Ben Russell shoots work for Introduction to Editorial and Advertising module.
10th January 2023
Sports brand brief – The sports brand brief stood out to me as I was once an avid runner who adored the accessories and clothing that came with it. There is no brand that does it better than Nike, so it was an easy choice to make when sieving through my options, along with it being the only pair of running shoes I had left. The Revolution 5 trainers are predominantly black and white (with a hint of grey) so I wanted to stick with this theme of colours in the two images I was required to produce. I think doing so makes the product and logo stand out and links the product shot and target audience shot together quite well. I was very keen to use the studio and the lights available, so I knew from the start that’s where I would shoot the product image. My aim was to produce a sort of hero shot isolating the shoe as if it was a big release poster you would see in the window of a Nike shop.
What screams out running for advertising running shoes? A runner… So, it was obvious from the start I would need a model and location, which for me is new as I had never explored portraiture before. After hunting down a location that would suffice, I then needed to decide a pose or capture a movement to resemble running. Ironically my chosen model isn’t a fond runner but does participate in yoga, so a stretch pose seemed to be the way forward. I found some appropriate leggings that have Nikes cliché slogan on which deemed appropriate and just made sense to use. I really liked how it was readable in the pose that was being performed. I think the desired target audience for Nike is quite broad as anyone can participate in sports, especially running so having the models face covered to me was important so almost anyone can relate to the scenario that is stretching before a run. My finishing touches was to use ‘Move to zero’ instead of Nikes iconic ‘Just do it’ as it is promoting sustainability and their own goal to reduce waste and to use more recycled materials in their products.
T- Mobile brief – For the T-Mobile brief I wanted to produce a photo album style image that felt natural. As Christmas was drawing closer, I decided to dress my niece and nephew in their matching Christmas jumpers and have them stood in front of a decorated tree to give the sense of the holiday time. For this I used a Mamiya 645, which was my second time using a film camera and enjoyed the whole process including the stress of hoping the roll didn’t come out blank.
Mac brief – From the 3 products we were presented, the tripod seemed the most interesting to use for this brief. Following my initial interests, I decided to use the Benro tripod and experiment with different possibilities. I was certain I wanted to capture an image that demonstrated a possible use for the product so I began planning scenarios you may want to use the flexible feature, which was the USP for this product. I kept referring back to trees and how I could wrap the legs around a branch. I decided to go to the forest and found different branches and trees I could use for this shot. I then had my model stand as if she was on a hike alone and wanted to take a spontaneous self-portrait.
