Commercial Photography

Photography has a profound impact as a brand identifier.

When working to express a brand through photography, there’s alignment in a visual narrative and execution style which is typically a balance of brand adherence and some variance that meets business requirements (seasonality, promotions, tests, large campaigns, etc). But there are some style elements that always map to the brand strategy that when used with discipline can be a powerful, consistent brand amplifier.

Opportunity :
Provide the way to immediately connect, inspire and communicate core brand attributes and story throughout all aspects of the customer journey (brand advertising, promotions/seasonal drive times etc).

Method :
I direct the development of visual concepts that sync with, and enhance business strategies, brand narratives and story arcs. Visual concepts typically map to elements that have been described in the brand, or style guide. These brand elements, either implied or literally communicated are applied to the creative execution.

At a high level, I manage all strategic considerations; brand narrative/campaign theme and concept. Oversee location, casting, styling.

At a tactical level, activating the campaign through the copy and photography to the developed marketing systems; digital, print and POS. Develop asset management systems for socialization and distribution of to all channels.

I contribute to catalog strategies and studio best-practice documentation; lay down, pin-up, on-figure, lifestyle, on location and studio. These Editorial look books, style guides and trend reports. I also assemble teams to create video how-to’s, inspirations and sizzle reels.

Takes a team :
Working with merchandisers, business owners, product designers, marketing managers, and external agencies I deliver the visual arm of branded campaigns to all consumer touch-points.

Engage the network : Over my career I have given direction to support many initiatives and creative strategies. Leveraging internal resources as well as my network of creative contributors; producers, photographers, stylists, agents, musicians and videographers. Taking the team approach to creative problem solving, allowing the experts to assist me in achieving the right solution for the creative vision.

Keeping it grounded : Scope, budgets, time lines, usage and consumption are the typical variables considered when I approach the production aspect of photo shoots. Taking a collaborative approach and integrating the needs of multiple business units and channels to come to the right shot list that supports all touch points, and economizes on the output without image fatigue.

The work :

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Mezzetta Foods

Target : At Mezzetta, we reach out to those whose curiosity drives them to continually seek and discover eating experiences beyond the ordinary. They are driven by: variety, convenience, and are real. Not a demographic but a lifestyle.

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^{Delivered a new standard for photography styling, lighting and composition.}

Photo credits: internal resources | Studio 1500

Tailored Brands (The Men’s Wearhouse, Moores Canada, Tux vertical and KG Super Stores)

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While at Tailored Brands I contributed to the photographic strategies of four unique brands.

Brand photography strategies were applied to:
– persona-focused visual narratives,
– content marketing (look-books, gift guides, how-to’s),
– occasion-based storytelling for marketing.

Shutterfly.com

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Brand foundation :
Memories of the moments you’ve shared with your loved ones are the stories of your life. Capturing, preserving and transforming those precious moments into projects of personal expression make family and friends feel touched when you take time to celebrate them. And how does that make you feel?

Wonderful.

Who are we talking to?:
People who create and share to stay connected.
While people must create on Shutterfly, they do not need to be inherently creative to create something amazing they’ll want to share with friends and family. Sharing (pictures, ideas, content) is important to these people and the reason why they share is to stay in touch with friends and family.

Real life occasion-based story themes (births, weddings, and so on) are curated in a way that tells the arch of a story. The story can about a weekend in the snow, it could be about the soccer season, or the day of graduation. My team had to plan, schedule and produce the entire suite of graphic assets to support all marketing channels that were in lock-step with seasonal and promotional placements.

Along with aligning with the general brand foundation, we always focused the stories we were telling through the needs of our personas.

Brand photography strategies were applied to:
– persona-focused visual narratives,
– catalog and dm photography strategies,
– occasion-based storytelling for use-case marketing – a few favorites below…

eBay.com, eBay Express
The photography strategy for eBay Express was to shoot ALL category photography as quickly as possible (over a 1000 shots in 4 weeks).

A consumer-funnel strategy meant lifestyle, general category and product photography had to work together as we bring customer through the user experience for domestic and international consumers.

I art directed, and managed the process coordinating from the merch team and legal teams from photo studio to developer handoff.

Merchandising system and category photography samples.