WORKPLACE + COMMERCIAL LIFESTYLE
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR MANCHESTER
CREATIVE AGENCY DINSOAUR
CLIENT FEEDBACK
"STEVE IS A JOY TO WORK WITH—SUPER FRIENDLY AND EASYGOING, MAKING THE WHOLE PROCESS ENJOYABLE. WE WANTED TO CAPTURE OUR TEAM AUTHENTICALLY AND CREATIVELY, AND STEVE’S OBSERVATIONAL STYLE NAILED IT. HE BROUGHT OUR MOOD BOARD TO LIFE EFFORTLESSLY, TAKING THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND EVERY DETAIL. WITH LOTS OF CONTENT TO GET THROUGH, STEVE CAPTURED EVERYTHING AND SEAMLESSLY BECAME PART OF OUR TEAM. WE HAD A BLAST! THE SHOOT WAS SMOOTH, COMMUNICATION WAS SPOT-ON, AND THE QUALITY EDITS WERE DELIVERED QUICKLY. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND STEVE.
FROM ALL OF US AT DINOSAUR, THANK YOU."
THE BRIEF
PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE AGENCY, SHOWCASING THEIR SPACE AND THE TEAM, CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF THEIR VIBRANT WORKPLACE CULTURE.
I love working with creative agencies. Not just because they tend to be my kind of people or because they usually have good coffee. Generally working with a creative agency means collaboration. They're creatives so it's inevitable that they are going to come armed with ideas, suggestions, mood boards and crucially a good brief.
Dinosaur – a Manchester creative agency – came to me looking for commercial lifestyle photography that would capture their personality. They also wanted workplace and commercial interiors photography to show off their awesome workspace and how they make use of it day-to-day.
As a Manchester freelance commercial photographer I've worked closely with creative agencies for many years. The majority of the time they focus their creative energy on their clients, but they also need to make sure their own brand and marketing photography is up to date and relevant. Dinosaur believed my style of candid corporate photography would be right to help them do this.
PROCESS
I worked closely with the team right from the start. We had a face-to-face in their studio, situated in the grade II listed former warehouse – 86 Princess Street in Manchester. This kick-off meeting was crucial to understand their personalities and meet some of the team. I also got to have a nose around the space and start planning specific shots around the best light.
The creative team at Dinosaur shared their ideas with me which I loved and straightaway I could see how my style and approach would work for this brief. Words were flying around like 'relaxed, informal, fun, authentic, candid and observational'. They wanted to showcase the unique period features that have been retained in the interior design of their studio, but subtly – as a background to the commercial lifestyle photography capturing their creative process and relaxed interactions.
The collaborative approach worked perfectly. They gave me a clear brief that outlined some specific shots but also left room for interpretation. They assigned a member of their creative team to manage the shoot from their side: gather the right people, help set up rooms, move props / plants etc when needed and keep the shoot on track throughout the day. This was incredibly helpful so a big shout out to Charly for this.
RESPONSE
Dinosaur talked a lot about personality. The agency, the people, the studio and even the building, they all needed to be represented through the photography. Using natural light as much as possible was key. Embracing shadows and shooting through items in the foreground to add context and depth to the shots, all help give a sense of place to what it's like working in this classic Manchester warehouse office space.
Other than creating scenarios for the team to play around with in the frame, very little direction was given (other than for the final wide shot of their huge open-plan studio). I tried to let people be themselves and relax.
The other ingredient was movement. It's quite a large office space so we incorporated a lot of walking, gesturing, laughing* and interacting into the shoot, to represent the vitality and vibrancy of the agency.
* No laughs were forced in the making of this work.
COULD YOUR AGENCY DO WITH SOME FRESH NEW BRAND PHOTOGRAPHY?
DO YOU HAVE GOOD COFFEE IN YOUR STUDIO?? (NOT A DEAL BREAKER).