Collaborating with the industrial design lead on Fitbit watches, I captured a series of images. The aim was simple: emphasize both the visual appeal and practical versatility of these products. The resulting photographs offer a clear depiction of how these watches seamlessly adapt to various user activities.
Fitbit
eBay Sneakers
The shoes are the star of the show in these images for eBay. The series was part of a campaign promoting the purchase of collectible footwear on their platform. The idea was to keep things simple, highlighting the shoes to appeal to collectors and fashion enthusiasts.
Fitbit Sense 2
I’m excited to share some photos I captured with Fitbit of their new Sense 2 smartwatch.
Lowercase Glasses
Video doesn’t have to be over the top, sometimes a small amount of movement is all you need. First I captured a high resolution photo with a still camera, then I switched over to a video camera to capture the video.
Lighting for both still and video used to be more complicated. Video requires continuous lights, in the past that would require HMI or tungsten lights. Now that the LED light market has exploded, there are tons of great options that work for both photos and video.
I was very happy to be showcasing Lowercase glasses, which are made in New York City. Now that I’m done photographing them, they will become my everyday glasses.
Says Chair
Sometimes bringing motion into a product video can be challenging, but in the case of the Sayl Chair by Herman Miller it was fun to let the chair spin and capture the natural movements. I wanted to showcase the details of the design and materials (by Fuseproject).
New Balance 990v2 Video
Version two of the New Balance 990. Unlike my previous New Balance video which is up and close and examines the details of the shoe, this one is a little more playful and pulled back.
New Balance 990 Video
I’m a huge fan of New Balance. I was excited when a tan version of the 990 came out. Originally created in 1982 they have stood the test of time and are still made today. I’ve created an up-close video to pay homage to their exquisite design and unique characteristics.
Cionic Lifestyle Photos
In my previous post I showed the photos of the Cionic Neural Sleeve that I captured in the studio. In addition, Cionic wanted to capture lifestyle photos to accompany the studio shots. The goal was to capture the images as the sun was going down. This gave us a small window of time to work with, so in anticipation we created a detailed shot list and scouted the scenes and lighting the week before. Fortunately we had beautiful weather and it all came together smoothly.
Cionic Neural Sleeve
I worked with Fuseproject and bionic startup, Cionic, to capture photos for the launch of their neural sleeve. The Cionic Neural Sleeve is a first-of-its-kind healthcare product which improves ease of walking for those living with multiple sclerosis and other neuromuscular diagnoses.
Our first round of photos was to captured photos in the studio that illustrate how the product works and the process of donning and doffing the sleeve.
Donut Joke
I love donuts and I love jokes, why not combine the two? It was as fun to make the set elements for this video as it was designing it.
And of course I had lots of donuts leftover. No wonder I love shooting donuts!
I created the initial design in Adobe Illustrator, then tile-printed it at 100% ( it was over 5 feet long!) with tabloid sheets of paper. I then used the large print as a template to cut the fabric and lay everything out in the right spot.
Boom Chicka Pop
I love creating custom sets for a product. For this set I added a little motion and a soundtrack to go with the Boom Chicka Pop microwave popcorn. I’ve also added a behind-the-scenes photo of the set.
Oatly Oat Milk
I was inspired by the playful cut-out shapes on the Oatly package art. I referenced shapes and elements from the packaging to create a playful scene with literal cut-outs! I’ve included a behind the scenes photo to show what the set looks like. It was a lot of fun.
Pickleball
I’ve only known about Pickleball for about a year, but it’s been around since the late '60s. Today, Pickleball, a hybrid of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, is the fastest-growing sport in America.
For this new portfolio image, I wanted to reflect on its heritage with a playful color scheme. I created two swirls out of paper to convey the movement of the ball as it’s volleyed back and forth. The composition and lighting also aim to create a youthful, energetic and joyful impression.
Sport images often show an ideal athlete, striking for peak performance and results. My intention here was to share the vibrant energy and humor which make Pickleball such a popular and addictive sport.
Sayl Chair
The Sayl chair by Herman Miller has simplified and advanced the desk chair in so many ways. I worked with the chair designers to photograph a new feature of the chair: a fabric back cover. This provides an added level of customization for the user. The goal of this project was to show how the fabric worked with the chair and showcase the color options.
The beauty of the design is that the fabric doesn’t hide the structure’s frameless suspension system. The loose weave of the fabric allows the chair’s back to show through. This quality was something we wanted to capture in the still photos. The stop motion piece allows the viewer to see the chair's shape from all sides as well as demonstrating how many colors combinations there are.
Color
How light reacts to something isn’t always predictable, especially with colored lights. Matte, shiny, and reflective areas all react differently to the incoming color light. The golf clubs I shot recently had all of these types of surfaces in a very small area. I need to think about the finishes as I’m lighting. Finding the right balance between the colored light and neutral light is also important. Using a similar color on the background helped create the feeling that the subject and background are connected and exist in the same space.
Computer History Museum
I was contacted by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View to use a photograph of mine in one of their exhibits. The subject of the show is the iPhone — it's history and impact on the world. It's a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the release of the iPhone.
At the initial release I was photographing the event and caught this shot of Steve Jobs gazing into the treasure-like case that held the first generation of the iPhone.
The museum features the photo in a display that is in their lobby. It was great to see how they curated the exhibit. I can't believe it's been 10 years!
Kala Eyewear
It is amazing how something as simple as a pair of glasses can completely change your look, whether you wear them everyday or just when the sun is out. I wear glasses by necessity and really appreciate a well-crafted pair. That is one reason I love Kala Eyewear. Their glasses are made by hand here in the Bay Area which is another reason. I got the chance to photograph two styles: Twiggy and Mick. Each pair is a piece of art with the potential to transform individuals. I wanted to showcase them as such so I built simple risers to create a graphic scene which would highlight the design and quality details. See their whole collection here: kalaeyewear.com
Hot Fruit
I teamed up with Amanda Hughes-Watkins and some of her colleagues from Hot Fruit to produce some imagery for their website. Hot Fruit is a series of events that connect women professionals with other like minded "Fruits" in a variety of fields. They had a great vision for the look and content of the photos and I was happy to help harvest the imagery. The direction was unique with exotic fruits, sweet wines, shapely greenery, and a delicious color palette. I think the images we created are rich and painterly. It was a fun shoot and great to collaborate with this bunch. Go to www.hotfruit.us.
KALW Rock Stars
I have a good friend who works at KALW (San Francisco’s public radio). I've helped him out with some photography in the past. When I was cruising the KALW website I noticed that the team could use some new portraits for their profiles. I approached them about volunteering my photo services for a day to update their head shots. The response was positive and I had many active participants who let me photograph them. I wasn't sure where I would be shooting or how much space I would have to work with so I kept my set up simple as possible. Even so, we had to temporarily take over some desk space to fit the setup. Thankfully everyone was very nice and willing to accommodate us for the day.
It was a fun day of meeting radio personalities and contributing to a local station. I was able to match a face with the voice of the radio hosts and meet all the people that work so hard to produce great radio shows about what’s happening in the Bay Area. They make it all seam so easy, but now I have a better idea of how much work goes into every show.
9th and Larkin
I worked with local chocolate maker 9th and Larkin on some photos. They make bean-to-bar chocolate by hand right across the hall from my studio. This style of chocolate making allows for the unique, region-specific flavors to come out in the chocolate. There are two ingredients to these single origin bars: cacao and sugar. The flavors are dictated mostly by the environment where the cacao plants grow and the differences are quite noticeable even for an untrained chocolate fan like myself. I tried to illustrate the story of how this process takes place, from the cacao pods, to the beans, to the nibs, and finally the finished dark chocolate. It was fascinating to learn the details of this hand crafted treat and taste the range of flavors. Check out 9th and Larkin here.