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This is what happens when a graphics project won't fit on our Quality Check table - we proof it on the showroom floor! (See Nancy and Dagmar near the front counter for scale.) Kudos to Prevedello Hettick Marketing Company for the art direction and Sasha from the Imagine design team for this strong banner design for Kia of El Cajon, California.


Here it is hung up at the California Kia dealership where it is viewable from a freeway, like a billboard without the monthly fee!  And by the way, this sweet looking Kia Soul has the squarish profile which makes it a great candidate for a graphics wrap. (hint, hint....) :)

Gibson Holders has high aspirations for this new product: the Fold & Go iPad holder. To fuel their marketing plan, they needed illustrative photography for website, advertising and future trade show signage. Photos that show at a glance, how the product works in a wide variety of situations. Here are some of the shots Steve captured for the marketing of this versatile product.

To see more product photography, both in the studio and on location, visit Steve's portfolio.

Watching designs become full scale graphics every day is so satisfying. One day we have a color proof (like the one above) for Volcanic Mineral Refresher to see, and soon after, we have a full size pop up display (like the one below) and retractable banner stands (off to the side below) in our showroom waiting to be picked up or shipped. It's a lot of fun.

We all love new high-tech toys, especially when they make it easier to do our job to the utmost. That's what we've found with Imagine Photographics' new iPad. These new-ish Apple tablet style devices are light-weight and easy to hold, and sport a gorgeous 9.7" high resolution color screen. Here's a client using the iPad on a location shoot for some architectural imagery.



For years we've had a state-of-the-art real-time link up from the digital camera to a computer monitor so clients can see the photo on a big screen seconds after it's been shot. It's really awesome. Think of how much more you can discern when looking at a photo sized to fill a computer monitor compared to squinting at that little 3 inch screen on the back of a camera. And there's no waiting for the photographer to upload the images from a memory card or process the images in any way. He shoots it and it appears on the big screen. Presto!

Seeing it big lets you know exactly what adjustments need to be made, and seeing it big right away, while the shoot is happening, makes for a highly efficient way to get the best possible photo. Seeing the image big right away lets you make adjustments to your model or your product or to re-style any aspect of the shot. No second round of photos needed. No need to come back for another try at getting the perfect shot. You leave your photo shoot knowing you've gotten just the shot you need.

But all that technology used to require that the client be positioned behind the monitor where they could see the shots enlarged as they were happening. And sometimes being behind the monitor on its mobile cart or behind the laptop screen is not the best vantage point for what's going on in the studio or on location at a photo shoot. The iPad solves all that for an even better art-directing experience. Now with the bright portable iPad screen tethered wirelessly to the camera, clients can hold the iPad in their hands as they roam anywhere around the shoot, and see both the shots the camera is getting and see the subject matter from whatever angle is most advantageous. It adds a lot of flexibility. And it's really fun and cool too!

The first few clients who've gotten to use our iPad in this way have raved about how much easier it is for them to collaborate with the photography process and give direction to the photographers. And everyone likes a new toy!

I have headed up Imagine Group's marketing efforts for many years. In that time, I have overseen the development of many beautiful postcards, ads, and web pages. I have worked with the excellent graphic artists and copywriters, and had great outcomes. And still, there is something uniquely thrilling about getting to be the "art director" of a photo shoot.

 

Watching Steve and Jacob work seamlessly with barely a word, to move equipment and props around in the studio to get the light just right is always impressive. Watching Steve get that gleam in his eye when he thinks of something that would improve the shot and then seeing him rapidly shift his vantage point or the lens he's using or whatever, is like watching creativity itself. And just being in that dark, somewhat mysterious space of the photography studio and watching the images appear on the laptop screen only seconds after they've been shot, so we can make minute adjustments right away, is so very cool. Magic happens, and I get to be a part of it. There's nothing quite like it.

 

This is a behind the scenes glimpse at a shoot Steve did for me recently. We drove our newly wrapped Imagine Fleet Graphics vehicle right into the studio and Anne was our model for the day. Below is the shot we ended up with, that we now have on our website and in our showroom and the ad that just came out in Blue Chip. Pretty sweet, huh?!

And here are a few other behind-the-scenes peeks into the photography studio during a shoot.

 

 

The first is from a shoot we did for Burley, of their cool new cargo trailer, the Travoy. Don and Jamie from Cappelli Miles were the art directors there. The second is a shoot for Dari Mart, with art direction by Cawood Communications. Lots of teens, kids, and adults were enjoying milk, egg nog, ice cream cones and banana splits that day!  It's never a dull moment over there at the studio.

Having professional photography as the "feedstock" for our marketing efforts has dramatically improved how we are able to present ourselves to the world. And who knew getting the photos made would be so much fun!