First Commercial Shoot

Following Pics were from my first commercial shoot. The as yet to be selected photo will run as a full page mag ad. Company makes record players, and is trying to appeal to a younger audience -- their current demo runs pretty long in the tooth, so to speak.

Their direction was to do something "urban outfitters". They also wanted to feature their product without "hitting people over the head with it". It was an interesting experience. Their creative director was great to work with. I fleshed out the initial "street photography" concept, with the bike as a prop. He took it from there, picking the location from a place he knew from memory. Model is a company employee, with some training. The only problem we had was the CA wanting input on the lighting--the shoot was at 1:30 pm without a cloud in the sky. I had to fight to find some shade -- but it worked out in the end.

They requested a de-saturated look. Here are the proofs I came up with -- your thoughts and votes for favs are appreciated. Remember, they want to feature the product, without the shot looking like a product shot. Copy is very light, and placement is flexible.

Thanks!


1

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I like #1 best, From #4 on the model's look just isn't working for me.

A couple of the shot's also look just a touch cool to me even with the desaturation.

But that is just to my uneducated eye on a uncalibrated monitor.

Overall nice shot's though.

3,7,8 are my favs, Nice work.

For the life of me I can't imagine why she isn't actually "using" the product in any of the shots. You would think that a few people standing around while she "played" the record on the sidewalk - people having fun and laughing - would have more impact AND be a bit less "showy" but anyone would get the fact that "Hey - that's a record player!"

Also seems like she is a touch old to appeal to the "younger audience" - IMO

Technically nice shots though

Apshiso wrote in post #6080475
Also seems like she is a touch old to appeal to the "younger audience" - IMO

Technically nice shots though

Nice shots and I partially agree with the above in that I don't understand the reasoning behind the poses but...

When they want to appeal to the younger crowd, they must mean the <70 crowd who still have vinyl and not the kids. Unless it is a scratch DJ setup, the <25 crowd won't look twice

Apshiso wrote in post #6080475
For the life of me I can't imagine why she isn't actually "using" the product in any of the shots. You would think that a few people standing around while she "played" the record on the sidewalk - people having fun and laughing - would have more impact AND be a bit less "showy" but anyone would get the fact that "Hey - that's a record player!"

Also seems like she is a touch old to appeal to the "younger audience" - IMO

Technically nice shots though

Very good points.

Currently, their demographic is 45+ -- they are trying to reach down to the 25+ crowd.

Generally, their advertising has been exactly what you suggested -- a couple of people around the record player, laughing and having a good time. This time, for this ad, they wanted the turntable to be featured in the ad, but almost like an accessory. Kind of like a purse. If you shoot a smoking model full profile holding a clutch purse, the effect is not "cool purse' so much as it is "that purse can make me look hot".

So thats what they were after.

And thanks for the comments. Keep em coming, please!

I think the shots are nice but wouldn't know it was a record player ad. As it stands it has about as much impact as the bike. Looks like a "prop".

Maybe if it looked like she was actually listening to and enjoying the record player? You know, with a slight smile on her face and her ear tilted towards it like she is listening? Also I agree with the need for a younger model as well as the suggestion that there be other people laughign or something around her as if they were listening to the record player as well.

Was trying to figure out why the shots didn't do anything for me.
Albeit quality of images are good.
A record player is out of place outdoors, so they just don't feel real.

Dave

wyofizz wrote in post #6080887
Was trying to figure out why the shots didn't do anything for me.
Albeit quality of images are good.
A record player is out of place outdoors, so they just don't feel real.

Dave

I got that feel as well.she is a beautiful model and your photos are spot on.but it just feels odd.

The pics look a little washed out (probably the effect desired), the model's clothing pairing seems conflicted (ripped bluejeans with a pink preppy-style top and silver flats?), and the model may be too old or inappropriately presented (setting, makeup, etc) to appeal to the "younger" crowd. You may need an "emo" looking girl (or boy or both) and perhaps some hip graffiti on the walls, not a clean neighborhood.

If this were a model shoot for the model, then I'd say they were good shots.

I think you did a lot of things right here and in the end got some cool poses and judging by the look the model was comfortable with you and the process so you are definately off to a good start....... on the not so great side, the de-sat look is cool but your WB is off and it makes the shots just look wrong for some reason .... beyond what has been said already the shoes in shots 6 + 7 are just clutter.... Did you proof the shots with the client ? ... what did they think ?

topher04r1 wrote in post #6081641
I think you did a lot of things right here and in the end got some cool poses and judging by the look the model was comfortable with you and the process so you are definately off to a good start....... on the not so great side, the de-sat look is cool but your WB is off and it makes the shots just look wrong for some reason .... beyond what has been said already the shoes in shots 6 + 7 are just clutter.... Did you proof the shots with the client ? ... what did they think ?

Thanks for the compliments.

On the De-sat side, i tried something a little different. I processed these in LR just as I normally would, then backed off the "vibrance" control as opposed to desaturating them in PS.

When I loaded them up to the net, I immediately notice some white balance issues as well. Number 1, for instance, went a little green on me. I went back to LR and made some adjustments, then printed some proofs to double check. I don't know if using the vibrance control gave the WB issues or not, but they were definitely there. I have corrected them, but haven't uploaded the changes yet.

The client got a quick preview of the RAW shots friday afternoon, and they loved them -- just gushed about them. Whatever they are looking for, its in there somewhere. We are meeting tomorrow for a final selection, and then their art team will take over. Their graphic artists are much better with a file then I am, so I am sure they will be much cleaner.

I am definitely curious to see where they are headed with this.

well there ya go then man ... if the client is happy then thats all that matters !!

UPDATE:

Met with the customer this morning, who selected three photos (none of which I show here). They decided to go with some that were more product oriented after all.

The best part was, at the end of the meeting, one of the folks says, "Man, you have a really great camera. How much would it cost me to buy something that takes pictures like this???"

Thanks to everyone for their interest.

I just received the ad proofs from the client:

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