Visions, a Blog

Global Shop 2013

GlobalShop 2013 is back at McCormick Place April 16th through 18th.  I’ll be attending the ARE design awards to hopefully congratulate a few of my clients as well as attend a few of the parties.

Spring in Chicago can be a little dicey. Warm or cold, it’s always a great time. I truly enjoy seeing clients, friends and vendors as we all strive to improve the retail customer experience. I’ll be on the show floor Tuesday and Wednesday with an Ipad full of recent work and a few samples in hand to give out.  Text, call or email me as I’d love to catch up and share some current work with you. Safe Travels!

Retail Design Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of last weeks Retail Design Institute’s Store Design Awards and mainly to Fitch Inc/Target and Chute Gerdeman/Aaron Brothers, two projects I had the opportunity to photograph. Both projects won First Places.  Also, I’d like to congratulate Bevan Bloemendaal of Timberland, a long time client and friend, for his induction into the Legion of Honor.  Well deserved!

Having the opportunity to photograph the event on behalf of the Retail Design Institute was an honor.  I truly enjoyed the evening with having the chance to talk with clients and industry friends.  Next stop…Global Shop.  If you’re heading to Chicago this year, be sure to look me up.

DDI Portfolio 2012

Congratulations are in order for several of my clients who have been featured in the September 2012 Portfolio issue of DDI.

Christian Davies of Fitch, Inc and Aaron Spiess of Big Red Rooster have been chosen as Retail Design Luminaries and Beven Bloemendaal of Timberland has been chosen as a Retail Design Influencer.  Also, Fitch was chosen as the Design Firm of the Year and clients Big Red Rooster and FRCH have been listed as among Design Firms of the Year.  On top of that, two projects I photographed, City Target and New Balance Flatiron District NYC, are listed among the Best Designed Stores of the Year!

You can read the article here.

It’s great to know that I work with some of the best in the industry.  These people and firms are always looking beyond the normal.  They inspire me to do that same!  Congratulations to all winners!

End of Summer

So far 2012 is turning out to be a nice year!  In January, The National Retail Federation’s Big Show at the Javits Center in NYC showcased more than forty banners of my work with its first ever photography exhibit titled “Documenting Retail Design-Showcasing Outstanding New Stores”.   It was an honor to have my work on display.  NRF also chose to showcase my work in their Washington DC headquarters in the form of more than 80 large prints for their walls.

The beginning of March brought Global Shop where I had the opportunity to visit with friends and clients, as well as network with many people in the industry.

In the spring, Fixtures Living, a project I photographed last fall for Fitch Inc won more than ten design awards in the industry.

Since then I’ve photographed some new grocery concepts including api+‘s Super1Foods as well as  SuperValu’s Megafoods.  I also had the opportunity to photograph a High Point NC showroom for Martin Roberts Design and Home Meridian International.  This particular site features dramatic elements and colors that give the HMI staff a comfortable place to showcase their six brands.

You can see these projects within the portfolio section of my site.

And personally, I’ve biked more than 2000 miles so far this year working toward my goal of 3000.  That’s enough miles to bike from Boston to Los Angeles, and that gives me an idea…

New Balance NYC

10 Ways to Get More Value from my Photos

My portfolio is your portfolio. For more than twenty years I’ve partnered with design firms, architects and retailers to create images that showcase their brands, concepts and visions. It’s rewarding to see my images being used in ever more interesting and creative ways.

I want to make sure that you are making the most of my images.

Here’s a list of ten ways that the results of our partnership can be further used in order for you to create more value from your company’s investment.

1.  PR/Marketing –Nothing grabs people’s attention like a beautiful image.  Showcasing a state of the art innovation creates memorable marketing, industry buzz, and can get consumers talking.

2.  Sales presentations-Showcase past work to future clients. From web portfolios to one-on-one presentations, using high quality imagery not only presents your products and services in the most professional manner, it also elevates your brand.

3.  Trade Show presentations-Many companies rely on trade show presentations to showcase innovative designs and ideas.  Do you have the images you need to effectively communicate your viewpoint thus making you the expert?

4. Awards and competitions-My photography has garnered more than 100 awards for my clients within various competitions.  This exposure not only serves as a congratulatory note to team members and clients, but also increases the opportunity for additional media coverage.

5.  Real estate kits aimed at property management companies-Enhancing store concepts for the better mall and property management companies serves not only to acquire space with better malls, but better spaces within those malls as well.

6.  Visual merchandising/store planning guidelines and standards-Educating decentralized store associates on how to present consistent visual standards across sites, guidelines can help you differentiate your concept in today’s highly competitive retail environment.

7.  Prospective franchise materials-Showcasing new design initiatives for franchise materials and sales kits raises awareness among existing and perspective franchisees.

8.  Sharing best practices  - Consumer product and apparel companies, as well as retailers, use photo documentation of merchandising programs and floor sets to raise the bar for in-store execution and encourage increased sales performance.

9. Annual Reports/Investor Presentations-CFO’s and investor relations will frequently use imagery in order to entice investors and present new initiatives to investors, analysts and lenders.

10. Copyright/patent/trademark registration uses-Corporate attorneys will frequently use photography as documentation for copyright/patent issues.

Use equals value.  How do you use my images to increase their value to your company? Can you add any ideas? I’d love to hear from you.

Design Lighting

A recent discussion within a photography forum concerning lighting had me thinking.  A photographer wondered how much lighting is needed for a site.  Many on the forum felt natural was the way to go, while others felt that creative liberties should be allowed.

As a photographer of retail spaces, I’ve always tried to light within the confines of the environment, but still have the textures, colors, and necessary merchandising and graphics play their part.  Woods and stones in particular will almost always need supplemental lighting on them in order to showcase their natural beauty.   Even still, I try hard to have any supplemental lighting match the store choices.

Other considerations on my end are tied to focal points within the image, merchandising as well as consumer walk-thru spaces.  Highlighting these allows a viewer of an image to see what I call the design intent of a space.  By focusing on these details I feel my photography visually aligns what a designer had intended a site to look like to the actual images.

Global Shop

Global Shop will be held from March 10-12 in Las Vegas.  Last year I didn’t have the opportunity to go and missed it tremendously.  It’s always nice to visit with friends and colleagues, discover new opportunities, and talk with people in the industry.

This year however, I will be there and am looking forward to once again meeting with people in the industry.  I am actively in the process of making appointments to meet with anyone in the industry whom I may be able to help.  If you’re planning on attending, I would love the opportunity to meet with you-even for a handshake!  No matter if you are a designer, retailer, publisher within the industry, manufacturer, vendor or all around curious spectator please feel free to contact me via email, text, or phone for a hook up!

Competition Season

Award season is quickly approaching!  Deadlines are quickly coming up and it’s time to start thinking about what it is that competitions mean to firms and their employees.  This is the opportunity to showcase the work that your firm has dedicated itself to for the past year.

The documentation of your design intent is a very important part of your competition package.  What is it that makes a winner stand out from the rest of the entries?  Great photography enhances the viewers perception of the space.  Only through properly photographing the design intent can your audience fully appreciate the thought process you’ve put into your projects.

True photography is not about documentation.  It’s about energy, space, and lighting.  Creative camera lighting and techniques showcase the textures, graphics and overall flow of a retail space.  Take a look at a few of the many award winning projects that I’ve photographed and I think you’ll see what I have in mind for your project!

I’ve added an award portfolio for you to view images from sixteen of the many award winning projects that I’ve photographed for my clients.  If you would like to see more images from any of the projects, please feel free to let me know.

I’m Excited!

I’m excited!  Every so often we all get to turn over new leafs and step beyond where we’ve been.  This new website is an extension of just that.  I feel that Fourth Floor Interactive, the designers of my new site, has put a vibrancy into my work that I’ve not felt in awhile.  Look at the same images everyday and it numbs the mind, but Jennifer has worked hard to help me realize the freshness my work has.  Thanks so much for that Jennifer, you are a talented and gifted craftsman!

A few words about what you’re looking at.  This site is intended to by updatable, vibrant and current.  Please help me keep it so.  I wish to make this site not only a showcase of my photography talents, but to show the respect I have for my clients and their work.  One thing you will notice is that each featured project is pretty much shown in its entirety.  I feel that by showing an entire site the viewer better understands my thought process and talents.  I feel that I understand how you present what you do, and I use that understanding to create images that help you sell yourself, feature your work, and create more work for yourself.  Only through successfully doing that can I in turn do it all over for you once more.

Thanks to all my clients for allowing me the opportunity to answer my calling.  You all do great work, sorry I can’t feature everything, but I will be rotating projects out on an ongoing basis, so return again.  If there’s a project you’d like to see, well, I’ll take suggestions.