underground portrait

9
Feb
Faces In Mining ~ Technica Mining
Mining / Photography / Sudbury Ontario / The People / 0 Comment / February 9, 2023

Recent portrait I photographed with Technica Mining showcasing their employees within their projects. My FAVORITE part of my mining photography is creating portraits within the mining environment.

I wrote the below back in 2013 and to me, it still holds true:

“I know that stock photography is readily available and it could be useful when in a tight deadline (unless you create your marketing material a year in a advance) but why would a company want another companies image on their marketing material? On several occasions walking through industry trade shows I have seen the same image on several different booths.  Shouldn’t the images in your marketing material be of your company? Your employees? Your products and services? The cost of stock photography to cover the companies branding usually ends up costing more than hiring a professional photographer to create custom images of the company. Your company!

Now I know not all marketing material requires custom images and most of the time advertising companies are on a tight deadline and need something fast, but, if time is available I do encourage to seek out a professional photographer for their photography requirements.”

#miningphotog #professionalphotography #customimages


25
Oct
Gain Their Confidence
Mining / Photography / The People / 0 Comment / October 25, 2019

Most people that I know of especially in the mining industrial industry do NOT like having their image taken. I can see it in their eyes within seconds of them realizing why we are there to begin with. This “photo fear” is also multiplied when they have no prior notification that I was coming and so I must quickly gain their confidence within a few minutes…….an elevator pitch if you will. Luckily, I have been doing this for years and have confidence in my communication skills as well as my photographic skills but my subjects don’t know that. I need to convey to them that I will make them look good, that I will make them look good doing their job and that I can create a portrait of them better than any cellphone snap they have had in the past.

Within those few minutes we need to come up with a game plan for the scenario, I need to see the “what where when” of the environment and formulate my plan of attack to get the images. Of course there is a lot more talking in between frames and setups but the one thing I learned is to always be the first to open the dialogue and listen to what they tell you when you ask your questions.

It took me many years and many modifications to my communication technique and I am still modifying it today. Practice your elevator pitch, practice your communication skills because we utilize our customer service skills before we even touch our equipment. At the end of the session, when it is time to create the “looking at the camera” portrait, they have 100% confidence with what I am doing and I know I can create an image that they will have confidence in.


27
Sep
A Mining Portrait Momento
Mine Photos / Mining / Photography / The People / 0 Comment / September 27, 2019

I had Chris assist me on a recent assignment where it was his first time underground so of course I had to create my signature mining portrait for him as a memento. It was great having the extra pair of hands,eyes and thought process of another creative during this trip. Thanks again Chris.