A1 and the Palm Restaurant

This one was yummy and fun. I got the layout in my hands and knew what I had to do. I took my wife and went to the Palm restaurant in NYC. We ate steak and drank a little and waited until the restaurant closed. Then I pulled out the camera and shot all around the room. The Palm doesn't really look exactly like this but it is a good representation that fit the layout. When I got back to the studio I assembled the background from various location shots and then lit the foreground table, steak, A1 and chair in such a way that it matched the actual location lighting. One thing digital has really helped is shooting pieces and reassembling them to very closely match the art director's layout.

Rawcliffe Pewter

This ad brings back memories. I shot it for an agency on 5th Avenue. They tried to rip me off after a year of work but I took care of that quick. It was the 70's so back light off textured laminate was the way to go. It still is for this kind of product. After one year I never worked for them again but I got all of the money they owed me by calling their clients and reminding them that I owned the copyright until I was paid. You should have heard the horrible language from high class clients like lladro and Tiffany.

The Manning Family

I was hired to photograph the Manning family for Kraft Foods. I first rented a studio in their home town of New Orleans and booked myself a flight. Then at the last minute the Mannings decided to be in NYC (my home town) that week so I quickly booked Milk studio and got ready to shoot. For some reason I wasn't allowed to have an assistant on set so Kyle helped me drop off the equipment the night before and set up the lights. Then we all (art director, client, assistant) went out to eat and Kyle went home. I did the shot by myself the next day. This shot happened in the middle of the summer and something was wrong with Milk's air conditioning so everyone was hot. Thank God strobes don't add much heat. In the end, everybody went home happy. I even got an autographed football in the deal!

Brooklyn Union Gas loved Plumbers

Moss Advertising, Mike Carrieri and Bill Truran Studios got together to create this image. The studio booked the talent, the agency provided the props and the rest was, just as this blog suggests, a matter of following the layout until the art director was happy. I think it's a nice little shot!

Sunday Magazine Network

Lord Geller Federico Einstein was another great agency. They trusted me with some easy jobs but this one wasn't. I learned to light glass on this job as it was the first of many. The ice is fake and since it was black and white the liquid was weak tea. Jean Marcellino used me more than most and she loved this shot. It's one where the layout was matched by the image. I always knew that Jean's layouts would work that way.

Rhone-Poulenc

Geers Gross was a great Advertising Agency. This is a good example of the kinds of layouts we used to get. A nice sketch that demonstrates everything that is needed for the final image. Before the shoot it is the photographer's duty to find and rent the props and book the talent. For some reason we shot this in an office not the studio. The art director and I made a mess until she loved what she saw in the Polaroids. Then it was 6 rolls of 120mm Tri-X, processing, contact sheets and later, the final prints. Life seems easier now.

DDB and Polaroid

Another one for DDB. This one was fun. I had the bow created by a prop builder and the camera was delivered to the studio. After that it was just a matter for lighting the camera nicely and following the layout. I guess that's what this blog is all about anyway,

Pilot Pens

I've always been hired because I know how to control light. Photography is all about the light. The only way to capture an image is to have light bounce off the product. How we edit the light is all about the product we are shooting. For these pens, we needed a broad light so I used a bank. The light bank brought the long highlights that showed different elements that made the pens. A retractable fountain pen? Even back then that was weird.

PCH contest

PCH has been around for a long time. Back in the day, I shot for companies like Lillian Vernon and JCPenny directly just to stay busy. This image was for Smith Advertising. Ed Smith had many clients like this. I love this shot but I might have lit it a little differently now.