Darlington Commercial and Food Photographer | The Tuns, Sadberge - Website, PR and Marketing Package.

My commission to photograph The Tuns pub at Sadberge near Darlington and produce a range of commercial photographs suitable for PR and marketing came about via colleagues PR expert Anna Addison from Stokesley and web guru Alan Foster, based in Newton Aycliffe & Gateshead. 

Last year we joined forces (Ignite Media NE Link) to offer small and start up businesses a complete photography, PR and website service, and The Tuns job came about through that route.

A Grade II listed building standing on a busy corner of the pretty village of Sadberge, The Tuns was re-launched just before Christmas 2013 by its present owners, following a six-month refurbishment.

Landlord Ross Serino, whose family run the popular Santoro’s restaurant in Yarm, presides over a team working hard to create a friendly, traditional village pub atmosphere, serving delicious food made with local ingredients.

My job was to use my decades of press and PR photography experience in the North East to capture the clean, contemporary look of the interior, complete with its cosy woodburning stoves and gleaming, well-stock bar, and of course the much-praised menu.

Food photography, especially when you are doing it ‘live’ in the busy kitchen, is tricky, and you need to work quickly and with confidence. Head chef Helen Todd from Darlington made it look effortless as she kept service running smoothly while I darted round the kitchen taking close ups of delicious prawn towers, hearty pies and a range of mouth-watering desserts destined for the hungry diners.The dark colours and shiny textures of the mussels were probably my biggest challenge, but I was pleased with the results when I got back to my studio in Stockton to process hundreds of shots.

Outside the pub, some amazing chainsaw sculptures on the green, plus a clever pub sign designed to look aged and shot against the blue sky lent some atmosphere to the exterior photos and gave a real feel to the place.

I came away from the Tuns in Darlington, having created a photo library of the clean professional photographs that can be used for PR, in marketing materials, advertising and on new website, and which will stand the owners in good stead for some time to come. 

I was pleased to see my press photography coverage used by several local newspapers, including the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, Darlington and Stockton Times and the Northern Echo, who both gave the pub a glowing report (link). It was good to see a formerly neglected pub given a new lease of life, and I’m sure Ross, his partner Becka and his family will make sure the ‘new’ Tuns will become an essential part of local life.