SHOOT LIKE A PR
Peter Fenech joins Gavin Forster on a series of magazine photoshoots to discover the challenges of capturing narrative editorial images to a brief
Gavin Forster finds it a challenge to define exactly what kind of photographer he is. Although some types of assignments certainly populate his calendar more regularly than others, he admits that he feels uncomfortable branding himself as someone who shoots just one specific genre. This is the case for many professional photographers today, as the market fluctuates and adapts to current creative requirements, client budgets and customer expectations.
At one time, it may have been easier to call yourself a ‘portrait photographer’ or ‘wedding and events photographer’.
Today this can, at worst, limit your appeal to clients and at best, simply not represent your interests and full skill set.
As pro photographers, we are constantly learning as new clients and conditions present themselves. Many assignments call for more than simply taking a series of portraits or capturing a building. This is demonstrated by the shoots on which I’m joining Gavin today.
As we meet in the charming town of Prudhoe, a few miles up the Tyne Valley from Newcastle, he explains that we’ll be shooting three subjects today, all for a very specific purpose. He has been commissioned to capture editorial images for Prudhoe Business (prudhoebusiness.co.uk), a new magazine that profiles local establishments serving the surrounding community. As an editorial shoot, it will call on many of Gavin’s skills in using space and lighting, as he works in some difficult environments. I ask how he normally plans for a shoot such as this and interprets any brief he receives.
“It all depends on the client, but adaptability is key,” he says. “There could be a tight brief but even on the jobs where this is the case, if something jumps out at me, I’m going to shoot it. So if I see something that is a slight variation on that brief but I think it’s worth doing because of the context, and I feel it could work if time allows, I’ll throw those shots in as well,” he explains.
“How I plan all depends on the context of the shoot because, sometimes, on our shoots for big companies they’ve asked for something specific which, for various reasons might not be completely achievable. Outside factors such as roadworks might mean I can’t sho
