The Antiqued Mirror Company

Last week I got together with Joanna and Jan from The Antiqued Mirror Company to photograph their new collection of mirrors and furniture. The company is based in Wales, they were exhibiting their work in London and wanted to photograph the mirrors in-situe at a private mansion based in Sandwich.

The project although looks straight forward was rather complicated, the easiest way to photograph these mirrors would be side on and using the natural reflections from around the room. However these mirrors needed to be photographed straight on so could be cropped square for e-commerce as well as the ability to be used in a brochure so a set and negative space was needed. The natural background was a large window, similar in style to the one you see above; the pattern of the window interfered with the texture of the glass and therefore meant a new background would need to be inserted post production whilst retaining the glass texture and loosing the reflection of the camera. The last thing to consider was that different lighting positions may need to be taken to emphasise the pattern of the frame and create the depth needed, the best lighting to show  the pattern of the mirror and finally the best lighting for the whole room.

The final files were supplied in 3 crops, full un-cropped for use with Graphic Design, Square Cropped Scenic for use in social media such as Instagram and finally a close up square crop so that the detail of the frame and mirror can be seen for e-commerce.

Do you have a project with reflective surfaces that is complicated to light? If so get in touch and let’s work out the best solution for you. If you liked this project please hit the social media share buttons at the bottom of this blog.

With thanks to Joanna and Jan for bringing their collection along, Fran for helping with the styling and Dean for being the perfect assistant.


It’s all about colour at Spectrum Paintworx

Spectrum Paintworx are well known in Sittingbourne for the fabulous paint finishes they do on cars and bikes, however this is such a small sector where these finishes can be applied. From shop signage, display stands, mannequins to barrier posts there is so much more scope for this work and this is one of the reasons Paul asked me to come on board to take the brand forward.

Apart from the use of the finishes the other really important thing to accurately portray to the customer through photography is the colour of these finishes. Although natural lit shots and phone camera shots play their part in social media, without the correct lighting and colour correction the important pigments and flakes in these finishes simply won’t be picked up.

To move away from the automotive sector we decided to photograph a base selection of finishes on speedshapes, these are small moulds that look a bit like a car body but have different curves so that light will reflect off it in different ways. By cropping these square we are then able to hide the fact it looks like the shape of a car and end up with a nice colour swatch instead.

It was needed to link the imagery to a Call to Action on the website, therefore some shots of the speedshapes were taken from the side. This was then combined to a header shape image to allow space for copy.

Header Images Call to Action

The second day of shooting was about photographing table tops with various paint finishes applied, there was also a motorcycle helmet and tank to be photographed in remembrance of a fallen friend.

The motorcycle helmet shot was then combined with a closer detail of the paint to create a second header call to action image.


Trust Firmin

In 2014 whilst I was studying for my Ba(Hons) in Digital Photography at Ravensbourne College in London I went to visit Firmin’s in Kent to photograph a couple of their lorries. It was part of a personal project I was working on at the time as wanted to challenge myself to light something a little larger than a car. At this time Firmin were building their new Training Centre and was looking for a couple of images to be printed as canvas shots for the waiting room and therefore it was agreed that I could go and photograph them.

Whilst at Kent Vision Live yesterday I went to walk past the Firmin stand when I noticed my image printed very large in their stand and on their leaflets, I have to say I was so glad to see that they were making good use of it. Now though that I have graduated and the images are a few years old it is time to renew and add to their collection.

Trust Firmin Del livery

Below are the original shots I took back in 2014:


RWB Release date announced

Britains first RWB 964 911 will be released in Issue 149 of Total 911 Magazine on 25th January 2017. Later on in February the full documentary will be released, so to see the first official images of the RWB make sure you grab yourself a copy of the magazine. For now here is another short clip with a Christmas message from RWBUK and Profusion Customs.

 


RWB UK Trailer

Currently I am working on a short documentary showing the build of the first Rauh-Welt Begriff 964 Porsche 911 build in the UK. RWB is run by Japanese car designer Nakai-San, he creates wide arch body kits for Porsche’s and tailors the cars ride to that of the driver.

In the last year alone Nakai-San has built over 60 RWB’s across the world, his designs are now so famous that they are used in The Need for Speed video games. This 964 is the first to sport the Royale wide arches and Fender wings and is also one of the first to have a sound system.

The full feature is expected to be 20-30 mins in length and will be released late in 2016. For now I hope you enjoy this 36 second teaser. To keep updated on the progress follow my social sites which are available at the top of the page.


Firetherm takeover

Firetherm, a company specialising in fires stopping products, sealants and coatings has just be taken over by Tremco Illbruck. Part of the rebranding has included new fleet vehicles.

I was asked to visit their headquarters in Crayford, Kent to photograph their new fleet. The background of the images were not important as they planned on cutting the vehicles out and either placing on white or compositing a new scene in. Below are a few images from the shoot:


Air Lift Performance

Last month we went out with Jamie a young car enthusiast from Kent to photograph his Audi A6 Estate. The A6 is his daily drive and at home he is working on a fast Ford 100E Escort. The problem with modifying cars is once you start you just can’t stop and it appears Jamie has got the bug.

Even though it is less than a month since our last shoot he has already added an air ride system and a custom front grille, this means that he was desperate to get some update images of it to show the before and after. Having suggested that he would like to shoot in London I found an idyllic location, the weather Monday evening was far from perfect and although I advised against it we still went out.

In-between the breaks in the rain we quickly shammied down the car and started shooting, the results were great despite the weather. Have a look at the gallery below:


Profusion Customs Ferrari Testarossa

Profusion Customs based just a stone throw away from Heathrow Airport are currently restoring this classic Ferrari Testarossa, this is from my first photoshoot with them as a build up to the RWB Porsche Project starting next month. A killer build is being made and I have been commissioned to record both the build video and the final stills. For those of you who are Need for Speed fans this isn’t to be missed.


Jamie’s Audi A6

Last Thursday evening I took a trip out with car enthusiast Jamie who runs the 2coolfordschool group on Facebook. Jamie is currently modifying a scary beast of a 100E however his daily drive is an Audi A6 Estate. Having just splashed out on some new 20″ rims for his car he asked to go and take some new shots of it, the results are below:


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