Bathgate Academy Prom 2015

I would like to say a huge "Thank You" to the staff and pupils at Bathgate Academy for commissioning me for their Prom.

It was, to say the least, a fun and frantic one and a half hours of shooting!

Fortunately, I had the luxury of lots of space to set up my mobile studio.

The end results:

Technical details:

For this shoot, I set up a standard white paper background and lit on either side with strobes in egg crates to keep the light spill to  minimum and focus the light on the background.

The background was set 2.5 stops higher than the main light to give a nice high key effect.

The main light was mounted on a large octabox on a boom arm and set slightly to the left of center to give nice even light but create some interesting shadows.

I used a Canon 5D MkII with a 70mm-200mm F2.8 II and triggered the flash heads using a Pocket Wizard Flex system.  Camera settings were ISO 200, F8 and 1/200.   All files were RAW format.

These settings gave me great flexibility in relation to depth of field - this was especially important when large groups were being shot at the same time to ensure everything was sharp.

This lens allowed me to quickly transition from full length to tight crop without having to change my camera position.

Total images shot: 387

Editing:
Lightroom for basic cropping and global adjustments to all images.
Lightroom for black and white conversions.
Lightroom for cataloging.
Photoshop to fine detail editing and cloning
All images backed up / archived to 2 independent drives

Please contact Elske Photography for your next project - elske@elske-photography.co.uk

Actor Shoot – Elske™ Photography Studio

I had the great pleasure recently of meeting and photographing Martin, Issy and Kier to update their actor portfolio images.

It was a busy day in the Elske™ Photography studio #elskephoto, as I wanted to get a diverse range of images for their agency and to fit in a few family shots at the end.

The studio lighting was initially set up for high key images – pure white background / flat front lighting / hair light on a snoot directly behind the subject to deliver the standard shots required by most agencies. 

In my studio, I always shoot tethered.  This provides a direct link between the camera and the computer to provide instant images on a large screen.  This is a great way for me to see in large format if I have captured the perfect image.  It is also a great way of giving feedback to the client on facial expressions and body position.

Once we had these standard images in the camera, I started to angle the main light to provide more drama by introducing shadow onto the face.  The introduction of shadow certainly added more character to the images and created a much stronger look for the client.

To finish the shoot, I changed to a black background to provide much more dramatic images.  The dark clothing worn by Martin further accentuated the drama.  These were by far my favourite images of the day.

The key to this (and all shoots) is engaging with your clients, being sympathetic to their needs and continually providing direction and encouragement throughout the shoot.  That way, your clients relax and you get to the real person and character underneath – this is what differentiates Elske™ Photography from the rest. 

Look out for Martin, Issy and Kier in the coming months – you will no doubt see them soon on stage or TV!

ELSKE™ has a simple philosophy

to deliver an exclusive photographic experience and create luxurious photographic wall art

#elskephoto

New Elske™ Branding Launched

New Elske™ Branding

ELSKE™ has a simple philosophy

to deliver an exclusive photographic experience and create luxurious photographic wall art

The creation of a new brand may seem like a simple task – create a logo and off you go…

Branding is MUCH more than the logo, it is the essence of the entire business.  We have created a consistent look and message throughout our digital and print media.

Why change?

The simple answer is that my schedule is very busy and I want my clients to get the very best service and products.

I therefore decided to do less commissions and deliver more to each client

Elske™ photography is here to deliver EXCLUSIVITY

·       Exclusive service – Elske™ Photography is 100% dedicated to you to ensure you are 100% happy with the images we make.  When you commission Elske™, you get my services for as long as you need me – 1 hour or 24 hours – you are the client.

·       Exclusive products – Elske™ Photography only use the very best photographic labs around the world to create luxurious photographic wall art.  All the products I offer to my clients are truly outstanding.

The main focus of Elske™ Photography is to deliver outstanding large format wall art to my clients.  I can also provide the images in other print formats as required by the client – let me know what you need.

Please check the new website at www.elske-photography.co.uk or

contact me directly at elske@elske-photography.co.uk

I would like to say a huge “Thank You” to Frank and Paul at The Wee Creative Company in Glasgow, Scotland www.weecreative.co.uk for all their help and creative assistance with the new Elske™ Photography branding.  They are an outstanding agency that I highly recommend to all.

VIP Corporate Shoot – President Shintaku, TERUMO Corporation, Japan

Elske™ Photography was recently commissioned to work again for the medical device company Vascutek Ltd., a TERUMO Company.  

This was a corporate shoot to commemorate the visit of the parent company’s President Shintaku.  TERUMO Corporation www.terumo.com has headquarters in Tokyo and is one of the biggest medical device companies in the world and it was a great honour for the President to visit.

As usual in Scotland in February, the weather was against us in getting the images for the client.  President Shintaku was on a very tight schedule and I got exactly 1 minute to get the images for the client.  I scoped out the venue to find possible areas for photos and, after consultation with the client, we settled on images outside the main entrance.  This would allow the images to include the company logo.

This is clearly an occasion where prior preparation is key.  All camera settings and flash settings were checked and double-checked to ensure perfect exposure.  Test shots were taken to define the best position for me to stand to capture the clients and the company logo.

Fortunately, the weather was kind to me for 5 minutes and I was ready to shoot when the clients exited the building. 

The client was delighted with the images and has subsequently used these on internal and external communications.

Please contact me for your corporate image requirements

elske@elske-photography.co.uk

VIP - TERUMO Corporation President Shintaku (Center)