We were hired by Capricon Society to shoot a series of photos of Little Sam's Service Station in Collingwood, and its current owner, John - intended for publication in Capricorn's member publication accompanying a feature article. The focus of the images, and the article, is on John himself.
Case study - at a glance
Project overview:
Client: Capricorn Society.
Type: Small business photoshoot / editorial.
Location: Little Sam's Service Station, Collingwood.
Objective: Capture a series of images used to accompany a feature article in Capricorn's monthy member magazine Ignition.
The Brief
Scope: Photograph the business owner in a variety of posed and candid 'in action' images to be used alongside a feature article.
Style: Commercial, clean editorial.
Must-have shots: Hero shots of the owner, his business and photos of the business in action.
Strategy and execution
Equipment used: A 20mm f2 lens was used for many of the wider shots where space was limited, a 24-105 f4 lens was used as a utility lens and for the in action shots. Both lenses paired with the Sony a7 IV.
Lighting: Ambient lighting within the work space. For the posed photos, an off camera flash was set on a tripod and used as an movable lightsource.
Workflow: The day before we arrived, we came up with an internal shot list based on reference images our client provided us, and determined which shots would need to be posed and which could be done more candidly as the owner and employees work. On the day, we spent an hour or so at Little Sam's Service Station - we focussed on getting the posed shots out of the way first, noting that these shots would take the owner and employees away from servicing customers and carrying out their work. Once all the posed shots were done, the owner and employees were able to get back to work and this allowed us to photograph the candid in action shots of the owner and the business.
Challenges: Space was very limited, was an active work site, and due to the heavy mechanical equipment, potentially dangerous. We traveled lightly as a result so we could maneuver around the space more descretely without getting in anyone's way.
Results and deliverables
Content use: The resulting images provided Capricorn with a series of assets for use suitable for publication in a magazine and optionally on social media.
Impact: The images allowed Capricorn to both profile Little Sam's owner and to promote his business to thousands of automotive members through its monthly member magazine. The images also provided Little Sam's the opportunity to license the resulting images for their business.
Our photograph as used on the front cover of the July edition of Capricorn Society's Ignition magazine - its monthly member publication. The full feature article, along with accompanying images, can be read and seen from page 4 onward.
Little Sam's Service Station is a vehicle mechanic and service station which has been servicing Collingwood and the surrounding suburbs for nearly 60 years. Capricorn is a member-based co-operative that serves automotive repair and servicing businesses in both Australia and New Zealand.
Matt captured photos for our editorial piece, exactly on brief! He was quick, professional, and a breath of fresh air to work with. Highly recommended.
We were tasked with shooting a series of photos of Little Sam's owner, John, alongside his team, as well as photos of the shop in action.
We had to work within a relatively cramped space, and this was a workplace in operation too. This made it necessary to shoot with a wide angle lens as well as with off camera lighting - which gives the resulting images an editorial look and feel - not too dissimilar to what we've done with some of our other on location personal branding photoshoots.
We provide promotional and commercial photography and videography services for clients in Melbourne and all across Victoria. Get in contact for a quote.
We shot a number of posed team group photos both at the front of the shop (to show branding and signage) as well as on the shop floor itself. John, the owner, is front and centre, in the blue overalls.
We then shot a range of photos of the team and the shop in action (both set up as well as real - see if you can tell which is which).
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