In the post immediately before this one, “Cameras Are My Tools,” (https://www.behmphoto.com/cameras-are-my-tools/) I showed two photographs created with very different approaches, yet both accomplished the same goal: defining the subject in a dynamic way.
In advertising photography, I have often been asked to create straightforward product photographs — usually isolated on white or gray backgrounds. Those images can be accurate, useful, and sometimes essential. I do them when required.
But are they dynamic advertising? Usually not.
Advertising agencies understand this limitation, especially for marquee products or introductory campaigns. That’s why they look for photographers who can bring more to an image than simple documentation.
Photographic Problem Solver
I often describe myself as a photographic problem solver. That has very little to do with the camera itself, and everything to do with how the tools are used — lenses, lighting, props, perspective, and environment.
Sometimes the solution creates a sense of place. Sometimes it invites the viewer into the scene, hints at a story, or demonstrates how a product solves a real problem. Those are the projects I love most because they allow room for creativity.
In “Cameras Are My Tools,” I described building a dirty-and-clean restaurant floor to demonstrate the benefits of my client’s cleaning equipment.
This image was created for that same company.
When I proposed the concept to the owner and marketing manager, the pushback was immediate and understandable given the setting. But the idea eventually won over the company president because we recognized something VERY important:
The people uncomfortable with the subject matter were not the target audience.
We were speaking directly to the maintenance crews and service professionals who would immediately understand the value of the product and how it improved their workflow.
That was the paradigm shift.
Clean in Every Regard
For another client in a tangentially related industry, we waited for autumn color while I researched the surrounding countryside for the right setting — the right tree — and the right day.
My goal was to reinforce the company’s colors while emphasizing their commitment to a cleaner environment. They even held a brand-new truck out of service until the photograph was completed so it would appear as pristine as the landscape itself.
We Can Help
Are you looking for solutions to your own imaging challenges? Here’s another example:
We Are Resourceful — Translation: We Can Help. (https://www.behmphoto.com/we-are-resourceful-translation-we-can-help/)
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Zambelli International: America’s Largest Fireworks Company at the Time
Zambelli International commissioned me to photograph fireworks displays across the country, but the most extraordinary assignment was the opening event of Kentucky Derby Festival season in Louisville, Kentucky.
Out of pride as much as competition, it was promoted every year as the largest fireworks display in North America. Eventually New York or Washington would surpass it, and the following year Zambelli would raise the stakes again.
Simple, Not Easy
Photographing it might sound straightforward. It was anything but.
I arrived a day early with assistant Jodi Dean and eight cameras ranging from 4×5 large format to medium format and 35mm, plus the necessary eight tripods. First we met with the on-site supervisor to scout the mortar locations, which stretched for more than half a mile from a bridge to barges anchored in the Ohio River.
Once we understood the launch positions, we crossed into Clarksville, Indiana, searching for a riverbank vantage point where we could see the entire thirty-minute show without obstruction, plus have the Louisville skyline in the frame.
No artificial lighting was needed. Exposure depended entirely on experience, timing, and formulas refined through previous fireworks assignments — allowing the trails and bursts to register on film from launch to dissipation.
The day of the event was brutally hot.
We arrived around 8:00 AM for a 9:00 PM show carrying pop-up tents, folding chairs, coolers full of equipment and film, plus enough food, sunscreen and water to last the day. We had to claim our location early or lose any chance of meeting the assignment requirements.
By afternoon, crowds began filling the riverfront and complaining — jokingly and sometimes not — about the prime spot we had secured.
When the show finally started, everything became controlled chaos.
Jodi and I each operated four cameras at once using cable releases to prevent vibration. Every camera was prefocused. We moved rapidly from one camera to the next, exposing film, advancing frames, and starting over again in rhythm with the explosions overhead. When rolls ran out, we reloaded as quickly as possible and kept shooting. With the 4×5 cameras, I was changing film holders every two exposures.
It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.
The assignment succeeded beyond expectations. The Zambellis were pleased enough to continue sending us on projects, and even creating family portraits. Eventually their competitors hired us as well.
This photograph came from the one camera I retained for myself. As part of the assignment, Zambelli negotiated a complete buyout — every negative belonged to them except those from that single camera.
I have many busier and more elaborate images from that night, but this one remains my favorite because of its delicacy.
So. What photographic problem can I help you with?
