Gold Coast & Brisbane foodies can check out my dedicated food photography site for my latest blog food shoot news, food trends, recipes and other time-sapping wonderment.
The latest news is that I’ve been short-listed for the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Awards! Regarded by many as the most prestigious of international food photography awards, I’m very flattered just to have made it this far. Here’s a direct link to the article… 🙂
The photography business has gotten off to a great start for 2016 – a good sign for business in the Gold Coast/Brisbane region.
I’ve been shooting a lot of food lately, hence the silence on this blog! You can read about these shoots on my independent food photography site here.
One recent shoot was for Pink Pitaya, a Gold Coast company supplying pitaya (AKA: dragonfruit) to cafes, restaurants and health food stores in the region.
Preview of the shoot can be seen below…
Behind the scenes…
Last week I was asked to photograph the hero shot and program imagery for the new theatre production at The Arts Centre Gold Coast.
‘Miss Saigon’ is set during the fall of Vietnam at the end of their civil war, and addresses some of the many issues that arose from the USA’s illegal interventional policies, both at the time of the conflict and during the decades since.
The Arts Centre have created a beautiful range of stage sets which were great to get a chance to see and incorporate into the shots. Their talented cast were great to shoot and the crew very helpful in assisting with the theatre lighting to complement my studio lights. My kind of shoot!
‘Miss Saigon’ opened this week and tickets to this great show can be purchased here. 🙂
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!
Last week I shot some lifestyle photography for Seachange Developments on the Gold Coast.
This very fun photo shoot involved shooting out the back of a golf cart, as 10 other carts followed, whilst winding our way through one of Australia’s most impressive over 50’s lifestyle communities. Seachange Emerald Lakes really made me think that retirement can be one long laugh, as the residents cruised around the buggy-friendly community to choose an f&b venue for the night, before cruising home with a few wines under the belt and no transport issues! We got some nice vehicle shots and people shots showcasing this lifestyle on the ‘Bridge of the rising sun’, and the surrounding streets that are lined by an 18 hole golf course.
You can read more about Seachange Emerald Lakes here.
Until the next! 🙂
Recently I was asked to photograph the album cover for The Green Room Project – the Gold Coast’s live monthly cabaret talk show.
The brief for the photography was to allow the personality of each group member to be shown, so a wider shot with a range of interesting poses allowed this, while also allowing the models to interact with each other. The striped marquee on the shoot location leant a theatrical feel to the photos, with some great wardrobe and props completing the styling!
Host, Matt Ward created The Green Room project as a novel way of showcasing emerging and undiscovered music talent, combined with mentoring by industry professionals. Recorded at Bignote Productions, six of Queensland’s most talented musical theatre and cabaret performers who have been featured on the show came together for the compilation album and were accompanied by musical director, Brad Rush, on a baby grand piano.
If you’re in the Gold Coast / Brisbane region, you can check out more details of this great concept here, as either an audience member or musician!
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
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! 🙂
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/
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!
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.
Brochure samples arrived in the mail last week from my client, who I shot the below job for.
I was shooting for a great Singapore design agency named DPI and their client was the Ministry of Social & Family Development.
Shoot day threw me a few curve balls when the Art Director was unable to attend and I was asked to art direct the shoot myself (which is no problem – my comfort in doing exactly this, is why many of my clients hire me). The curve ball came when I was informed by their client that I wasn’t allowed to photograph the faces of the children who I had been sent there to shoot! The kids were all from troubled homes or were juvenile delinquents, so their anonymity was important for privacy reasons.
I quickly decided that more abstract and ‘arty’ imagery would be needed to meet this brief, so I utilised the sunny day to backlight the kids and have their faces drop out to silhouette. Tight shots, low key shots, obstruction and shadow-play were also utilised during the two shoot days, to gather the body of work needed for the brochure.
The client was extremely impressed with the solution to a tricky brief and the brochures look fantastic – props to DPI!
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!
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.
Old local practising Chinese character calligraphy with water on the dusty morning pavement.
A friendly social dance group in a Tianjin City park.
The serene Tianjin River by night.
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.
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!
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/
“If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.”
-Mark Twain
All images copyright © Paul Williams Photography, Gold Coast & Brisbane. All rights reserved. No image may be copied/modified/distributed without prior written permission.