To be honest I was only at the AgriScot 2012 business farming event at Ingliston in Edinburgh in a back-room capacity helping my father out processing and wiring photographs to Scottish and national newspaper and trade magazines. Suffice to say I ended up photographing a well attended NFU press conference with cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead. Couldn’t help myself shooting a few candid shots as well once our pics were wired – all on a 50mm lens at f1.2.
I am a Commercial & PR photographer working throughout Scotland & the UK. I shoot extensively in the agriculture, food production and rural affairs sectors, photographing for some of the UK's top companies and brands. My PR work regularly appears in the national and trade press in Britain and throughout Europe. To discuss your next commercial or PR photography brief please get in touch using the contact tab.
Blog
Wedding shoe product photography for Arabesque
I’ve spent the last couple of days in the studio photographing these gorgeous wedding shoes made by Diane Hassall for my client (and wife!) Arabesque. The images are for use on her e-commerce website and blog. The setup is reasonably straightforward, we photograph all the shoes as pairs, then as singles, then re-rig the lighting and shoot the toe caps rostrum. While we’re set up we shoot various pairs with a little bit more space around them so that theses images can be used in advertising campaigns throughout the year. Lighting is kept reasonably simple too and all ratios and camera settings are retained so that there is consistency when we next shoot products for the site.
Food photography for the Dalmore Inn
Here’s a small selection of photographs from a shoot last night at the Dalmore Inn just outside of Blairgowrie. I rigged a simple lighting setup in the kitchen and photographed the dishes as they came off the pass before they headed in to the restaurant. As such, there wasn’t an awful lot of time to play with so the pressure was on to get the shots right in a couple of frames. I opted to shoot this on a standard 50mm lens to retain a realistic perspective with the dishes and shot everything form the same camera position to maintain consistency in the series.
High volume photo processing
Me and the kids are pretty much hooked on the ‘How it’s Made’ series of programmes. We usually watch a couple of them while sitting eating morning snack. We’re well versed on how peanut butter, nutella, frozen chips and fish fingers are made but this week we moved from food stuffs and I found this video behind the scenes in a very high volume photo processing lab. Despite having processed colour film and prints in the past I had no idea of the scale and automation of these big players in the photo finishing business. It’s quite interesting and only lasts five minutes!
Agricultural brochure photography for Claas UK combine harvesters
Here’s a small selection of agricultural commercial photography I shot for Claas UK combine harvesters. The shoot took place over two days in Northumberland and Aberdeenshire and was commissioned by Four Seasons PR for Claas UK’s combine harvester brochures. The brief was the same for both locations; to photograph the combines with a nice clean background and also shoot some environmental portraits of the respective farmers with machinery and branding in shot. The shoots were captured with available light exposing for the shadows to create nice, simple images and were processed in Lightroom. Where possible I shot in to the light to create a bit of wraparound lighting. Both combines were shot with a relatively long lens from a good distance back and from a low camera angle to emphasise the top line of the machinery. You can view all the images here on my image archive site or scroll to the bottom of the post to view a slideshow.
Pitcorthie House, Fife architectural & interiors photography
I’m a huge fan of mid to late 20th century design and architecture and it was an absolute treat to stay at Pitcorthie House, near Elie in Fife for a week with my family. The property was designed by world-renowned architect Trevor Dannatt and completed in 1968. The sequence of images below are non-commissioned and form part of my archive of personal work. They were all shot with a 14mm prime lens at a fixed aperture so there’s consistency between the shots and were steadied using a monopod – a tool I use in much of my photography, although I usually photograph architecture and interiors using a tripod – but not on holiday! If you’d like to experience Pitcorthie House for yourself then click here to book it – I thoroughly recommend it!
56,000 gns Charolais bull sells at Perth in 1989
One of the things I love most about social media is stumbling over footage like this. It popped up on my Facebook wall today having been shared by Robert Smith at CTN Media. It shows top price charolais bull Maerdy Director going through the ring at Caledonian Market in Perth and selling for 56,000 gns. I was 18 years old and still remember the thrill of standing at the back of the ring as the bidding went on and on and on! I was there shooting with my father, for various newspapers and as I recall would have been shooting a Nikon F2 with a 35mm f2.8 and a roll of XP1. We would have rushed back to the darkroom to process this then make hand prints, caption them then rush in to Dundee to get the photos on the train to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow before dropping a print in to the Courier, then still on Bank Street I think. Happy days? You bet!
NSA & Textiles Scotland catwalk couture at the Royal Highland Show 2012
Here’s a small selection of images photographed at the NSA & Textiles Scotland catwalk couture fashion show at the Royal Highland Show a few weeks back. I didn’t have this booked in to my diary but I was passing the NSA Marquee on my way back to the press room and it was just about to start so I popped in out of the rain and grabbed a few shots for the RHASS, one of my main commercial photography clients at the show. Some of the labels shown on the catwalk were 21st Century Kilts, Angela Cassidy, Alex Begg & Co, Brooks Brothers, Di Gilpin, Eribe, Iona Crawford, Jaggy Nettle, Johnstons of Elgin, Jo Storie, Joyce Paton, Judy R Clark, Kiltpin, Obscure Couture and Slanj Kilts.
All the shots were captured with available light, exposing for shadow detail and I brushed in a touch of exposure in Lightroom to give them an extra pop.
Tourism photography & environmental portraits
I previewed this commercial photography shoot here a few weeks back and have only just got round to blogging it now. I was commissioned to photograph some commercial tourism photography & environmental portraits by Martyn Steedman at Mains Farm Wigwams not far from Stirling in Central Scotland. I arrived around an hour before guests were due to check in so interior photographs of wigwams could be captured without disrupting business and also so we could get some natural shots of guests arriving and settling in.
I’m pretty approachable and think I communicate well with people so as I worked my way around the site, people were more than happy to be photographed. This resulted in a set of natural and realistic photographs of activity as it actually happened – far better in my opinion to me setting up staged shots which can end up looking a bit strained and awkward.
Part of the brief was to photograph members of Martyns team. As always, I start with the largest group then work back down to the smallest so that people can get back to work with the minimum of disruption. I ended up shooting a couple of options on the group shot; one around a tractor which gave me the opportunity to play with placing people at different heights. The other was very straight, shot in to a farm building with just a little kiss of light from behind. As the faces are all on the same plane, this shot would crop well for cover photos on Facebook or the like. I photographed Martyn and his wife in the barn as well as the light, although there wasn’t too much of it, was really quite nice. I also took this opportunity to grab some shots on film which should be back any day now.
All the photographs were shot with available light, exposing for the shadow area and any detail recovered in Lightroom. I used VSCO to apply a film emulation to the shots just to take the digital edge off them and bring the greens out a touch. Below are a small selection of what was shot. There is a slideshow of all the images at the foot of the post or alternatively you can view the full set here on my image archive.
Go Rural Scotland launch day event photography
Here’s a small selection of event photography from last weeks Go Rural Scotland launch at Glamis Castle. It’s not so long ago that I photographed their inaugural meeting at Craigies Farm just outside Edinburgh and I cannot believe the progress they have made in such a short space of time – quite remarkable! You can view that shoot here. I was booked to shoot all day and started off by photographing their amazing Go Rural cow branding in situ at the Castle then captured a fleet of vehicles kindly supplied by AM Phillip including a custom branded Go Rural Isuzu 4×4 which looked the business!
I then left with the fleet of 4×4′s to pick up the days invited MSP’s members and guests who had travelled on train from Edinburgh to Dundee and we travelled back to Glamis via a quick stop off at Craigowl Hill which affords the most amazing 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside – on a good day that is… Visibility was down to around 20 – 30 feet I reckon thanks to very low lying cloud / fog. Not at all what the organisers had in mind! Upon arriving back at the Castle, there was a drinks reception followed by a presentation of the scheme by Go Rural directors. This was held in the 16th century vaulted ceiling part of the castle and the light was pretty poor. Rather than deliver poor colour images to a client, I prefer to convert them to strong black and white photos, using VSCO emulations for the conversions.
Lunch was served in a marquee with all the produce coming from the local area. I shot details and food shots as well as wider environmental shots of guests interacting and enjoying the fare. Speeches were followed by press shots in front of the Castle built around the all important branding. These shots were edited and delivered back to the client within 90 minutes so they could wire them out to the relevant picture desks for publication next day.
Commercial & event photography Scotland for Morrisons Supermarkets
Here’s a small selection of commercial photography I shot for Morrisons Supermarkets at the this years Royal Highland Show event in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was assigned to photograph two events as well as shooting some general photographs of activity and interaction with visitors to their trade stand. As per my approach, I photographed using only ambient light and metered for the shadows to produce nice bright images despite the lack of available light at the show this year. You can view the full set here on my archive site or scroll to the bottom of the post to view a slideshow of all photography.
This is why I use Richard Photo Lab
Did I say I still photograph using medium format film? I love it! I photograph the majority of my wedding work using a Contax 645AF camera along side a little bit of digital capture. I shoot film for some of my commercial and PR photography clients too – but only when there’s no impending deadlines… When I came back to photographing with film, I tried out the usual labs here in the UK and to be honest, wasn’t all that happy with the scans I was getting back. So after a little bit of research online I stumbled upon Richard Photo Lab in Holywood, USA. They have an impressive client list, processing many of the worlds top film photographers so I tried them out. Suffice to say, they now handle all my film and produce consistent scans that I adore! Here’s a video from the people over at Framed Network where they go behind the scenes at RPL and see what makes them the best lab in the world! It gets interesting around 8 minutes in. Enjoy!
Corporate photography for Lloyds TSB / Bank of Scotland
I was commissioned to photograph this corporate PR shoot for Bank of Scotland / Lloyds TSB agricultural divisions by Jane Craigie Marketing at the Royal Highland Show last week. The commission was split in to three shoots over the course of the first day of the show. First off was a business breakfast hosted by Lloyds TSB farming ambassador, Adam Henson. My brief was to photograph candid shots of those present around the table, placing emphasis on Adam and senior members from the banks. As per my style, the shoot was captured using available light (there wasn’t too much of that around this year at the show) so I opted for my Canon 135mm f2. This lens is perfect in situations like this; it allows me to put some distance between me and my subject so’s not to intrude and it also has a very fast, wide aperture that sucks in light and renders backgrounds nice and diffused. The second shoot of the day was to photograph the Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore with Adam Henson. The pair were directed in front of some branded pop-up displays and were photographed on a 50mm lens chatting with each other followed by a couple of pics to camera. Michael Moore then met with senior members from Lloyds TSB and I photographed them on a combination of 50 & 135mm lenses. Last job of the day was a quick setup with Head of Agriculture, Sandy Hay, Adam and Chief Exec of RHASS, Stephen Hutt. Available light inside had dropped significantly by this point so I photographed them outside under a few branded umbrellas. By exposing for shadow detail, despite the fact that the light is flat and it’s pouring with rain there is still a good amount of life to this photograph.
Tourism photography & environmental portraiture – Just a wee preview
I photographed this commercial job a few days before I headed off on holiday to Cornwall and although editing and delivering it to the client – Mains Farm Wigwams, I haven’t had the time to blog it in full, so here’s one of my favourites for the time being. Full blog post of environmental portraiture and tourism photography to follow – but probably after a hectic old week photographing at the Royal Highland Show! PS, check out the St. Moritz hotel in Cornwall – thoroughly recommend it!
PR photography with Aviva & Perth Racecourse
Last week I shot what has to be the wettest PR photo shoot of the year so far. Consequently, it was also one of the quickest as neither my clients or I wanted to hang around longer than was necessary in the pouring rain! The shoot was to promote Aviva’s sponsorship of the Perth Gold Cup race meeting at Perth Racecourse later on this month and was photographed by the instantly recognisable bridge crossing the river Tay in the centre of Perth. I’d intended to work with a 135mm lens for this shoot but due to the conditions I ended up shooting with a 50mm so I could communicate easier (and quicker) with my clients and wrap the shoot up nice and quick. As usual, I exposed for the shadows to create a light, airy appearance without mucking around with flash and potentially flattening out the faces. You’ll see from the pics below that a badge magically disappears from Sam’s lapel in one of the frames. It was created in Photoshop and added in at the request of the PR agency – an easy 15 minute retouch post-shoot.
Recent PR Photography tear-sheets
Here’s a selection of digital tear-sheets from a recent PR photo shoot I photographed for Go Rural! that was commissioned by Jane Craigie Marketing around a month ago. You can view the original blog post here which shows more of the photographs and discusses the brief for the shoot. If you click on the relevant screen grab it will take you to the source website.
PR Photography for Perth Racecourse
It was a very miserable morning when I turned up to Perth Racecourse a few weeks back for a PR photo-shoot commissioned by View Marketing to promote their forthcoming Ladies Day race meeting. Despite the inclement weather, the bulk of the photographs were captured with available light. There’s a dink of flash in one shot which was necessary when the ambient dropped by a further stop at one point during the shoot but other than that we shot with what was there. In keeping with my usual style, I exposed all the shots for shadows and recovered any loss of detail in Lightroom. Simple, uncomplicated and natural PR photography, even if it was pouring with rain!
Royal Highland Show Press & PR Photography
I cannot believe that it’s that time of the year again! Today I’ve been culling images from my commercial photography archive site from last years Royal Highland Show at Ingliston in Edinburgh. The Show’s been a regular fixture in my diary for a number of years now and along side providing photographic coverage for the Royal Highland Agricultural Society some of last years commercial photography clients included Vion Food Group, Claas UK, Tennent Caledonian Brewers, Royal Highland Educational Trust, Watson Seeds and Deans of Huntly.
PR photography for Go Rural Scotland
I was commissioned by Jane Craigie Marketing to photograph the launch meeting of newly formed Go Rural Scotland at Craigie’s Farm just South of Edinburgh. The brief was to photograph an engaging group shot of the Go Rural team and partner members for Scottish and UK newspapers, magazines and agricultural trade press. I photographed some candid ‘business’ shots of the group while they had a meeting, isolating them a large aperture and shallow depth of field to create some atmosphere to the shots. In the evening they held a presentation to a number of potential businesses which I captured in quite poor light, so these shots were converted to black and white – when light isn’t great I prefer to present clients with strong mono photographs rather than lesser colour versions. These images were processed using a VSCO action in Lightroom to emulate an Ilford B/W film emulsion. You can view the full set on my commercial photography archive site or scroll down to the bottom of the post to view a slideshow.
Agricultural PR Photography for Bank of Scotland
I was commissioned by Jane Craigie Marketing to photograph this PR job for the Bank of Scotland. Gwen & Andy Peddie farm just outside of Anstruther in Fife, Scotland and are currently building a luxury caravan park which you can view here. Being so early in their building works, there wasn’t too much to work with so I sought out both low and high vantage points to add a bit of interest to the photographs and employed wide apertures to isolate them in the frame. This was one of the first commercial / PR shots that I shot a few frames of medium format film. There are a couple of them below, easily picked out with the warmer balance. Feel free to check out all the pictures here on my commercial photography archive site.
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