Tag commercial photographer

So this shoot was a bit different!

“What about using a model and snake on a green screen I heard myself saying out loud?” Brain storming ideas with the creative director of a new local company who hasn’t launched it’s product we came up with a plan.

Little did I know the make-up artist had a snake phobia so we had to make sure we kept them separate. I was a little bit worried as being an animal lover I didn’t want the Snake to be stressed in anyway so I set about reading up about keeping snakes warm, the signs of a stressed Snake and probably one of the most important things what to do if the Snake attacks. We had been reassured by the very experienced Snake handlers that ‘Hisss’ would be very docile and relaxed and they would know if she was showing signs of stress and would remover her, even so I thought I better read up just in case!

Being a Boa Constrictor she doesn’t have venom but will have nasty inward angled sharp teeth to grip her prey as she constricts them to death (Cats are so nice in comparison!). I read if a Snake bites you can dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol and rub it along the gums of the snakes mouth they cannot stand the taste and will generally let go. Hmmm, the more I read the more concerned I started to be so I stopped reading and focused on planning the shoot.

The shoot went brilliantly, I was wary at first when I asked the handler if she had eaten (the Snake) and he said she hadn’t! “and that’s okay?” I asked. After Matt had explained to me what her eating habits were I could see that ‘Hisss’ was indeed a very chilled out Snake, not that I know but she did seem very relaxed. I was encouraged to hold her, I hesitated at first but so glad I did, she was heavy, cold, smooth and I could hear her hiss which was a little unnerving but apparently all normal. The handlers were brilliant and the model loved Snakes so she was more than happy to have ‘Hisss’ wrap around her body…in a good way of course!

Thomasin is an image and style consultant who is based in Essex but works with clients all over, she wanted some images of herself to use on her social media and website which showed a mixture of themes from the classic smiling head shot to her playing around with different styles and looks to tell a bit of a story about what it is she does for others. Please read more about her here and find out how she can help you to ‘look good and feel great’.

Metallic Elephant are an amazing local engineering company who build and supply foil printing machines to companies like Jaguar, Radley of London and The Cambridge Satchel Company  (which btw sells gorgeous leather Satchels and bags). They are having a new website designed and needed some new images for their website so as well as spending a day at their factory photographing various processes I also did a range of studio shots for them.  

Wow that was a busy summer of photography, I am not complaining I have loved every minute of it. My work is so varied it never gets boring one day I am shooting a tiny little newborn only a few days old the next I am taking a portrait of a CEO of a London legal firm. Even the product photography can become absorbing and all consuming, in my work I am a perfectionist so the devil really is in the detail.

Take the Wedding flowers I shoot, its not all about he composition and getting the lighting right, its about every leaf and every petal looking the best it can look.

Life is pretty messy when you look at it close up on your PC screen, leaves and petals have nibbles, holes, growths, fungus, bugs, rips, colour variations all have to spotted,studied and corrected as part of my editing process. I don’t really like gardening but I do love nature and its beautiful patterns and design.

Here’s a few shots from my most recent Wedding Flowers & Accessories Magazine shoot.

Thanks for looking, for more info on my product photography please go to my website which tells you more about my commercial assignments Lindsay Wakelin Photography.