Photography - Select Living Group
DEVELOPMENT
During the planning stage we ask why we're taking these images, what their purpose is - whilst thinking about target audience, message, and where the images will appear. For Select we needed product driven photography that helps customers make a choice which type and colour of product they think would work best in their garden.
PRE-PRODUCTION & STUDIO HIRE
In pre-production we think about where we will shoot, the day of the shoot and what equipment and people we need to make the shoot possible. We decided to use our very own photo studio at Rusty Monkey HQ, using a white backdrop to capture the shot we needed. We co-ordinated with Select on when their products could be delivered so we could schedule the principle photography in.
PRINCIPLE PHOTOGRAPHY
The main event! We set up the right lighting conditions and camera settings, make sure it's just right for the first product, and use these for the varying other products, for consistent results.
POST-PRODUCTION
Although we've shot all images in a consistent way, we create a cut out template to double check that each one is the same shape - this helps highlight if there are any tweaks required to make sure each board is displayed at a similar angle. Here we will also use the RAW files to do any colour checks.
DISTRIBUTION
At this stage we optimised the images for distribution - for Select we made sure the sizes were suitable for their website - 72 dpi and RGB. However we know that these may also be used in print catalogues and social media, so we kept the RAW high resolution versions in case we need to adapt them for other uses later on.
Emma
She / her. Emma is part of the online marketing guild but also has her finger in the PR pie. She is happiest when she has a camera in her hand. Builder of cat hotels. Lover of all animals. Has headlined every festival with her imaginary prog-rock band! Talks too much. Fidgets a lot! And occasionally tries to get fit by listening to the Rocky 4 soundtrack.
Zoe
She / her; green / blue. Zoe is a designer, daydreamer and self-anointed snack queen. Once described as “so awkward she’s charming” by a friend, there isn’t a day that goes by without her accidentally slipping in an innuendo. In winter, she hibernates in a blanket of books and netflix, but by late spring emerges with her trusty birkenstocks, ready to go on photography adventures and socialise with the neighbourhood cats. If she were a pokemon she would without a doubt be Pikachu, but a buzzfeed quiz has determined her to be a Magikarp. She’s a firm believer that buzzfeed quizzes cannot be trusted, under any circumstances.
Matt
He / him; yellow. Creative jack-of-all-trades, Matt is "dangerously knowledgeable" in almost every facet of marketing. His favourite field is branding, and he loves developing inspiring, daring brand identities for organisations who are ready to do something different. But he's equally talented at front end web development and developing digital strategies. He's also the front man and guitarist in local parody heavy metal outfit Evil Scarecrow, plus a huge fan of music, eating in nice restaurants, and going on holiday.
Iulia
She / her. Iulia is Rusty Monkey’s animation, illustration and 3D expert. Responsible for making everything beautiful, she also dabbles in graphic design and UX design. Among her credits is an animated music video for local parody heavy metal band Evil Scarecrow. A talented artist, she showcases her work on her Instagram channel. She usually spends most of her time in some random corner of the house with a drawing tablet and a pen, scribbling away. Cat obsessed. Professional house plant killer. Autumn lover. Maker of things.
PROJECT TIMELINE
THE CLIENT
Select Living Group sells low-maintenance garden upgrades designed to give people more time to enjoy their garden without all the hard work. Their products include eco-friendly composite decking, artificial grass, artificial plants and artificial plant walls.
THE GOAL
Select Living group needed product photography to use on their website to help customers choose which products best suits their garden. We want to make the choice of which colour and range best suits them as easy as possible.
THE SOLUTION
We opted for a simple approach, with the product nicely lit with a white background, including close ups so better detail could be viewed. It was important that the lighting could be easily replicated for future products to be added in a consistent manner, and for the product to be the main focus. We want the customers to feel confidence in the product they are investing in.
THE TEAM
Our photography guild, led by our expert Emma.
THEY SAID
"The guys over at Rusty Monkey are fantastic. They have truly transformed the way we market, as well as operate as a business.
The journey started with ourselves trying to find a professional marketing agency to produce installation manuals for our products. I had conversations with 3 or 4 marketing agencies in the area. Before price had even come into it, our decision had been made. Matt listened and, more importantly, understood the purpose of what we were trying to do.
Slowly but surely, we have started increasing our retainer with these guys and we haven’t looked back. I’ve learned a lot since getting to know everyone there. The business relationship they offer is far more personal than anything I’ve experienced before.
Looking forward to the future!"
-- Joe, Select Living Group
THE OUTCOME
Professional and consistent looking images that show off the Select product range on their online shop, but could also be used as cut outs for online marketing and social media material.
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