Category : Photography Toggle

Album cover shoot for Lauren Lane (Gold Coast)

Gold Coast musician, Lauren Lane, By Photographer Paul Williams

 

 

Two weeks ago I shot the new album cover for Lauren Lane – a young Gold Coast country/folk singer-songwriter.
Her upcoming album title is ‘In my head’, so I wanted the shot to reflect an intimacy that is fitting for this very personal collection of songs. By posing Lauren with an old suitcase of keepsakes and unspecified treasures, this shot becomes a nice visual representation of the emotions and experiences that Lauren’s expressing lyrically on the album.

Lauren was really supportive of the art direction and was fantastic to work with. She took direction well and managed some challenging poses like a pro! I must also thank Kristen Wyborn for doing such a great job with the hair & makeup. Kristen airbrushed Lauren’s makeup for the shoot, in order to avoid using oil-based makeup with a shine to it and the results held up great for the duration of the shoot, which was excellent.

This album cover shot was a very ambitious 5 light setup that needed to be nailed and balanced throughout. From the window light cast across the back wall (all done in-studio), to controlling the spill from the kicker flash placed in the suitcase, this is a shot that I’m really proud of. Most importantly, the client is beside herself with the shots, so check out Lauren’s music HERE and support a young Australian’s music once ‘In my head’ is released!

Gold Coast musician, Lauren Lane, By Photographer Paul Williams

Effective photography for Australian hair salons, barbershops & day spas

B&B Hair Salon Gold Coast group portrait by Paul Williams Photography Gold Coast & Brisbane

As clients’ marketing results improve greatly with the use of high quality photography, they have the comfort of seeing their advertising spend as highly justified.

The good-will that has built from my clients’ success seems to be building in the form of recommendations and I somehow now find myself as a go-to photographer for hair salons, barbers & day spa’s in the Gold Coast & Brisbane region! Am I soon to meet the shadowy Don of the manicured mafioso as I shoot more and more highly awarded hero’s of hair styling?!

When I was asked last week to do a photo shoot for B&B Hair Salon on the Gold Coast, I knew a funky portrait approach would be wanted. Co-owner, Quentin Boulogne, was an Art Director for Toni & Guy in Paris and prides himself on providing not just great hair styling, but also up-to-date advice on the latest trends and treatments suitable for each of his clients. So I planned the shoot with this in mind…

Together with his wife, Joanne, I shot Quentin and their team in the salon which is thankfully a very cool space. For the group portrait, I chose to leave the back-lights in the shot, tying-in their relevance to the salon’s cool lamps in the lounge area. This also gives the shot further relevance for use when the B&B team achieve their future goal of expanding the salon to include a photography studio, showcasing their award-winning cuts & treatments.

The client’s are ecstatic with the interior shots and of course the portraits which rightly portray the staff as they are – colourful, edgy and highly approachable. The B&B team really are artisans at their craft and do amazing work, so if you’re getting a little on the fluffy side, get yourself down to the salon and experience some of the best in the business on the Gold Coast.

B&B Hair Salon Gold Coast staff portraits by Paul Williams Photography Gold Coast & Brisbane

 

B&B Hair Salon Gold Coast owner’s portrait by Paul Williams Photography Gold Coast & Brisbane

 

 

Portrait photography of Gold Coast musician, John Hosking

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Last week I photographed Gold Coast singer/songwriter, John Hosking for his CD single artwork.
John was at Bignote Productions recording a very pensive track and I wanted the photos to reflect the ambience of the music in this black and white portrait, which is more classically lit.

I shot an additional portrait of John in studio 1 at Bignote, which is a great working portrait set against the backdrop of studio gear and the acoustic ceiling.
John’s pumped with the shots and asked me today to shoot his upcoming album cover, so looking forward to collaborating with the man again!

You can connect with John here, as his story unfolds:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Hosking/666702543444809

 

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Photo shoot for Gold Coast fitness celebrity, Sam Wallace

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Last week I shot Gold Coast fitness celebrity, Sam Wallace, for his new website photography. Sam needed some quality fitness shots that showed him training a client as her Personal Trainer.

The shoot had a few restrictions to overcome; we could only access a gym with a very low ceiling, making it tough to control the light. We were also restricted to landscape format shots, which would fit the format of the website’s UI.
Regardless of these, as well as space restrictions, we had an extremely productive evening and got a range of shots that I’m really happy with – and importantly, Sam is “pumped as hell” with the shots!

Lighting from overhead is often what’s needed to flatter a male physique, but side-lighting to allow for such a low ceiling managed to give really nice definition to the models’ muscles and also give them both great separation from the cluttered background.

My fitness photo shoots will be getting more popular now that summer is on it’s way here on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, so get in early if you’d like to shoot and email me at paul@pwphotography.net!

Until the next!   🙂

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Music photography by Paul Williams photography, Gold Coast – Brisbane, Australia

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Last week I photographed singer/songwriter, Mitch King, in a recording studio session at Bignote Productions. He was tracking a new song for his upcoming album.

This photo was taken through a porthole window to the recording studio. I like the rim-light in this shot and the blurred window frame that frames the shot itself – it reminds me of old Super-8 or medium format film.

After the session, Mitch asked me to shoot his album cover next week here on the Gold Coast, which I’m very much looking forward to. The songs that he’s recorded for the album so far are awesome, so it’s a really nice project to be involved with.
This was my 2nd shoot for Bignote Productions who, to my surprise, asked me to be their in-house photographer from now on! It’s such a talented team at Bignote and being able to provide photography for the musicians producing music at the best recording studio on the Gold Coast feels like an ongoing collaboration that will be a perfect fit. So if you’re looking to produce music and you’re in the Gold Coast / Brisbane region, drop by the studios here to say hello. You just might end up in front of my lens as my next blog entry!

You can check out Mitch’s tunes here:  http://mitchkingmusic.com.au/

Band photography for Bignote Productions, Gold Coast

Last week I was asked to shoot a band recording a track for their upcoming album, at Bignote Recording Studios on the Gold Coast.

I had just 5-10 minutes to shoot each band member while they were warming up, before their studio session began. This is a good example of what can be achieved even in such a rush, with just one small compact flash unit (triggered remotely). For the vocalist, I placed a 2nd compact flash unit beneath the drum kit to illuminate the skins and bring out the background details of the studio, while still keeping the emphasis on the sharp foreground subject.

Everyone at Bignote was really happy to see the results of a photo shoot done within such time constraints and I loved having the chance to see the amazing music being produced there. If you’re a band or independent musician in the Gold Coast or Brisbane region, do yourself a favour and go see the folks at Bignote Productions!

 

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Portrait photography of Elijah Cavanagh, Gold Coast Videographer

Gold Coast Videographer, Elijah Cavanagh asked me to shoot his portrait this week.
Elijah works here at the Burleigh Heads studio and this photo of him is as honest as the man himself. I shot with a very narrow depth of field to keep Eli’s eyes nice and sharp, with focus falling off quickly around his hair and jacket. Tidy.

Elijah leaves us for a month today on assignment in Canada (shooting music videos – sweet gig)!
You can check out Elijah’s excellent showreel here, if you’re interested in booking a fantastic Videographer for your next project, anywhere in Australia (or canada, evidently)!

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Corporate portrait shoot, Gold Coast, Australia

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing corporate portraits for my new client, Global Migration Consultants.

The girls were a pleasure to shoot and wisely, wanted a different take on the generic ‘muslin background portrait’ that you would typically see for lawyers.
We settled on a more approachable portrait that showcased both the friendly staff and the spacious boardroom that their downtown offices boast.

 

Corporate-portrait-Brisbane

Interior photo shoot, south of Brisbane

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This week I photographed interiors for ABC Construction – a client in Yatala, south of Brisbane.
ABC produce steel kit homes and have an old school business model which, somewhat wonderfully, involves excluding banksters from any of their dealings, in order to reduce liability all round.

I shot both interiors and exteriors for them, photographing the entire show home.
Because the home was still in their enormous warehouse awaiting delivery , I also retouched the warehouse view through each window, with rural property views using Photoshop.

Both the photo shoot and image retouching turned out really well, the client was impressed and I got to hit the famous Yatala Pie Shop on the way home, so everybody was happy!

 

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Photo shoot for Scoot Airlines

On assignment in China.

A while back I was flown to Beijing to shoot for Scoot Airlines.
I was to cover the city of Tianjin, an hour or so on the bullet train from Beijing.
This is my ideal gig – wandering a foreign land with a very open brief and a camera in hand. This very thing is what took my photography from ‘hobby’ to ‘obsession’ so many years ago and these kind of shoots for me, ironically, feel like coming home.

I had an amazing time shooting the city – sitting regularly as inspiration took hold, to write the feature article passages that would accompany my photography.
The piece was well-received in the in-flight magazine and once again, I counted myself very lucky as having had another international shoot of this kind.

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Old local practising Chinese character calligraphy with water on the dusty morning pavement.

Old local practising Chinese character calligraphy with water on the dusty morning pavement.

 

A friendly social dance group in a Tianjin City park.

A friendly social dance group in a Tianjin City park.

 

The serene Tianjin River by night.

The serene Tianjin River by night.

 

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During my stay, I was put-up at the stunning St Regis Hotel, which was a most welcome sanctuary after some very long days wandering the many landmarks and quaint hutongs. Upgrading me to one of their finest suites after some friendly chat, I felt it only right to return the favour by snapping a few interiors of the hotel for their marketing. Appreciating such beautiful interior design is again, one of my favorite aspects of what I do.

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Before I left for Tianjin, a client at Fitch Design in Singapore heard that I was headed to Beijing briefly, so booked me to shoot for Dell computers while I was in town. Our team was wined and dined after each day at some of the cities best restaurants and I tacked a couple of days onto the end of the trip to visit the Great Wall and of course the Forbidden City. The trip was over all too quickly, though a taster of China in this way was, as a Photographer, as good as it gets!

 

Photo shoot for Lawful Rebellion

Last week I had the pleasure of art directing and shooting for a business that I truly believe in for social reasons. This is a rare treat and I was so pleased to see how ecstatic the clients were with the photography.

Lawful Rebellion is a business based on the Gold Coast, Australia, who have launched a clothing range featuring socially-conscious messages. Their mission is to encourage self-education regarding civil liberties and the self-empowerment that’s gained through shared knowledge.

This is a topic that is very dear to me

in this era of rapidly eroding civil liberties  (particularly in Australia) and I’m very happy to throw my support behind initiatives that aim to bring about positive change.

You can see the results of the photo shoot and clothing range here:
http://lawfulrebellionclothing.com/

 

Lawful Rebellion fashion shoot 1

 

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“If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.”
-Mark Twain

Welcome to the blog…

…and the new site!

I’m extremely excited to launch my new site today, which is a vast improvement on the previous one – a task that escaped me for too long! This site was built by David Hackett at nomadicmultimedia.com, who I can’t recommend highly enough. His work was thorough, prompt and he was extremely helpful in teaching me the back-end management side of things. Thanks Dave!

Please feel free to check in regularly to see what I have been shooting or click on the RSS feed button on the far right of this page. I will be riffing here from time to time about various projects of note as well as relevant industry thoughts and news.
Please also feel free to follow me on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn if we’ve already done business together.

Take care – until the next!

– Paul