North East Architectural Photography: Hospice in Sunderland, Newcastle Police Station to the Redcar Beacon.

My job as a North East commercial and PR photographer takes me all over the region, and every day brings new challenges, whether it’s photographing celebrities and community champions, or buildings and businessmen.

A lot of my time this month has been spent photographing Teesside landmark buildings and construction projects, and one of the first jobs was a commission from the construction company that built the £1.6m Beacon at Redcar, a structure that has sparked a love-hate relationship with locals. I like the building, it adds a splash of colour and forms a focal point for the town. Dubbed the ‘vertical pier’, the Beacon is part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of Redcar seafront, which is now unrecognisable from a few years ago.

At 80ft tall, the cafe area and open roof terrace at the top of its seven floors offers fantastic view over the coastline and surrounding area and a clear day presented me with some amazing photo opportunities. As well as the exterior, which is wrapped in coloured steel and mesh strips, I spent some time photographing the business space and meeting and conference areas that all reflect the Beacon’s clean, modern principles.

One of the biggest challenges of architectural photography is to keep the vertical lines as true as possible. Wide angle lenses give great results but can twist a perfectly straight vertical into convex or concave lines. I use a combination of special lenses and image manipulation software to correct this, which means lots of work back at my Stockton studio.

Another architectural job saw me photographing the opening of the new garden at St Benedict’s Hospice in Ryhope, Sunderland. This is the city’s first purpose-built hospice, and the construction firm has used lots of wood and textured materials, adding a roof garden and lake area which all combine to create a calm and welcoming environment for staff and patients. 

I was pleased to be asked to photograph the ‘old meets new’ architecture of Newcastle’s newest police station at Forth Banks, which is part of the regeneration of the Stephenson Quarter. A sensitive new structure links Kings House with an historic railway warehouse, creating a state of the art 24/7 police station, and is a fine example of how to integrate old and new buildings successfully.

I’m lucky that my job allows me to be out and about with my camera photographing North East architecture; whether it’s an iconic structure or an undiscovered gem, each has its own story.

A commission to photograph the demolition of the Spotted Cow pub in Stockton, the first stage of the re-building of the Victoria Estate behind Stockton High Street and the splash pool, threw up an interesting tale.

As I worked I got chatting to the man operating the wrecker, who told me his dad had planted the surrounding trees when the estate was built 50 years ago, so we were both pleased to find they would be staying in place when 210 homes are built and the old site is transformed. 

Successful architectural photography often depends on sun and weather conditions, and I’m a big fan of an app that tells me where the sun will be at any given time, so I can plan the shoot knowing that I’ll be photographing the building at the best time for the right light conditions. 

Sometimes the weather is against me though, and if the deadline allows I might decide to revisit the site - I want every single picture I take to be original and pleasing to the client, and I won’t rest until all the right circumstances are lined up to create the best possible image, whether it’s for use in print, outdoor or online media.

Photojournalist Video Training in Newcastle upon Tyne

Nothing stands still in the world of professional PR and commercial photography, and that’s nowhere more true than at www.davecharnleyphotography.com.  You can’t afford to stand still in the photographic business, and I always want to be in front of trends, looking for new, fresh approaches and ways to extend my photography services to clients across the North East.

There has been a steady growth in the number of clients booking commissions that are a combination of still and video photography, for instance to record events such as royal visits, award presentations, sports and community activities, and even for website video blogs and ‘how to’ videos. As the price of technology has come down, lots of people are comfortable with doing videos, even if it’s only on their phones. But just because you have the technology, it doesn’t follow that it will make you a professional.

Adding video to my commercial and PR photography portfolio is the next logical step and will open up new markets for my work, and widen the range of services I provide to local authorities and private clients.  Moving images add another dimension – they are so powerful, and can often tell a more detailed story than stills. Instead of a still shot of a company’s Managing Director on its About Us web page, imagine how much more impact a video of him or her talking about the company’s ethos and values would have. 

I’m not a looking to break into news video journalism, although my years as a press photographer working on papers including the Middlesbrough Gazette and the Lancaster Evening Post gave me an insight into the world of newsrooms and picture desks that all comes in handy when I’m working on North East press and PR photoshoots.

I’m doing some intensive training with an experienced ex-BBC video journalist, as part of a small group that includes a Harrogate-based photographer and an ex-picture editor of the Yorkshire Post. One of the most important topics we are covering is planning the storyboard – it’s a vital piece of the jigsaw and one of the many elements to be considered before I even pick up my video camera, which is the same model that the BBC news teams use.

Editing is another specialist skill, and a fascinating part of the process. I’m learning so much, and I’ve even found myself analysing TV and film footage with a much more critical eye, which will help me when I am creating professionally-produced short, focused video reports for use on online news, corporate and community websites.

Just like stills photography, video is certainly not just a case of shoot and go. I spend hours in my Stockton studio, editing hundreds of images from each shoot to make sure they are pin-sharp, and colour references are all perfect. Add to that some time-consuming editing plus adding and synchronising sound, and it’s easy to understand why video editing is such a long and detailed process.

It’s a big commitment and will mean juggling the training with my work as a North East press, PR and commercial photographer but I see it as yet another string to my bow. Styles and trends evolve, new camera equipment is released and new markets open up, and I never want to stop learning. I’m dedicated to delivering a quality service and maintaining the same attention to detail on both stills and video, and using my skills and experience to create the images that keep my clients returning again and again. 

Youtube Link:  http://youtu.be/3bMqGw1jYEM

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

Interior and Advertising Photographer | Sliderobes in North Yorkshire and County Durham.

The life of a North East commercial and advertising photographer is as varied as the days are long, and a recent commission to take some interiors shots for SLIDEROBES® GROUP LTD was a welcome change from editorial and commercial photography in Teesside and North Yorkshire, it often sees me out in the cold for hours on end, in search of the perfect shot for my clients.

The photography locations were near Yarm in North Yorkshire and the other was in County Durham, and I had two houses to visit, and four rooms to photograph. The company I was working for is a well known name, designing and producing stylish made to measure furniture in a wide range of colours and choices.  

The photographs were to be used for a variety of marketing tools, including brochures and online on the company’s website, so my brief was to give the designers a good range of photographs to work within, including different formats to give them maximum flexibility with design layout.

Interiors photography can be challenging, and as the photographer I have to use my experience to help the client tell their story, working with angles and lighting and sometimes cope with restricted space too. I often have to stage interiors photographs, without adding too much detail into the image that would confuse the viewer. 

All the clients' rooms were fitted out in very different styles from minimalist to classic and contemporary according to their occupants and uses, and it was important that the photographs reflected the wide range of choice on offer. 

What I called the white room had been given a fresh, clean look with stylised monochrome wallpaper behind the bed and full size mirrored wardrobe doors reflecting a unique chandelier.

Another bedroom had a wooden floor and full height mirrored robes inset with panels of lacquered glass, housing an impressive shoe collection and all set off by a stylish purple and lilac theme.

The master bedroom was drama personified and absolutely stunning. The smokey black mirrored finish to the wardrobes was echoed in the purpose built dressing table, which together threw up some photography challenges involving the bonus of having reflections to play with while avoiding any light bouncing back into places where I didn’t want it.

The company’s furniture can be made to fit a range of rooms, not just bedrooms, and a craft room at the top of one of the houses was furnished in a light oak finish, with wardrobes and shelving cleverly made to measure to fit the roof apex and give maximum storage for the owner.

Like most interiors photography this was a demanding shoot in the north east, with so many textures and finishes to work with and every photo had to be just right. I edited the photos back at my Stockton on Tees photography studio and had them back to the client within a couple of days, and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the client’s website very soon.

North East Head Shot Photographer: Portraits featured from Durham, Middlesbough, Darlington to Rothbury in Northumberland.

‘People do business with people’ is the principle behind a lot of the North East head shot, PR and profile photography I do at www.davecharnleyphotography.com.

A close up picture that really brings out a person’s character can often help to sway the buying decision. And it doesn’t have to be done in a formal environment like a studio either, I prefer to use a natural, relaxed approach to headshots, and as a north east professional press and PR photographer I have a bank of high performance studio lights, reflectors and other tools of the trade so I can transform the most mundane of spots into great backgrounds.

Press and PR photography is essentially about people, and I like to use an informal style that allows the subject’s personality to shine through.  You also should be thinking of great photography for your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin head shot profiles.

These are just a handful of my recent commissions: Steve Cochrane is the head of the well-known Middlesbrough-based Psyche brand. Steve has an impressive business pedigree and is a well known figure and incredibly successful businessman. Career highlights include being made an honorary doctor of business administration by Teesside University, and winning a series of retail awards, including beating both Harvey Nichols and Selfridges to win the Drapers Award for the best new store 2004 and the Retailer of the Year award. Steve is very familiar with being in front of a camera so was a relaxed subject, and my photos of him even attracted interest from Santander magazine.  

Teesside-based Jo Hand Recruitment is a respected name in the competitive world of recruitment.  The company’s Teesside marketing agency commissioned me to take a series of photographs to support the forward marketing plan, for use in brochures, newsletters, on the website and with press releases.

The brief was to capture corporate headshots of the people behind the business, showing the approachable, knowledgeable team that founder Jo Hand has built around her.

I took a small set of lighting gear along with me so I could quickly turn the firm’s central Middlesbrough office into a mobile studio. The fresh and fabulous lime green walls - the company’s signature brand colour – created a perfect backdrop for pictures of the team. Part of my role was also to reinforce the company’s roots in the region. 

 Teesside and County Durham are the heartland of Jo Hand Recruitment’s customer base so we varied the shots by going out and also working in a coffee shop environment.

Another Photography job came about after a Glasgow-based advertising and creative agency approached me to take some shots of a volunteer at Rothbury Coquetdale Community Hospital near Morpeth in Northumberland.

Ann Dick has volunteered with the RVS for 26 years, and was nominated for a prestigious Diamond Champion award. A stalwart of the RVS, Ann has met several members of the Royal Family, and I used natural light and a soft feel to photograph her serving drinks, playing dominoes and chatting with elderly patients. The feel was warm, relaxed and engaging and summed up the value of local heroes like Ann who are embedded within our communities.

Artist Gayle Chong Kwan is the name behind Arripare, a Teesside-based large scale photographic work styled around a mythical island, which shows an alternative version of some of our region’s best loved landmarks. Unveiled in October last year, Arripare was the centrepiece for the launch of REFOCUS, the new biennial Castlegate mima Photography Prize.

Gayle is an internationally-renowed artist who created Arripare by focussing on landmarks and scenes photographed from around the region, including Stockton, Thornaby, Norton,Yarm, Seal Sands, Billingham and Ingleby Barwick. She then used a combination of documentary photography, collage and sculptural construction to create this amazing piece of work that is constructed to encourage the viewer to see the island as either sitting in the clouds or out to sea. Gayle was a dream to photograph, and the resulting shots were used in local, national and international media.

Another Teesside photographyjob involved Middlesbrough-based animation and visual effects company Bloom Studio, which was expanding thanks to winning a number of new contracts and securing a start-up loan backed by Sir Richard Branson. The business is based at Teesside University’s Victoria Building business hub and is the North East’s fastest-growing visual effects company, recently moving to new premises in the Phoenix Building to allow for expansion.

This type of good news story cries out for some strong pr photography to accompany the press release that wentout to the Middlesbrough Gazette, Darlington's Northern Echo and other regional publications. My brief was to capture the energetic, professional but slightly quirky feel of the Bloom brand and its people. I call it environmental portraiture, it’s similar to a magazine shoot. This style can tell you a lot about an organisation and its people, especially if you mix in a range of non-specific backgrounds with full length and head shots.

The old phrase ‘the eyes are the windows of the soul’ is one that resonates with all north east professional photographers and beyond, and when we make that connection between the subject and the viewer, we know we have achieved our aim.

Subway Franchise Corporate and Marketing Photography: Cramlington, Washington and County Durham.

A top national marketing, PR and digital creative agency based in London contacted me recently, having seen my commercial photography on my website at www.davecharnleyphotography.com

The agency was in search of a cost effective North East commercial photographer to visit a group of Subway branches and update the company’s photo library.

The photography will be use for arange of PR and marketing purposes, in print and online.  My commercial photography brief was to visit stores in Cramlington in Northumberland, Washington in Tyne & Wear, and Spennymoor and Thinford in County Durham to get a range of interesting shots of the stores, in landscape and portrait, at different angles, and including interior and exterior shots.

Although all the stores share one distinctive brand, I needed to make sure the resulting images were individual and unique, showing Subway’s target audience and how the brand meets their expectations. As an experienced north east freelance commercial photographer with nearly 30 years’ experience it presented challenges, but ones that I was comfortable I could meet.

My timeslot to cover all four sites was between 10am to just after lunchtime. All of the stores were very busy, and as well as taking the photos I was kept on my toes getting signed approvals from all the customers in each store too. People think being a good commercial photographer is all about getting the perfect shot, and that’s part of it of course, but we put in a lot of extra work and behind the scenes effort that is all included in the price.

All of the staff at each branch made me very welcome, and had made sure the environment was clean, tidy and with well-stocked counters that showed off the background decor and Subway branding.  

I moved around each store making sure I got clean shots and met the brief, and I was really impressed how hard the ‘Sandwich Artists’ worked and how fast they were at serving customers. And all with a cheery smile too, which made for some great, relaxed shots of customers being served and sitting down to enjoy their food.

At the Washington site I also did some headshots of the franchisee, to give the marketing agency the rights shots for illustrating media case studies and news stories.

The Thinford site was particularly interesting to photograph, as it sits within a new garage forecourt environment and gave me a chance to illustrate both how the dual branding works and how a Subway store can sit comfortably within a larger store operation.

Once the shoot was over I went back to my Stockton photography studio to process the images and get them off to the agency within a couple of days. I pride myself on providing a fast, efficient service that delivers great results, and gives clients a flexible range of shots that can be used for a variety of purposes, whether that’s in print or online. It all adds up to helping them get maximum value from their photography budget.