RODO - LIFESTYLE + COMMERCIAL
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
FOR PPE + WORKWEAR CLIENT

WORKWEAR PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR RODO LTD – AN ON-LOCATION BRAND PHOTOSHOOT CAPTURING PPE, HI-VIS, SAFETY FOOTWEAR + DECORATING ACCESSORIES IN USE ACROSS AN INDUSTRIAL LOCATION

THE BRIEF

This was a different kind of project for me to take on, but I couldn’t resist the challenge. I already shoot plenty of lifestyle photography for property and architecture clients, so taking on a product lifestyle photography brief wasn’t reaching that far.

The challenging part came in the scope of the project. Rodo needed someone who could take on the whole thing. A commercial photographer with model sourcing, location planning, knowledge of licensing and usage, props, call sheets, shoot schedules and shot planning all covered. Before I committed to working as a commercial photographer full-time, I worked on the project management side of shoots so I knew straight away how much that level of organisation counts. Good planning disappears when it's working. It's only noticeable when it isn't. 

Rodo needed a full-service commercial photoshoot for two of their partner brands, Blackrock Workwear and ProDec. The brief promised a lot of moving parts, which is usually a good sign. Both brands specialise in trade workwear, but with slightly different angles - Blackrock covers safety footwear, hi-vis and PPE, while ProDec is one of the biggest names in decorating tools and trade accessories in the UK and Ireland.

Naturally, the scope of the project increased quite a bit once we started to really get into the detail for the final brief. Rodo needed fresh product lifestyle photography for both brands, showing their products being used properly and in different combinations, but in a place that felt believable for the kind of work their customers do. 

The final images also had to work across the website, social channels, digital platforms and print, from brochures and catalogues through to wider marketing and brand content. Rodo had a detailed shot list from the start and a clear sense of what they wanted- the product had to be the hero, but the location had a big part to play too. They needed adaptable setups that could pass as a general worksite, rail yard, warehouse and builder’s yard - so we needed to find a location versatile enough to cover this range of industries.

THE PROCESS

Finding a suitable location was the first big hurdle. I initially considered hiring a location scout, but working with a limited budget I decided to do the legwork myself. 

Trafford Park was the obvious starting point. I'm based locally, so I know it well – old train tracks, industrial estates and warehouses are all part of the landscape around there. I spent a bit of time on Google Maps, then started exploring areas around Manchester and old Lancashire towns that once were centres of industry but have since been abandoned or left in disrepair. I was looking at all possibilities, finding lots of empty yards, warehouses, bits of railway, odd corners here and there that looked promising online but didn’t quite work in real life. I also tried a few developer contacts from previous jobs, but nothing landed. 

In the end, the answer came from the last place I expected. At the same time as doing this research, I was shooting a wedding at a semi-rural location just outside Manchester. Right next the venue was the owner’s farmyard. It was brimming with everything I was looking for: acres of old working farm buildings, big barns, heavy duty equipment, various machinery, and piles of railway sleepers. It had the grit and the scale, and it was flexible enough to cover all the different scenarios in the shot list. Exactly what we needed. And because it’s used as a wedding venue, there were also amenities that could be used by the crew and models.

At this stage, it became obvious that there were too many moving parts for me to manage alone. We had three models across two days, a long list of products, different model and product combinations, props to source, wardrobe details to check and a full shoot order to build. So I brought my assistant. Ophelia, on board to help run the schedule and shot list and help run the set on the shoot days. 

This is where multi-day commercial shoot management stops being invisible and becomes something to manage alongside the creative. Ophelia and I took the client’s shot list and turned it into a working shoot schedule, matching each scenario with the right location, model, product and props. We also had a few back ups ready; for an on-location brand photoshoot with this many products, people and setups involved, the shoot structure has to be flexible.

Planning is a huge part of successful commercial photography for brands. The organisation is what gives you the opportunity to be creative on the day. If everyone knows where they need to be and which product and setup comes next, everything becomes significantly easier to manage.

Both shooting days ran like a dream. We were really lucky with the weather, despite the forecast promising rain for most of the week. There were other surprises though, like peacocks and cats wandering into shots! Unfortunately they didn't make the final cut.
The client was clear about where they wanted to land stylistically. I needed to keep things close enough to the style of their previous shoots so the new images wouldn’t feel jarring alongside existing material. Equally they also wanted a fresh feel for some of the imagery, so there was room for creativity. 

I used some additional lighting to ensure the products held attention and exercised creative freedom with the model posing and shoot angles. Some setups were quite precise, especially where the product needed to sit or move in a specific way to demonstrate performance.  

RESPONSE

By the end of the two days, we had covered the full shot list and more, giving the client extra material perfect for their social channels. The final image set gave Rodo an extensive bank of fresh workwear product photography and product lifestyle photography. The final images show the products being used in believable settings, with enough visual consistency to work fluently across brochures and marketing but retaining enough variety to travel well across different platforms.

This job really showed the value of a full-service commercial photoshoot. The photography matters, obviously. But so does the location, the models, props, communication and above all else: the organisation. 

The key for running a job like this is to start with the end use and understand what the images need to do from the client’s perspective, then build the shoot around those priorities. On-location brand photoshoots are always a bit unpredictable, so the more solid the foundations you can start with, the more wiggle room you have to deal with anything unexpected.

From the enquiry through to the final delivery, this brief felt like a big project for me as a commercial photographer. Not just because of the scale, but because I was responsible for so many parts of it. Creative direction and production photography are often talked about as separate things, but on a brief like this they are inseparable.

If you are looking for commercial product photography for use across brochures, catalogues and marketing, or a commercial photographer with model sourcing and production experience, approaching a brief this in this way can make all the difference. The aim isn't just to make the products look good. It is to make sure the whole thing runs well and that everyone involved has a good experience of the process.

CONCLUSION

This Blackrock Workwear and ProDec shoot was a reminder that good commercial photography for brands is never just about the shoot day. A lot of the real work happens in the planning, the problem solving and the little bits of organisation that nobody really sees. Get those bits right, and everything on the day has a much better chance of being successful. 

It also reminded me that I actually enjoy that part of the job. To flex my project management muscles again felt good.