North East Commercial Photographer | Middlesbrough Creative Marketing Agency The Creative Alchemist

I am asked to do commercial photography for many North East PR and marketing agencies, and I was pleased when long-time contact and managing director Lisa Holt chose me to take the photographs to publicise her new company, Teesside-based The Creative Alchemist.

Based at the Boho One building in Middlesbrough, Lisa needed photos to help launch her new brand across the web and in a range of marketing materials, designed to put the company on the map. Experienced marketers who know the value of strong imagery are a pleasure to work with and the team had brought along a change of clothes so we could create a portfolio of images that would give maximum variety and longevity.

The company’s strong and memorable brand identity runs through the stylish offices and includes a bright yellow wall that from a PR and marketing photographer’s point of view was an absolute gift for the interior shots.

Playing to the brand’s strengths I spent some time documenting a creative planning meeting, as the team forgot about the camera and became engrossed in creating the best solution for their client. 

The same room had a series of framed images on the wall which proved useful reflectors from which to bounce images off. I was working closely with designer Kerry helping me highlight key areas like the frames, seating and the modular bookcases, giving me a chance to create frames by shooting through them from the back.  

As we moved outside the weather was kind to us and not too sunny. Although you wouldn’t think it, sunlight can be very harsh to work with, in contrast to a slightly cloudy day with its softer light.

We did a mixture of exterior shots using the building as a backdrop. It’s a joy to photograph at Boho One as it’s the flagship building of Middlesbrough’s new exciting Boho Zone, which forms the digital, creative and business hub of the Tees Valley. 

Designed by xsite architecture, the £9m building stands on Bridge Street West in central Middlesbrough and presents great opportunities for commercial photography, with its mixture of textures and colours plus branded doors, windows and interior partitions.   

Doing some of the commercial portraits outside gave me the chance to incorporate some greenery into the shots too, and a use a bright red wall and grey clapperboard cladding to add some background contrast.  

I like to approach corporate portraiture slightly differently, preferring to get people to look sometimes away from the camera to achieve a more thoughtful shot that captures the personality of the subject.

Some of the pictures were done on a covered walkway, and as with most photography shoots there were some comical moments. These occurred when the girls’ high heels were occasionally getting stuck in the wooden floor slats, generating some genuine laughter.

The Creative Alchemist crew were a fantastic team to work with and I hope their very real passion and positivity shines through their new image library and helps them grow their client portfolio across the North East.

The Creative Alchemist Website Link

Equipment Investment | Canon Camera Kit and Elinchrom Studio Lights

I started my career as a North East freelance photographer with a basic kit consisting of a couple of lenses and a Canon 20D camera.Over the last 8 years I have developed my skills working in many sectors including Editorial, PR, Commercial, Architecture, Portraits, Sport, Education, Corporate and Industrial Photography across the North East and Yorkshire area. Therefore over the years I've built up a extensive professional camera kit, now helping me produce the best possible pictures for clients ranging from advertising and PR agencies to industrial plants and local authorities. 

After cameras and lenses, studio lights are the next most important kit. A location magazine photography shoot might take 1-3 hours in total, to set up the right lighting and create the right look and feel – sometimes it could be a simple white or plain background for maximum flexibility. 

I often have to work quickly and effectively so I’ve fine tuned the kit that I use. I have a set of four lightweight portable Elinchrom lights, usually only using three of them, but carry a spare in case of emergencies. I’m often faced with fluorescent light issues which is a nightmare to work with as it gives a yellow cast and a flicker that totally ruins the images especially on the Canon 5D III. I invested in a powerful 1000w and 500w kit that can light up even the biggest of spaces, such as a games hall or a large gym beautifully. This helps me to strike the medium between needing good light and not wanting to battle with the mixed colour balance. 

I have 10 Canon lenses in my collection, from a 11mm extreme wide angle, tele-convertors to a 300mm F2.8 IS lens, giving me optimum flexibility and quality for sport, commercial or architecture work. One of my favourite and my least expensive lens is the 85mm F1.8 portrait lens that delivers fantastic quality portraits. I used the Canon 100mm F2.8 IS lens for commissions such as a recent Teesside photography job to document a jewellery exhibition at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).   

The key to creating the right set of camera kit is to build a collection that allows the photographer to work fast without sacrificing quality. I have two camera bodies, a Canon 5D Mk III which delivers high quality performance in very low light.

I eagerly awaited the launch of the new Canon 5DS this year, but it’s proved a big disappointment for me! Canon have gone for increasing the megapixels rather than boosting low light capacity or other elements that professional photographers look for and since the quality remains really the same as the previous model I don’t see any benefit in spending £6600 on two new cameras. The changes seem to be aimed at landscape photographers rather than documentary and PR photographers.

My camera kit is versatile enough to produce pictures with a wide range of types and uses, and at quality levels good enough for large format work such as billboards, and for event photography ranging from indoor awards ceremonies and outdoor sporting occasions through to royal visits and night-time ‘fire and ice’ winter festivals.  

Continuous investment pays off as in most walks of life, but of course it’s not always about the gear, it’s about how you use it (cliche I know). Even a £300 camera can produce great quality pictures in the right hands and in good light. There can be an element of snobbery about what camera kit someone is using, but when you cover many jobs a week you want it to work well and not let you down. 

These days I’m not afraid to admit that I can get excited about camera bags than technical kit. Being able fit all the cameras, lenses, lights and other paraphernalia into two lightweight bags makes me one very happy commercial photographer.

North East Education Photographer | Teacher First magazine photography in Stockton on Tees

I clock up thousands of miles in my job as a Teesside-based photographer - being Stockton-based I’m ideally located for major transport links, often cover commercial, education and magazine photography jobs in York, Newcastle, Carlisle and Leeds all within an hour’s travel time. Although a recent commission from a client in Cardiff was fairly short notice I was very happy to make the journey, particularly as a job which was a fair distance away had come about via the client seeing my work at www.davecharnleyphotography.com  

The Teach First organisation finds, trains and supports young people to become brilliant teachers, as part of its aim to help combat educational inequality in the UK. I was hired by Teacher First’s Manchester-based media agency to take a series of shots of a teacher at Thornaby Academy in Stockton on Tees to promote the organisation through its annual report, quarterly magazine, website and online media channels.

I had a long chat with the agency beforehand so I understood exactly what look and feel they wanted from the photography. Time spent on planning is never wasted. It gives clients reassurance that I can deliver the results they want, and helps me to formulate a plan for the style of picture opportunities I’m looking for on the day. I never leave for a job without a plan in my head.

On the day I worked with a highly regarded young English teacher Laura Travis, adopting an unstaged, magazine-style approach, taking pictures in classroom and active drama environments using natural light. Her engaging teaching style clearly went down well with students, whose parents and guardians had all signed consent forms – a very important point when photographing young people.

I was careful to make good use of space on some of the images, both to let them breathe and to help designers. Having some clear space where text can be overlaid, for instance for use on websites, is really useful.   

The two and a half hour shoot generated between 60 and 70 shots, and when I dropped off my client from the agency at the railway station, she was kind enough to give me some great feedback on how the shoot had gone. I also received a very complimentary email saying how much the agency loved the pictures. 

I was pleased to see my pictures appearing on the Teach First website within a few weeks of the job, and happy to have helped to help promote this unique organisation and its fantastic work.

North East Sport Photographer | FlowRider Pro Am finals in Redcar

Clearing the snow off my car to drive through the snow and cover a national surfing competition recently felt slightly odd, but as a North East freelance photographer every day brings variety, from corporate portraiture in a boardroom to exciting outdoor events.

 The occasion this time was the FlowRider Pro/Am finals at the Redcar & Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart, which saw competitors from across the country descend on the town. Heart offers a variety of ways to stay active, with a state of the art gym, a multi-use sports hall, group exercise classes, Flowrider, swimming pool and water confidence pool.

The two-day event saw flowboard and bodyboard riders put their colourful boards through their tricks, with 12 young riders competing on Saturday, and eight amateur adults plus seven professionals battling for top spot on the Sunday.

If you’ve never seen wave riding, you’re missing a treat. It’s a tough physical challenge involving breathtaking moves that take hours of practice to perfect. Surfers come down the waves pretty quickly so as a sport photographer my challenge was to keep up with the action as it happened. There is nothing worse than being slightly behind a shot and missing what would have been a perfect photographic moment.

I was so busy concentrating and looking for the shot that I forgot to look out for the water, and managed to get completely soaked at one point when a wave came over, to the amusement of the spectators. Fortunately the camera I was using is waterproof, so I carried on taking shots like a trooper, albeit a bit soggily.

I love photographing water and experimenting with slow and fast shutter speeds for different effects. A slower speed gives effect such as a trail of water, while a fast speed picks up the people action in sharp definition. It’s not possible yet, but I’m sure one day technology will move on so photographers can capture both effects in a single shot.

As well as shot of the action I mixed in some of the spectators and the facilities, including some of people taking their own photos on iPads and phones, to add variety.

Half a dozen students from Teesside University were also busy filming the event, using GoPro hand held cameras. Some of the surfers also took real action shots using selfie sticks – surfing and filming took some real skill and was amazing to see. 

I was pleased to see my photos used for PR and publicity purposes, and widely distributed across the North East media and across social media channels.

A summer-themed event held in winter, this competition was a great chance to get more people interested in the sport and and there is talk of it becoming a twice-yearly event, which would be a great chance to put Redcar Heart on the map.

The Princess Royal, Princess Anne visit to Sulzer in Middlesbrough

A recent commercial photography commission to document The Princess Royal, Princess Anne’s visit to an engineering centre in Middlesbrough came via my website, and was based on my press photography experience covering many north east royal visits, including Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, the Duchess of Cambridge and even the Countess of Wessex.

 Royal visits are choreographed to the last detail, with the itinerary kept under wraps and usually known only to a few of the people involved. 

Careful briefings and at least one walk-through will take place in advance, and I had several conversations with my client the PR agency DMA Europe’s senior management, discussing the brief and their requirements.

Engineering equipment repair firm Sulzer employs 40 staff, and recently expanded into a £4.5m service centre in Middlehaven, Teesside, hence the royal visit.

A large gathering was massed for the occasion, including Middlesbrough’s Labour MP Andy McDonald and Middlesbrough councillors, and Princess Anne arrived on time in a helicopter fresh Northumberland to Acklam Grange School in Middlesbrough, which lead to a short drive to the service centre.

People can sometimes be over-awed by royalty, but Princess Anne is highly experienced at VIP visits and took the trouble to put people at their ease, talking to at least 80 people, including apprentice Josh Ferguson and Sulzer staff and management, and making it a special day for many of them. This was followed by a tour of the facility and the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the event.

The two-hour shoot mean working hard to vary the shots, rather than simply going for repetitive handshake pictures as I followed Princess Anne around the facility, and I included some interior and exterior shots of the building as well as photos of Sulzer’s marketing collateral and branding.

Reporters and press photographer from the Middlesbrough Gazette, Northern Echo and Tyne Tees attended, with all of us conscious of not getting in each other’s way. I was lucky in that as the commissioned photographer I had full access to all areas, while the rest of press were restricted. 

Many of my pictures were used in various publications and for social media, and it was my pleasure to be on hand to support Sultzer’s big day as its new facility was given the royal seal of approval.