Cameras and Cocktails

On-location commercial photography

1st location on a long but successful day

Commercial photography is all about creating images with the very specific purpose of promoting and marketing products and services. I love the variety and challenge that it often presents, the planning and pre-production required to make it successful, also the teamwork and collaboration between the client and photographer. 

Another thing I love is a cool drink on a sunny beach (who doesn’t?), so when i was approached to shoot some of the worlds best flair bartenders making cocktails on a beach to showcase the Portabar system, I felt like the planets had aligned!

OK, so I specialise in architecture and interior design photography which might sound like a far cry from shooting a bar, BUT, the intent shares many similarities: images that capture the design itself, detailed elements, materiality, functionality and utility. The big difference is that unlike most of my subjects, this one can be moved about and that was a key element of the brief: to showcase the versatility of the Portabar in where it can be set up, but also how it can be quickly customised to take on different looks, thanks to their clever modular system and magnetic decorative panels.

Directing the shoot here in Portugal was Tom Dyer, a world champ Flair bartender (!). Portabar wanted to have their product set up in a variety of stunning locations which we are lucky to have in abundance here around Lisbon. A number of locations were decided, a team assembled to make it happen and shot list decided upon through liaison with Caroline at Portabar UK. Other considerations were location access, transport, timings on the day, props and staging, tides and weather.

Planning is everything on shoots like this as the ability to improvise on-the-fly when needed - That was true right from the off. Despite the perfect forecast for location no.1 (a wonderfully wild ocean beach), shortly after setting up the bar, the fog came in… The collective decision was to press on, select the bar facade that matched the mood and environment and make a few changes to my shooting approach (strobes now needed). The result: probably my favourite images from the day! That fog really added some drama to the scene. 

Over the next 8 hours or so, the sun came out and we set up in three different locations, staging and shooting 5 different variations on the bar design with Tom, Patricia, Travis and Luis all doing incredible things with bottles, spirits and glasses bringing the energy to the shoot and making some incredible cocktails (yes, I did sample a few). The best bit was that Portabar were delighted with the outcome. Mission accomplished! 

If you need to showcase your product, design, space or place in a way that makes heads turn, I would love to help out. I hope to speak with you soon. Cheers!

Unsung heroes

Details: filling in the gaps

Stairway alternative view

One of the “jobs” of an architecture photographer as I see it, is to throw a spotlight onto the elements of design that get missed as we all rush about in our busy day, heading to meetings, chatting to friends, or checking messages on the go. We take in our surroundings in different ways and our brains regularly fill in the detail that we didn’t quite have time to explore, but the designs, structures and buildings that we walk past are the sum of their parts, big and small that have been carefully considered and painstakingly installed to create the finished article. They are like unsung heroes and it is often these smaller details that I search for when I explore and photograph the built environment. Once you start looking for these details, you can’t unsee them! 

Sometimes these elements are in themselves little works of art. Other times, a bit of creativity in composition is needed to highlight that they exist at all. Finding repeating patterns, strong geometrical relationships, texture in materials, reflections or advantageous light can all help to amplify these aspects of a design whether they were intended to be viewed in this way or a happy accident. Taking the time to walk through, in and around the subject can reveal these little gems but crucially help to plan how to show them off in the best way - lens choice, camera position, time of day, interplay with people, use of supplemental light (or blocking it), post-processing are some of the tools I use and the decisions I make to help others see what they might otherwise miss.

Of course in cases of commissioned work, there is a brief to follow which will vary depending on the goal that my client is aiming for. In capturing architecture photographs of a large infrastructure project, public space or residence, usually the hero is the whole structure or large elements of it. For interior design photography in the hospitality sector, the finer luxurious details and furnishings help to entice customers to visit and can form a larger proportion of the shot list. 

Architecture requires careful attention to details, and therefore photographing it needs that same level of consideration to deliver a set of images that celebrates those details. My job is to help others see your designs the way you intended.

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Clear Space Photography now based in Lisbon, Portugal!

All change! Well, quite a lot of changes in the last few months, the main one being a full relocation to Portugal and the wonderful city of Lisbon. It has been a long standing aspiration for myself and my wife to sample another, different life and after first visiting Lisbon 4 years ago, the city has been on our radar as a place to move to. Fast froward to 2019 and after several reconnoissance visits, lots of research and soul searching, we have done it.

I can’t pretend it has been easy, especially leaving friends and family, but our new life has only just begun, we are a couple of months in and our little apartment in Carcavelos (on the coast, 20 minutes out of the city centre) feels like home. Spike (our ageing Boston Terrier) loves the sun and the beach and we are ploughing through all the administration tasks necessary with any relocation - just made that bit more challenging as we can’t speak any Portuguese (but we are working to try and change that)!

So the move means that Clear Space has moved too and is now operating as a freelance business serving Lisbon and the surrounding areas. Economic growth in the region, a progressive approach to architecture/design and a buoyant tourism sector across Portugal all represent opportunities for Clear Space to assist businesses and brands through the creation of photographic content that tells their story with impact. 

I am excited to forge new relationships and collaborations and take advantage of THAT light (I am not missing those grey days…).

If you’d like to connect to discuss photographic ideas, enquire about commissions or just to find out how my language skills are coming along, please get in touch. Obrigado!