Commercial Photography

Commercial photography is a very important part of any business as part of their marketing strategy. The saying a photo speak a thousand words is very true, a good high quality photograph taken with a professional photographer can really boost your marketing and put your business out there in front of customers. Recently I was asked to do the PR marketing images for local business McGrory’s hotel in Culdaff, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. You can check out their website at www.mcgrorys.ie

It’s one of those beautiful authentic locally owned Irish businesses that has great character and a real homely feel to it. A long established business on the wild atlantic way it has been in business for decades and is well established with locals and visitors alike. The first thing you notice in McGrory’s is the bar, it has real traditional Irish feel to it, not one of your modern sports bars.

It has a style that would have been common in Ireland over the years with natural materials used in the construction, old stone walls, wooden decor and a slate floor. Commercial photography can really help with marketing any business, McGrory’s especially it’s one of those venues the longer you stay the more you see. It has amazing little details that you don’t notice when you come in first, items that are uniquely Irish in style and that were once common in every town and village in years gone by. It’s refreshing to visit a place like this, a big warm open fire, with good food in warm comfortable surroundings.

There is something special about a warm open fire, you could watch it for ages and there is a different type of warmth from it. I have photographed many venues and businesses over the years and when people see the finished images and the feedback they get after they have been used for marketing they know they made the right decision. So what can commercial photography do for your business? Here are a few examples of where high quality images can really benefit you and your business and marketing plan for the future.

• High resolution quality images for print for example, brochures, flyers, banners and signage

• Web optimised images for your website and social media

• Trade shows and exhibitions

• Newspapers and magazines

  It’s all in the details when it comes to business and McGrory’s hotel certainly delivers.

Genuine old style signage instead of your modern LED signs really bring a traditional feel to your experience whether you are having a beautiful meal, a quiet drink by the open fire or listening to some traditional music in the bar. You will discover many hidden little gems in this place for example part of an old telephone system attached to an old wooden beam.

A rare old post office sign from years gone by next to the old telephone system. For those that are not familiar the phone system here in Ireland many years ago, when you wanted to make a phone call from one phone to another it was actually your local post office and the postmaster that would connect your call to another number. The rust and peeling paint on this old sign and the writing in both Irish and English is a lovely reminder of times gone by. Every single item in this hotel has been thought out carefully to the last detail.

One thing I discovered at McGrory’s hotel is their love for signage old metal Irish signs. These are so hard to find now and are very rare to come across. These old Guinness signs remind me of old comic books when I was a child and I absolutely love them. They came from an era when all toys were either made of metal or wood long before plastics became popular, these signs in themselves are collectors items and now works of art so to see a snapshot of our past is amazing. I really love the fun images and themes on these signs and the colours they really stand out.

Taking images of every day products from a different angle and having the background out of focus can really create a powerful message. It’s important to look at different angles and perspectives when creating a marketing image. Two images one above and one below immediately you can see that this is a business that serves drink and food to its customers. The technique of taking a photo with the background out of focus is called bokeh and with this effect emphasis is put on the subject or product to draw attention to it.

To make a brand stand out stand out bokeh in your images will blur the background and remove any distractions from what you are trying to sell.

I have said it many times before photography in my opinion is all about telling a story, creating an atmosphere that you can bring your reader into the story as if they were part of that experience. When doing commercial photography or any photography for that instance its good to have a balance of different types of images, from wide angle to close ups so you get the complete picture. Don’t forget to photograph both the inside and the outside of premises it’s great to capture all areas and its always better to have more images than you need than not have enough.

Any awards that have been given to the business be sure and photograph these as well, McGrory’s hotel is starting to run out of wall space for everything they have won.

Back to storytelling again and be it through images or the spoken word it always makes for a great talking point with visitors. The Star Wars film The Last Jedi had its world premiere at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 9, 2017, and was released in the United States on December 15, 2017. It grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2017, the seventh-highest-grossing film in North America, and the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time during its theatrical run. It is also the second-highest-grossing Star Wars film and turned a net profit of over $417 million. The film received positive reviews, with praise for its ensemble cast, musical score, visual effects, action sequences and emotional weight. The film received four nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects, as well as two nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards. A sequel, The Rise of Skywalker, was released on December 20, 2019. The cast and crew filmed here in Malin Head in Co. Donegal and had their wrap up party here in McGrory’s hotel. A few momentos from their stay hang proudly on the walls of the hotel.

McGrory’s hotel is a surprisingly big hotel but with a very friendly family feel. It has beautiful decor as well throughout the hotel. Rich warm colours and ambient light along with leading lines in the ceiling and great decor make for great professional images. When taking images try and take them from as many different angles, remember you are trying show future customers why they should come to the venue.

Small details in your images add another chapter to your story. A good technique that I use when doing commercial work is think how will the finished images look in print so I try and keep a uniform style with regards to either shooting in landscape or portrait. I try and visualise the finished images in print. Take images close up and wide angle with different variations on the background being in focus and out focus and see what works best.

Don’t forget to include people in your collection of work this really adds to the storytelling and it’s always good for people to see who is behind the business. Pictured below is head chef is Kamal Rai is from Bhutan. Bhutan is surrounded by the Himalayas, and is a small country sandwiched between India and Tibet, just east of Nepal and north of Bangladesh. By the way Kamal is one of the nicest people you could meet and everyone in the business both staff and customers have great respect for him and his food is mouth watering.

The staff at McGrory’s hotel are very friendly and welcoming and you will get a very warm Irish welcome on your arrival at the hotel, they couldn’t be more helpful.

Whilst I was in McGrory’s taking their marketing and PR images amazing beautiful and delicious dishes came out one after another. The smells of lovely dishes and the taste of them was amazing, I was treated to one of their dishes for lunch and I have to say it was one of the loveliest meals I have had in a long time really beautiful.

When photographing food it’s important to make sure you have plates that compliment the dish to showcase it to its best. This is something that is overlooked, this fish dish really looked well on the grey speckled plate and really complimented the colours of the dish itself.

Natural wood platters here really make a great display for this burger, think perhaps if you were choosing an outfit what clothes will match and compliment each other. It’s the same with food no different.

I always like to shoot with a wide aperture so that the background can fade away and you can focus on the meal itself as this is what the shoot is all about. The salmon dish below I think really looks well with the plate and I think the warm colours of the meal itself really work well with the plate. I am always looking for and thinking of complementary colours that work together.

I have to admit I am not a fish lover, I very rarely eat fish I mean maybe every four or five years I might sample it, that said this fish dish really tempted me and I will on a future trip to McGrory’s will try it out.

Going back to the choice of the colours of your plates to serve your food on the warm rich colours of dish below I think worked in harmony with the white plates. There is no hard and fast rule to this, just experiment with different arrangements and see what works best for you and the client on the day.

I hope these tips and advice help you in your photography journey, and if you are interested in having marketing images done for your business contact us for a chat and we will do our best for you and your business.