Saturday January 28th, 2012
It’s not enough to show great pictures. Expressing yourself with the right words will help clients get to know you better and feel comfortable working with you.
I’m excited to announce that we’ve recently added a new page to the Cog’s Consulting: Copywriting & Publicity. After many requests for help with promo copy, bio rewrites and general PR related materials, we decided it was time to officially set up shop. So, if you’re in need of some copy, shoot me an email with your project description. Also, keep checking back as we’ve got more recent project examples coming soon.
We’re currently offering the following services:
- Biographies
- Website Copy
- Print/Email Promo Copy
- Press Releases
- Media Alerts
- Copy Editing
- English Translations
You can also get a head start on an updated biography by reading Expert Advice: The Photographers Bio. Need more than just copywriting help? Check out all of our services offered on the Consulting page.
- Maria Luci
Friday January 27th, 2012
Why wedding photographer prices are “Wack.”
Pale face premiere: A celebration of terrible 1990s red carpet photography.
Process your own negatives…with your brain!
Taking shadow puppets to a whole new level.
Failed attempts at sexy in photos.
A last-minute stand-in for Justin Timberlake took the "sexy" out of "SexyBack." photo by Jodi Jones/New York
Facebook threatens to sue…Mark Zuckerberg?
Star Wars Uncut.
Luckily, someone had a spare Landspeeder available for the project. photo by Douglas Sonders/Washington DC
Copywriting tip from David Ogilvy.
One small step for sushi; one giant leap for sushikind.
A day at the zoo.
The camera adds ten pounds; so keep your models fit with exercise. photo by Adam Voorhes/Austin
The $42 logo.
Behind the photographs.
Photographers Update:
- Maria Luci
Thursday January 26th, 2012
When the CEO of Seattle-based gift company Compendium booked his trip to Italy, he had no idea he would return with the idea for their latest children’s book, ABC Menagerie.
While in Italy, Compendium’s CEO stumbled upon artist Elena Targioni. Taken with her beautiful, soft and whimsical sculptures, he bought one and brought it back to Seattle for inspiration. According to the Compendium team, the sculptures, “awakened a child’s sense of wonder and delight” and they knew they had to find some way to use them. So, some brainstorming later, Compendium had their latest book idea down—an ABC children’s book based around Elena’s sculptures. Once the stories were down and the animals created, there was just one thing left to do: find the right photographer to bring these creatures to life.
Right away, the Compendium team hit the internet and scoured websites for the perfect still life photographer. Eventually, they came across Hank Drew, a talented Seattle-based product shooter. After contacting him about the project, Hank was happy to jump on board and soon began the four day stuffed animal shoot.
This was the first book Hank had ever been involved shooting, but the shots themselves were fairly typical for him, “as far as making something look beautiful on white.” However, the subject matter was unique for Hank, as he usually photographs cosmetics, jewelry, food or shoes.
To get the look, Hank and his team put together a simple table top set and began shooting,
It started off pretty loose. They knew they wanted it to be really clean and simple to let the sculptures speak for themselves. I worked with the designer, Heidi Rodriguez, on how we were going to shoot them. We decided all white was the best approach. I did some testing with different types of white backgrounds and came up with this soft frosted plexi. I had lots of creative freedom and it was very much a collaborative effort.
The challenge was in styling the animals. They were very organic and needed some extra help bringing their “personality” out. There was a fair amount of rigging involved with each animal.
Behind the scenes photos by Heidi Rodriguez
The shoot atmosphere was fun and laid back. According to Hank, the crew made sure to read the “back stories” on each animal before photographing them: “we all had fun referring to them by name and not just this one or that one.”
Compendium was “super happy” with the final photos; as is Hank. The result of everyone’s hard work is a beautiful children’s book that can be enjoyed for years to come. But the best part for Hank is that he gets to share his photography with his 2-year-old. “Whenever she sees it, she says, ‘That’s Daddy’s book.’ ”
View more of Hank’s work on his website, hankdrew.com. ABC Menagerie is available here.
- Maria Luci
