Knee Operation leads to Healthcare Photography for Nuffield Health Tees Hospital

It’s not often a knee operation leads to a north east advertising photography job but that’s exactly how a recent two-day session photographing the Nuffield Health Tees Hospital in Stockton came about.

Following my operation (wear and tear and too much running around with heavy camera equipment in my press and sports photography days, if anyone is interested) I had used social media to praise the care I’d had there. The hospital’s marketing contact checked out my website at www.davecharnleyphotography.com and got in touch to discuss me adding to the hospital’s image library with a series of new advertising pictures that can be used for marketing and advertising purposes, some photography also for the website and brochures.  

It was important that the new pictures fitted in with Nuffield’s corporate style, which is fresh and clean and sits perfectly with my own style of documentary photography and a big emphasis on natural light to keep pictures real. 

I’ve seen lots of health sector companies use stock shots in their marketing and while they can be effective, I honestly believe real pictures work better, particularly when it comes to people making a big decision about which healthcare provider to choose.

The shoot was broken up into two days so I would be able to access all areas of this busy hospital, which operates on a tight schedule. After discussing the shots list with my client and adding in some thoughts and suggestions of my own, I was able to access all areas, photographing everything from equipment, treatment areas and the comfortable, well-equipped patient rooms through to some signage and branding, and even the convenient car park set in the leafy surroundings of Norton.

We also included lots of pictures of key staff, both in real working situations and through portrait shots that can be used across brochures, the website and social media, capturing a natural look that sums up the professionalism and cheerful attitude that made them a pleasure to work with. 

Working unobtrusively and with formal patient permission of course we also captured a range of photos showing patients booking in at reception, being assessed by the doctors, receiving physio and other treatments and sampling the beautiful food.

Having been a patient at the hospital it was interesting to see it from the other side, and I was pleased that my client was as happy with the results of the job as I am with my revitalised knee.

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

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.

Facebook Black and White Photography Challenge | Solway to Saltburn

As a north east professional photographer I like to keep my work fresh and I belong to many groups and forums to keep up to date and challenge myself. A York-based press photographer Mike Tipping recently challenged me to join in a Facebook five-day black and white challenge. The idea was to post a black and white photo every day for five days, and nominate other photographers to do the same.

I used a mix of photos I had on file and new ones. It was great fun to take part in and a good reminder of how powerful black and white photos can be. When you remove colour, you’re distilling images down to shape, form and contrast to tell the story and it was interesting to see such a wide variation of shots and what other photographers had done.

Day 1 – this was a photo I took in Portling, on the Solway coast during the worst snow in Scotland for 30 years.  I love the moody feel and the way the rock face is silhouetted against the sky, and how the black and white format really makes the dripping icicles stand out. 

Day 2 – I spotted a huge flock of Starlings feeding in a field between Marske and Recar, and when they flew off I jumped in my car and followed them until they landed at The Stray, a 2-mile long strip of grassland bordering the beach at Redcar. Shot against the light, you can see the amazing detail on the birds’ feathers, which I thought made up a visually very pleasing shot.

Day 3 – for my third day I chose a photo of a chap jumping in the air on Saltburn Pier. He is comedian Victoria Wood’s brother and a very colourful character who was in the town that day to promote the region, and was easy to work with. His straw bowler and pinstripes gave him a great ‘going yachting’ look, and the shot of him with his arms outstretched and mirroring the shape of the pier meant that several photos from this shoot appeared in the Middlesbrough Gazette. 

Day 4 – this was taken at the Stockton Light and Sound Festival in Thornaby, next to the University campus. I used a remote flash to photograph the performer using the firesticks, which also perfectly framed the couple snatching a kiss behind him. Black and white made for a very atmospheric feel to this night shoot.

Day 5 was one of my favourite shots, a picture taken in Preston Park showing Britains Got Talent motorbike and rider flying through the air. Shooting upwards gave me a plain white background and a perfect contrast between the rider and his disconnected bike. The two were reunited at ground level without any injuries, you will be pleased to hear.

I found the five-day black and white challenge very useful, and in turn I challenged my cousin Kevin Henderson in Scotland, Stu Bolton and Tom Banks from the Darlington-based Northern Echo, and Katie Lynn from the Middlesbrough Gazette. All of them produced some impressive shots, and contributed to a great challenge for professional photographers.

Business Facebook (Link)

North East Editorial Magazine Photographer: Middlesbrough Captain Jonathan Woodgate 'FourFourTwo' Press Interview

When leading football magazine FourFourTwo was looking for a freelance editorial photographer in the North East with the right background and experience to photograph Middlesbrough’s new signing Jonathan Woodgate, I was delighted to be given the brief.

The magazine’s October edition is running an interview with the Teesside-born sportsman who recently returned to captain his home town club, amid a blaze of publicity. 

With a career that spans Leeds United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Chelsea and Stoke City, he’s never been far from the news. I’ve photographed at sportsgrounds, hotels and venues all over the North East and Yorkshire, and I’m familiar with Middlesbrough’s training ground at Rockliffe Park in Hurworth, just south of Darlington, where the interview was taking place, so I had a handful of locations in mind before I got there.

Twenty seven years as a press, commercial and portrait photographer has taught me that photographing VIPs, celebrities and royalty can mean a lot of waiting around for the right moment, and then you might only have a few minutes to get the right shot so it’s essential to be prepared and to work fast.  And not to be over-awed by the subject in front of you.

I arrived early and set up while Jonathan was being interviewed, and although I’d taken lights and flash equipment with me I opted to use the available natural light, to get the feel that the magazine wanted.

Having studied the brief I knew we needed a very simple, thoughtful shot to bring out Jonathan’s personality and tie in with the theme of the interview.  But anyone who knows something about photography will tell you that what looks like a very simple shot can often be the hardest one to take.

That’s where being trained in editorial and press work is an advantage. Those of us with a newspaper background understand about different publication styles and know how to deliver what the picture editor or sub editor is looking for.  

A red door made an ideal backdrop for the shots, and with some editing later in the day back at my photography editing studio in Stockton I was able to match it to Middlesbrough FC’s colours, and to give the magazine a choice of light and dark backgrounds through a good range of close up shots. To go with its ‘One-on-one’ feature the magazine ran a full page shot that was one of two photos each using a slightly different depth of field, which I got by using first my trusty Canon L series lenses, first a 50mm lens F1.2, and then a 135mm F2 lens.

 

I firmly believe in minimum kit for maximum impact, and find that chosen carefully, one camera body and two lenses will be enough for most situations. Less equipment means less fuss, a more relaxed subject and a better set of pictures.

To read the full in-depth interview with Jonathan Woodgate, you can download the digital edition of FourFourTwo here http://fourfourtwo.com or buy it in all good newsagents.

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography