Corporate Industrial Photography in North Carolina

In our digital world run in by the Internet and Artificial Intelligence, we are apt to forget that a great deal of the sweat and tears behind the functional machines in our lives remain unseen – hidden behind the walls of industrial factories stretching far and wide throughout the US. The examples are endless: the cars we drive; the refrigerators, washing machines, boilers, and broilers in our kitchens; not to mention our garden implements, and myriad other household items. Of course all these as mentioned compile only a small subset of the industrial production landscape that inevitably makes our lives easier. Indeed, factory dynamics reflect another world – one that is simply fascinating to the eye if presented by an industrial photographer that knows all about imagery and building specialized image libraries.

Manufacturing photography in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We spoke to Brett Lemon, a noted and prolific commercial photographer in Raleigh NC to get the inside scoop as to why this aspect of photography is in such high demand, and why it commands finely attuned skills to capture the right moods and image-induced emotions. The chat was not only illuminating it was quite mind boggling when boiled down to the nuts and bolts of the matter (excuse the pun). Brett’s insight was deep, notwithstanding his experience covered the region from Raleigh in North Carolina to Roanoke in Virginia. The following captures most of his enlightening description.

Industrial environments are hard-core, to say the least: they represent blue-collar America in its best light, toiling over churning production lines with spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers to keep the wheels of commerce turning. Factories in America are integrated with fire, kilns, stark brick walls, sheets of metal, iron and alloy ingots ranging in color from dull grey to brassy gold. Also, forklifts, steel-structured warehouse shelving loaded with parts big and small – all overlaid with billowing steam, and the perspiration streaming from the pores of factory workers.

It’s the task of the industrial photographer to extract the most compelling images – the ones that capture the reality of the most stressful moments; the furrows creasing brows of grizzled individuals that mark the years of dedication to the production line; the extreme temperatures endured every day no matter what the climate outside is like – and then, of course, there’s the machinery. The machinery may be modern or antiquated, gargantuan in size or minuscule, simple or intricate, new or worn-out, active or idle, manually operated or automatic. The industrial photographer is inevitably contracted by the manufacturer’s management to capture the moods, the dynamics, and the personnel inside the business with standout brand imagery as the underlying motivation. This requires him or her to be adept at shooting close-ups as well as macro-photography, which in turn involves skillful adaptation of macro lenses and accessories, ring flashes, comprehensive lighting gear and all the other latest-technology equipment needed for high-end shooting. Here’s the bottom line: in any factory setting geared to modern-day USA, the raw and gritty lives alongside the slick & smooth - sometimes with a facade. This implies there’s importance attached to depicting glaring contrasts inside typical factory businesses as essential ingredients of any advertising image portfolio. 

Finally, from Brett’s viewpoint looking at things through Raleigh NC colored lenses: great industrial photographers emerge from a versatile professional photography background. It is not uncommon to see the best industrial-image-experts link back to photojournalism, architectural shot makers, or even those whose skills were honed in fashioning portraits. In almost all cases, in this somewhat unique but extremely profitable branch of photography, the best have been apprenticed to dedicated industrial photographers for a reasonable tenure before breaking out on their own.

So if you are a factory owner anywhere in the North Carolina or Roanoke areas, and you want the soot, fire, and heat of your facility to shine through in black-and-white or color imagery, contact…

Brett Winter Lemon

brett@brettwinterlemon.com

Commercial Photography beats stock-photos hands down in Raleigh North Carolina

Strong brand impression is the name of the game when it comes to winning marketing campaigns in our world dominated by digital social media. Put another way, advertisers want to make their brand the cool alternative in a consumer arena where there are infinite choices. Any commercial photographer dialed into the client’s wavelength knows that mind-blowing brand differentiation is the surest way to secure his or her loyalty. In the trade we formally call this branding photography; informally, it means using our special skills to make our clients brand stand out from the crowd in every positive way.

An age-old debate has been raging that tosses around the merits and demerits of custom photography versus stock photography when it comes to giving a brand the power-boost to shoot for the stars. As a Roanoke and Raleigh corporate photographer with a client reach across Virginia and North Carolina I have the credentials to say it’s no contest: a marketing photographer wins hands down every time when it comes to virtual advertising of all brands striving for distinction.

Custom photography for West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Most of what I have to say on the subject is really common sense, but here are my thoughts anyway: first off, with stock photos, you can never be sure if they’ll hold up under license review. Getty Images, for example, makes a mission of chasing unauthorized usage of its material and bringing the culprits to justice one way or another. When the images are originals in your own exclusive image library, there’s simply no discussion as to who owns them.

A commercial photographer has the talent to twist and turn a newly created image portfolio to fit in exactly with the brand under focus. This is far off the other end of the spectrum where picking out fixed photos from a confusing range of stock images is the order of the day; one that frankly becomes a blur after five minutes. Rather, it’s taking the right photos to create the right emotions that fit naturally, as opposed to somehow looking forced or staged. When end users lock on to a brand it’s usually because it’s a natural fit and the benefits are subtle - not in your face. Naturalness and subtlety are the staple attributes of a professional photographer who takes the time to understand the advertiser’s imagery requirements from every angle.

Original branding campaign for a resort in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.

So let me put it another way. If your brand can afford to take the risk of staying non-exclusive and slotted into a stereotype corridor, then stock photos are a viable option. This means that your competitors can leverage the same images and there’s not a thing you can do about it. Alternatively, if you don’t care one way or another there is a big question about your commitment to distance your brand from the competition. For a brand to be pristine, its imagery has to be pristine. There’s simply no way stock photos can get around these requirements and come out winning.

Imagery today works best if different technologies are merged in creative ways. For example, vectors are becoming a favored medium – look no further than the all-time leader, Google. The best route for big city advertisers in Raleigh and Roanoke to push their brand images is to plug into a versatile branding photographer who understands all 

the digital options and can connect them with customized depictions to bring more users and repeat buyers onboard.

For more information contact……………

Brett Winter Lemon

540-529-3876

Marketing executives from Roanoke to Raleigh are collaborating with Professional Photographers to elevate their Brand Images and overhaul their Advertising Campaigns

The wheels of commerce are being turned fast and furiously by powerhouse entities like Bank of America, Lowes, RAI Reynolds American, Elizabeth Arden and Coca-Cola – to name but a few Fortune 500 companies – in the city hubs of Roanoke and Raleigh. No less daunting is the economic boom ignited by myriad small businesses across the retail spectrum, inside the consumer product arena and representing every professional service entity one can imagine that have spread prolifically throughout North Carolina and Virginia since the last recession. The one distinctive characteristic that binds them all is the virtual stampede to attain a competitive edge; to stand head-and-shoulders above the next best.

In our altered Wi-Fi-connected digital world that has embraced the inevitability of Internet and social media marketing, every sole trader and company vies frenetically to establish a meaningful Web presence. This means that memorable branding has never been more emphatically dependent on the integrated concepts of visual and audio/visual impact. Marketing executives and their CEOs are fast realizing that although camera technology in iPhones and Android devices has galloped into the stratosphere, it is still an inadequate and somewhat amateurish resource when it comes to the high-standard imagery essential for brand excellence. In other words, a staff member clicking away with his cell phone, even if the photo-shoot is organized, is not going to connect the business to its targeted clients; nor is it going to create separation from competitors by highlighting the unique imagery perceptions that attach to brand remembrance.

The emerging realization mentioned above is that brand prominence and maintaining brand loyalty is inextricably connected to contracting a commercial photographer (more specifically a Roanoke photographer or Raleigh photographer, or both) who is in sync with the business’s marketing needs. Professional input is crucial when it comes to developing image libraries built around virtual tour services and stills alike. Specialty shoot requirements like hotel, aerial and premium photography; Google Virtual Business Tours, or Matterport 3-D Walk-throughs hammer home the point that narrow photography skill-sets have propelled brand imagery in 2018 into a realm all of its own. The burden falls firmly and squarely on the shoulders of decision makers in marketing divisions to understand that a hired marketing photographer must not only have an instinct for the business’s mission and strategic focus but also has to capture it on camera. Branding photography, corporate photography, custom photography – call it what you will – is indeed the lifeblood of modern advertising campaigns in Raleigh and Roanoke these days. To succeed it has to resonate in every positive way with the target audience.

Another big benefit of commercial customized photography is that all the images are copyrighted to the advertiser (i.e. the photographer’s client). This is a huge relief in an increasingly loose environment where there’s a belief that any found image is fair game. Image-library companies like Getty have disavowed many an image-pirate of that erroneous view by relentlessly combing the Internet for non-copyright use of their images, and taking the culprits to court if necessary. Peace-of-mind in the development and flexibility of one’s brand profile with unique images, customized without any confusion of title, is a fundamental pillar built on a central commonsense principle: that every brand-conscious business today should be aligned with one or even an array of commercial photographers. It’s an essential tactic in the quest to present a unified message that converges on the most receptive perceptions of potential customers.

Using Color Temperature for a Punch

Understanding color temperatures can be sometimes difficult for new photographers. Understanding what practicals (just a typical lamp or room light) are providing for the location. Whether you want to turn them off or use them to your advantage. The technology of bi-color LED's has really changed the game. You can match practicals in almost any environment. Below is an image that has some drastic color differences on the subject and the background. To achieve this the subject was under warm practicals so I keyed her with an Litepanels Astra 6x Bi-color, matching the lights. The overhead lights in the background were turned off. This gives the extreme blueish color keeping her nice and warm in color. 

It's easy to sometimes want to match every light temperature. But play around with it and have a little fun. 

Portrait using different light temperatures.