in the city.
This image was staged to have a Deliveroo rider looking at Silent Hobo's mural. This kind of staging is normal in a PR photo, but the image itself wasn't manipulated. It would have been tempting to clean up the rider's helmet, for example.
Graffiti artist Silent Hobo is looking to camera and has his right arm raised to the lens, in his hand is a spray can and his finished mural is behind him on a building wall.
Because the subject is looking to camera, the viewer understands a certain level of staging is involved. But nothing has been digitally altered in this scene.

In the example above, we have three typical types of PR photo from a single event: the fly-on-the-wall shot, the staged-to-look-not-staged shot and the obviously-staged shot. The middle one is perhaps the least honest, but it’s fair to say that nothing has been added or taken away from the scene as it was captured. In the final photo, I seem to recall going round picking up litter to tidy things up, but again it’s an honest photo of the existing scene. The viewer isn’t fooled that the artist was directed to pose, and this is a common kind of PR photo, but nothing was manipulated in editing software.

What about…?

It’s debatable whether some historical news images would be allowed today. The Independent newspaper’s in-house style of very heavy vignetting in the 1980s and 90s would potentially fall foul of today’s code of ethics. At the very least, a caption note would have to be added to say that the sky had been ‘burned in’.

Other historical pictures were stitched together to recreate a scene from multiple images, but each individual image was not a manipulation; they’ve merely been sequenced into a panorama or extra-wide view of something which existed in front of the camera. Such a photo would require a special note to editors today, but could still likely pass the truth test.

The bottom line

Most importantly, we live in an age where it’s too easy to manipulate images. This degrades the public’s trust in what they see, so it’s more important than ever to ensure that what goes into our news media is true and honest. An insignificant tweak here, a slightly heavy-handed adjustment there and before you know it, a photo is no longer an honest record of a scene or event.

In the course of liaising with a client on their brief, I endeavour to make sure I know the end-purpose of the work. If I’m satisfied they’re purely for corporate communications, I’ll allow for more adjustments than if they’re for editorial. I can adjust images to enhance certain aspects of an image. I might extend a plain backdrop, I’ll tidy up stray hairs and flecks on clothing and more besides.

However, I still prefer to get all these aspects tidied up in real life. It saves my time and my sanity!

*Advertorial is when a client pays to have an editorial-style piece placed in a newspaper or magazine. It’s basically an advert, but usually has the look of an editorial article. Advertorials must always be labelled as such.

in Case Studies / corporate communications / photography / press release photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Two Cameras, Two Brains, One Photographer

Following on from my previous post focusing on my work with advanced propulsion R&I centre IAAPS (IAAPS for short) near Bristol, this week’s post centres on the official launch held in September last year.

However, rather than talk specifically about the opening itself, I’m going to use this as a case study to delve into the logistics and thought processes employed when covering an event like this.

This area of photography uses a different part of the brain from industrial work, which is very measured, precise and considered compared to the fly-on-the-wall, reactive style required for an official opening, especially one on the scale of the IAAPS launch.

The truth is, I enjoy both. Industrial photography is a chance to slow down, be methodical and produce images with a bit more finesse, while the launch event gets my editorial brain whirring. I’m having to react to emerging scenarios as I work my way through the brief and the events as they unfold.

Each aspect of an event like this requires a subtly different approach; choices around composition, timing, reading the light, lens selection – at times I’m making multiple decisions all at once. In these situations it helps to have both cameras on my shoulders; one for wide shots, and the other for long shots, which saves a lot of lens swapping.

And yet I have to remain calm and composed because no one needs a stressed photographer in the room.

Keeping a level of control starts with having a properly constructed brief in advance of the event, something IAAPS’ head of marketing communications is good at.

Armed with a solid brief, I can keep an eye on the timings of various key moments as well as check off the pictures I’ve achieved. Having a list I can work through methodically means I can keep the scale of the task in context. I can also look for additional off-brief pictures.

Reacting to changing moments and requirements is where the stress can creep in once again, but knowing how to pace a job and when to tie up an element of coverage is a skill in self-management.

For example, it’s easy to get bogged down in trying to capture absolutely everyone as they gather and chat. These make for good “flavour of the day” pictures, but not every attendee needs to be recorded. These pictures have their uses, but at some point, I have to gauge when opening speeches are about to start.

For this, I have one eye on the schedule, and one on the key speakers. Their behaviour changes as they realise they’re about to step up to the podium, and that’s my cue to ensure I have the right kit and settings already sorted.

Of course, I will have arrived ahead of the event to check out things like the light levels on the stage or the positioning of the podium, but these can change at the last minute, so it’s good to do a final check before speeches and presentations kick-off. Ideally, I’m in position before the speaker steps up onto the stage.

For speeches, I’m looking to capture the speakers with their heads up, eyes open and preferably making some kind of hand gesture. It’s also important to capture a variety of shots with design space around the subject, as well as a choice of upright and landscape orientations.

All this is to ensure that when the images are put out to press release, there’s something to fit the space on the page. If they’re used in corporate communications, either online or in print, that design space might be handy for a text box or graphic element.

Simultaneously, I’ll be looking for interesting and unusual angles, tight shots on the speakers as well as wider views showing the venue and audience.

Recording the setup before guests arrive is a useful reference for future events.
As guests arrive and start to network, I'll be on the lookout for interaction shots.
A quick overview moments before the speeches start.
Framing the speaker (Chris Skidmore MP) with members of the audience gives a sense of "being there".
A wider shot showing the speaker in context (Prof. Ian White, Vice-Chancellor University of Bath).
That decisive moment as the ribbon disintegrates.
Bringing together the people and the facility...
...to show elements of the facility and a flavour of the event.

If a speech is only a few minutes long, I have to make sure I divide the time carefully and prioritise the must-have images over the nice-to-have extras.

In the case of the IAAPS launch, there was a series of speeches followed by a ribbon-cutting. So I made sure that as the final speech drew to a close, my kit and I were both ready for that moment. This included organising the group, arranging the props and making sure the photographer behind me, who’d brought the wrong lens for the job, could also get a few shots without the back of my head being in the way.

This particular event was a busy one. After the ribbon cutting came tours of the facility for stakeholders and members of the press, so I was back in fly-on-the-wall mode, looking for interactions between visitors and the cells and capturing more images for potential press and industry journal use.

With an event like this, it’s important to pace the coverage. It’s too easy to get into a spin or to phase out and lose concentration. To most people, it might look like ‘just taking pictures of something happening’, but without a considered and measured approach, things can run away from the photographer very quickly. It’s important to take a moment every so often to pause and re-check the brief, the progress and the next stage, all while looking for ways to ensure the resulting pictures have as much impact as possible.

While there were no surprises at the end of this event, I always check in with my lead contact before pulling away. It’s also a good chance to double-check any urgent image requirements as sometimes the client will want a selection for immediate social media use or a press release.

Of course, the end of a job isn’t the end of the job; there’s captioning, editing, filing, supply and a whole load of other tasks around fully completing a job. Perhaps that’s a blog post for another time though. After 951 words, it’s time to take a break.

in Case Studies 2 comments
 by Tim Gander

Future Power

Happy New Year! Let me kick off by wishing all my clients, past, present, and future a wonderful 2024 full of pleasant surprises.

Now we’ve had our fun and a bit too much chocolate, I’m kicking off the first blog post of 2024 by looking at some specific work I carried out between 2022 and 2023. Not for nostalgic reasons, but because it illustrates several aspects of my approach to various photographic tasks and challenges.

There’s a fair bit of ground to cover, so I’m dividing this into two posts. Make sure you’ve signed up to my blog if you don’t want to miss the second instalment!

This particular work was undertaken for the advanced propulsion R&I centre IAAPS (IAAPS for short) at Bristol and Bath Science Park near Bristol. I came to working with IAAPS through another client, University of Bath, which owns and part-funded the £70 million research facility.

Chances are you won’t have heard of IAAPS but in essence, it’s where vehicle propulsion research meets real-world implementation. Advances made here will find their way into internal combustion, hybrid, electric and hydrogen engines of the future. This could include propulsion fuels and methods not yet discovered!

What makes this a great case study for me is that my work for IAAPS has covered portraits, industrial, and event photography. The images have been used on the website, in press releases, and in printed promotional literature, because while IAAPS’ main function is automotive propulsion research, like any business it has to attract clients and investors to maintain its status in the top three research facilities of its kind in the world.

This requires marketing, which requires marketing materials. That’s where the photography comes in.

Let’s get into the photography then.

Portraits.

I won’t dwell on this aspect too much as I only had to do a handful of images of the Engineering Director and the Principal Engineer at a time when some creative editorial images were required for trade press and the website.

This was in 2022 when the facility, though substantially built, was still a building site. We were also still under COVID rules, so in I went, fully compliant with Health and Safety and COVID regulations.

Operating a camera while wearing a hard hat, goggles, gloves and a mask had its own challenges. The peak of the hard hat interfered with the flash trigger on top of my camera, while the mask caused my goggles to constantly steam up. Gloves don’t make operating the controls of a camera easy, but being fog-blind while trying to look through a viewfinder that isn’t up to your eye is “a bit awkward”.

Still, the session was short and these were hardly the biggest problems faced by humankind, so I was happy to fulfil the brief.

Relaxed portrait of Professor Rob Oliver of IAAPS with computer cabinets visible behind him.
Portrait of Rob Oliver, IAAPS Engineering Director and Professor of Practice.

There was enough infrastructure already in place for me to use a backdrop which added some context, I just had to avoid including any dangling wires or ducts which hadn’t been finished and tidied away. In the event, a single softened flash on the subject and a second flash to clean up the backdrop gave me the results I needed.

Industrial.

More interesting in photographic technical terms was the industrial photography. In 2023, I was booked in to take pictures of completed test cells where the research and testing take place.

For much of this work, I was able to use a tripod which opened up new photographic possibilities.

With the camera “locked off” I could use the High Resolution (HR) mode of my cameras. While the pictures would be used mainly on the website, where super-high resolution is less important, I was thinking ahead to when the client might want to use the images on large printed displays such as pop-up banners.

In this mode, the camera takes 8 pictures of the same scene, shifting the image sensor in each of eight directions as it goes. This captures details which would otherwise fall between pixel sites on the sensor. The camera combines the eight images into a single high-resolution RAW file which is four times larger than the native image resolution of the camera. In short, I’m capturing a 96MB file instead of the standard 24MB one.

So if my client ever needs to blow the image up to fill an exhibition display, the resolution will hold up far better than if they’re trying to print from a regular file. To my knowledge, HR mode outstrips the resolution of any comparable camera on the market. It could be bettered by a medium-format camera, but then the cost of the shoot becomes somewhat prohibitive, and almost certainly overkill for the needs of my client.

This technique works best where both the camera and the scene are completely still. Since the camera is on a tripod, and nothing is moving in the test cells, it’s the perfect scenario for using HR.

Alongside the general views of the cells, I was also tasked with capturing details of the rigs, vehicles, sensors and other equipment. Often this involved hand-holding the camera, so HR mode wasn’t going to work because of the risk of movement between each of the eight frames being captured. Also, you can’t use flash in HR mode, and some of the equipment required additional illumination using my portable studio flashes to lift shadows or to add a touch of additional colour using gels.

Photo is a low-angle view of a BMW on a test rig.
The original image was created as a 12,000 pixel high-resolution image.
Screen shot from the IAAPS website showing a BMW on a test cell rig.
Scaled down for the website.
Close-up photo of red and black cable terminal connectors.
The Nikkor 55mm lens is a benchmark closeup lens.
Screen shot from the IAAPS website featuring a photo of cable terminal connectors.
A simple close-up image helps break up text and add visual interest to a web page.
Photo of orange and blue hydraulic lines connected to machinery terminals on the left of the photo with a yellow winch hand controller on the right.
General details from the test cells make for useful stock images for the client.
Screengrab from the IAAPS website featuring a photo of a hydraulic winch controller and hydraulic lines.
From the Our Facilities page of the website, this image sits behind scrolling text panels.

The gallery above shows a selection of the original images alongside screengrabs from the IAAPS site to show them in context.

These images are less likely to be blown up to create a full-bleed banner display, but high quality was still an obvious consideration when I took them, so of course I made sure I had one of my favourite lenses in my bag for this purpose.

One of the joys of the latest cameras (you may have heard the term “mirrorless”, which I won’t explain here) is that you can adapt older lenses to fit them. The Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 macro lens, launched in 1979, is designed for close-up photography. Indeed it’s considered by many as the benchmark by which all other close-up lenses are measured. I have no idea when mine was made, but they were in production for decades.

It’s also an excellent all-round lens for non-close-up work, being sharp and with no discernible distortion. It was perfect for the detail shots in the test cells where I was working at standard distances one minute, and extreme close-ups the next.

I decided to use this lens because I knew it covered everything I needed. I have more modern lenses with close-focusing abilities, but the Nikkor has the edge on overall quality. While it’s possible my client might not have detected the difference between images taken on one lens or another, I do believe in capturing the best-quality images I can.

What the old lens lacks is autofocus (or auto anything!) but manual focus just requires a little more care and concentration. It can slow you down, but that’s no bad thing as it also encourages more thought about composition.

Industrial photography can feel slow. You have to be hyper-aware of the details such as finger marks or dust on equipment as well as the usual considerations of lighting, composition and exposure, but I also enjoy the discipline this imposes.

There is no point rushing industrial pictures. It can take a considerable amount of preparation before even thinking about taking a picture, but my IAAPS client is happy to trust me to do what’s needed to get the best possible results. They’re dealing with high-end clients in an industry which is all about precision; being sloppy in the photography isn’t worth the risk.

While I know there will be additional trips to IAAPS for me in the coming year, I’ll welcome enquiries from anyone considering commissioning industrial photography for their promotional needs. Hopefully, this article gives a useful insight to my process.

My portfolio is always evolving, so check it out here if you’d like to see more of my work.

in Case Studies 3 comments
 by Tim Gander

See The Portfolio, Understand The Process

With the exception of David Bailey, every photographer has to keep their portfolio fresh and updated regularly. While for some that still means a printed volume, for most photographers it’s their website, which is what I’ve been working on lately.

The question photographers have to ask themselves as they work through this process is, “What makes a picture worth adding to my portfolio?” The question you might ask yourself is, “Why should I care?”

Well if a client understands the thinking behind what makes a good portfolio, they can also understand what a portfolio says about the photographer behind it.

There’s plenty to think about, but it’ll start with context (ie. what kind of photographer they are and what kind of work they want to attract), but setting that aside for now, the best way for me to illustrate the subject is by setting down my thoughts. Through this process, I hope you’ll gain some useful insights too.

1. Why Update My Portfolio?

This one’s simple – a regularly updated online portfolio keeps Google (and other search engines) happy. Each time a search engine indexes a website it’s looking for fresh content. Fresh content boosts the value of the site and elevates it in search rankings. I get a fair bit of work this way, so I need to keep my portfolio updated.

2. What to update it with?

Every few months I go through my Portfolio pages to see what’s especially old, or what might no longer be relevant to the types of work I’m doing or want to do.

Showing certain kinds of work will attract enquiries from certain kinds of clients, which is why my site is fairly heavily skewed towards showing corporate portraits – that’s both the work I do and the work I want.

Age isn’t everything – I’ll keep older pictures in if they’re strong and still serve a purpose, but on the whole, I’m looking at recent jobs to see what might be suitable to add to or replace existing work.

When I’m trawling through my recent archive I’ll be searching for images that fall into one of the three portfolio categories: Business Portraits, Corporate Communications, Editorial & PR.

3. What Makes A Portfolio Picture?

That’s where it gets trickier, and while I don’t think I nail this one every time, I see photographers who haven’t mastered the challenge at all. They include their favourite pictures, but this is the wrong place to start.

The challenge is to disassociate yourself from the making of the picture. A portfolio picture isn’t good just because you like it. It isn’t good because it was hard to make, or because you made a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

A portfolio picture has to be good in its own right. While Google won’t even care if a picture is interesting, in focus or correctly exposed, a potential client has to be convinced by the quality of what they see. What they won’t see is the effort or the circumstances surrounding the making of that image, so its entire strength will come from its quality and content.

Screen grab from Tim Gander's photography website showing a selection of business portraits.
Business Portrait examples.
Screen grab from Tim Gander's photography website showing a selection of Corporate Communications images.
Corporate Communications examples.
Screen grab from Tim Gander's photography website showing a selection of Editorial and PR images.
Editorial and PR examples.

4. What Is The Context?

I mentioned the context in my introduction, and there I was referring to the type or field of photography being promoted. A wedding photographer will have different considerations than an industrial, architectural or food photographer.

Similarly, I need to apply different considerations when choosing images for any of my three categories. Let’s briefly go through those:

Business Portraits

Here I want to show the quality and style of my portraiture, but I’m also looking for some variety. Beyond the basic headshot against white, I also want to show I can create different styles, moods and even orientations (upright or landscape). I also include a few images to suggest that a portrait can mean more than a simple headshot and can include some context, which stylistically starts to overlap with Corporate Communications.

Corporate Communications

This is broader than just headshots, so it’s an opportunity to show greater creativity. These images might include props or location elements; they might be staged or fly-on-the-wall action images. People presenting, interacting with others or with their environment are fairly typical examples of the Corporate Communications image.

I should add that the term Corporate Communications refers to everything I do for my clients, but I sub-categorise these images to differentiate them from pure Business Portraits or Editorial & PR images.

Editorial & PR

This gallery is unusual in that I’ll often include screen grabs of the images ‘out in the wild’ in news media sites, allowing clients to make the connection between my work and the possible exposure it will bring them.

The nature of the category means I might be showing work which has more of a story to tell, but the image should still be as self-explanatory as possible (though my captions will also help explain the context and reason for the image).

For this category, I’m looking for images of a news or feature style. They were shot for a newspaper, press release or corporate news web page and therefore have a different look to those shot for general Corporate Communications.

Site-Wide Refresh

While the focus of this article has been on the portfolios, I also regularly update my homepage image as this is the first impression potential clients get. It also makes the site more attractive to search engines as they favour new content over old.

As if all that wasn’t enough, this time around I’ve also updated some of the featured pictures for the top-level Portfolio menu, again keeping the site a bit fresh for returning visitors and search engines alike.

Screen grab of the Portfolio menu page of Tim Gander's photography website showing three thumbnail images to illustrate each of the Portfolio categories; Business Headshots, Corporate Communications and Editorial and PR.
The thumbnail images help to guide clients to the relevant gallery.

Summing Up

In essence, if you’re a client casting around for a photographer for your next project, it’s worth having a bit of insight into what you’re being presented and why.

If a portfolio doesn’t even present examples of the genre you need, move on to the next site. For example, photographers who showcase family portraits are probably not going to grasp the particular challenges and requirements of corporate or business portraiture.

It’s important to match genre as well as style and quality to your requirements to avoid costly mistakes, and I hope this article goes some way towards avoiding that scenario.

Now you’ve read this, why not take a look back at my website? I’d love to hear if it’s changed your perception of what you see.

in Advice / Case Studies / Industry Comment / Personal Opinion 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Head Space

Corporate portraits, one of the under-sung heroes of corporate communications. An evil necessity (for those who don’t enjoy having to sit for one), but the only way your potential clients get to see the people who make your business tick.

But in the planning of a portrait session, I think one of the most over-looked aspects of the whole process is the question of where is best for the photographer to set up. What considerations need to be factored into the planning to make it all run as smoothly as possible?

Best Place for Portraits?

Location, location, location, as the property gurus like to say, but it’s also true when finding a spot in your office in which to set up for headshots.

The first, and possibly most crucial element required is space. The more the merrier. The greater the area I have to work in, the more options I have to create a consistent look across the set of portraits.

Occasionally a client will tell me they have an empty room I can work in. There might be a 30ft faux mahogany table and 20 heavy swivel chairs in there, but as far as they’re concerned, it’s an empty room.

So now I recommend a minimum empty floor space of at least 3m (10ft) square. Bigger is better, but I can work with that.

How High?

Ceiling height also has a role to play. Many modern offices have relatively low-slung ceilings, and these can make certain lighting set-ups difficult or impossible.

For example, my preferred arrangement is to have my main studio light pointing down over the sitter’s head, just in front of their face. A low ceiling makes this difficult/impossible, especially if the ‘house style’ is to have subjects standing for their shots. It’s easier if I can sit them, but even then some ceilings are too low. This particular arrangement also requires a bit more floor space, so double whammy if I’m in a small space with a low ceiling.

Occasionally I get super lucky and find myself in a room which has a plain wall. It might not sound much, but if I don’t have to account for the space a backdrop takes up, this can save valuable space in a small room.

Background Effect

Speaking of backdrops, if a client wants a particular look to the backdrop, I then have to think about how I light it separately from the subject. Once again this takes up more space as I have to work a flash in between the back of the subject and the background. Given enough space and the right lighting set-up, I can turn a white wall into anything from pure white to pure black, or light it with a coloured gel, but all these options need space.

Stray Light

Other sources of lighting in the room can also affect how much space is required, or they can influence the final outcome.

As I’m generally working with flash for headshots, I don’t need bags of daylight or ceiling lights. I just need to be able to see well enough and for the camera to be able to focus accurately, so some light is good, too much can be bad.

What I mean by too much is when sunlight is screaming in through a side window and splashing onto the subject or backdrop. Or when ceiling lights are beaming down onto the subject’s head, which can cause ugly colour casts. These casts are often difficult to correct in post-production, so I do my best to avoid them when taking the photos.

A Little Test

There are many factors which influence how I set up my gear for a portrait session. It can even be that the same set up in the same space on a different day can yield slightly different results, but change the room from one session to the next and it becomes a real challenge to get one batch of headshots consistent with a previous set.

To round off the article, I’ve dug out a small selection of different spaces and set-ups I’ve used over the last few years – I always try to take a reference shot for when a client calls me in again. I wonder if you can work out which set-up was used for the portrait at the end?

 

A three-head studio portrait set-up in a hotel ballroom.
Hilton Bath ballroom is one of the biggest spaces I've ever had!
Single-head portrait lighting set-up in an empty office in Bristol.
A simple set-up, but one of my favourites. And so much space!
Two-head photo studio in a corridor.
I think this might be the smallest space I've ever had.
Two studio heads used for a portrait set-up in an empty area of office space.
Plenty of space, though spill from large windows was a challenge.
Head and shoulders portrait of a man in a dark blazer, open neck white shirt and glasses looks directly into the camera without smiling.
Can you work out which of the previous photos shows the set-up for this portrait?

Of course the best way to ensure I have the space I need for your next corporate portrait session is to get in touch and arrange a conversation. So drop me a line, let’s see if we can work out your best location, location, location.

in Advice 0 comments