Case Studies

This section is to give you an insight in to how some of the photos on this web site were achieved.

The Camping and Caravanning Club contacted me after they had seen the work I did for the RAC. This shoot was a joint affair between the RAC and CCC to help show the breakdown service the RAC offers to the caravaner.
After visiting them at their Coventry HQ they asked me to photograph some of their new lodges in Scotland.
I was given the brief by their advertising agency McCann Erickson who would be with us on the shoot. The look was to be very natural showing people enjoying their holiday in the surrounding countryside and also featuring the comfort of the lodges. It was all a far cry from when I went on a caravanning holiday with my parents, the lodges now are fitted with every luxury you could think of and are situated in some of the most beautiful countryside Britain has to offer.
In 4 days we covered 3 different sites shooting a mixture of photos showing the surrounding area the campsite and lodges and also the people.
They were very keen to use people who were there on holiday rather than hiring models. This worked out great for us because we could use a selection of different families to give a wide variety of shots.
With a team of 6 we managed to shoot an extensive library of shots, covering not only the key images that we wanted but also many incidental shots that enhanced the holiday experience.
A good working relationship with your client is a key to getting the right shoots. Here are some of the comments about the shoot.

"Just been going through the shots from our shoot the other week. Having looked at them fresh this morning I just wanted to say how delighted I am with them. There are some really, beautiful shots in there. They capture the essence and fun I was hoping to convey and do so in a really convincing way. Great work mate"
S.M. Creative Group Head - McCann Erickson

Click here to see more shots from the shoot.

For some time I have been working on a series of images for RAC showing all types of breakdown recovery situations that they are called out to and the range of locations where they take place.
Bad weather always brings a higher than normal demand and the brief was to capture not only the service they provide but also showing their human side.
Snow is one of the most extreme weather conditions for the motorist but predicting when and where it’s going to happen is just as difficult.
We were on standby for weeks waiting for some snow. When there was a light dusting we managed to get some shots, for the more extreme conditions we would have to go further afield which we did.
The Peak District got a severe weather warning of snow in the next 24hours so it was all systems go.
A 4x4 truck was hired, RAC Patrol vans scheduled to be in the right locations and models were sourced from a local agency as train and motorways may have been blocked due to bad weather.
The shoot was spread over 2 days and in that time locations had to be found to achieve the effect we were looking for.
The results of all the planning were worth it and by the end of the shoot we had managed to create a library of shots that will be used to illustrate the commitment RAC gives to its members.

Chapelfield Shopping Centre in Norwich held a competition to find a Cover Girl for their magazine.
Jade was the winner and her prize was to be photographed for the cover of the magazine and to receive a professional portfolio.
To get an image for any magazine cover involves a lot more than just taking 1 photo. This shoot lasted around 3 hours involving professional make up and hairdressing as well as styling the model with different outfits and accessories. At the end of a session you might have anything up to 300 pictures to choose from, these are then shortlisted to 3 or 4 different versions for the magazine cover.

The brief was to show in pictures the experience of taking a trip on the Juno, which is a flat bottom barge.
I thought this would be a nice job sailing on the high seas, little did I know how high above the sea or close to it I would be. I have an adventurous spirit when it comes to difficult shots, which was certainly needed for this one.
Lateral thinking can often provide a unique approach to an assignment, so I chose to shoot from different angles - eg.in a dingy and on top of the mast, this made for a very interesting picture.
I was told from the start that we would be having a game of cricket later on but I didn’t realise the barge itself would be on the beach, I can now see the advantage of sailing in this type of vessel.
This is what I like about being a photographer, always having a new challenge rather than just focusing on one type of photography.