This project was a first for me...
I've done plenty of commercial projects in my "professional" career. I have yet to photograph a retail clothing store until this job.
Mizzen & Main found me through a google search and was looking for photography right away. This seems to be a common request in the industry. Unfortunately, there's only one me and my workload forces me to schedule jobs 4-5 weeks out (on average). I don't blame the clients for their urgency. Photography is a minor details in the grand scheme of these huge projects. Luckily, I'd be able to photograph on a weekend that fit Mizzen & Main's timeframe.
Here was an interesting point on this project: I was given a "Photography Guideline" packet, that included detailed descriptions of the various angles and focal lengths they required.
Hey, I get it. Mizzen & Main is a huge company with stores across America. They need continuity when it comes to their marketing efforts. The only thing was, I didn't completely agree with some of these focal length requirements. BUT they are the client and I want to make all of my clients happy. As the professional, it doesn't hurt to share your thoughts. On the scouting trip, I did just that. I received a response that made me feel all warm & fuzzy inside.
I told my client that some of the focal lengths and compositions weren't the greatest and offered some alternatives. Her response was "Oh, just use those guidelines as a base and do your thing. The marketing department put that together because we've gotten some bad photographers in the past. But I sent them your website and they said 'We are super excited to work with him and let him do his thing'."
Warm & Fuzzy......
Aside, the experience was great and they were happy they let me "do my thing". You can see some of my photographs at the store website, or just check them out below:
