Beyond Asphalt - Photographing A Road Construction Crew | A Digital Art That Rocks Photo Series

I Am The Highway

One thing that was particularly interesting about this location shoot, is that I had no physical address to plug in to my GPS. Just multiple locations on various stretches of highway in tandem with my own set of eyes. Luckily, it's pretty easy to spot a road crew as traffic begins to slow down a bit.

This wasn't my first rodeo pulling workers away from their day job in order to create their portrait. It was however my first time photographing people alongside a major stretch of a highway, which brought another level of intensity to this project. Anytime your photographing people and pulling them away from their job, means you need to respect their time and work fast. To stay safe in an environment like this, you also have to use your peripheral vision to keep an eye out for hot asphalt, large machinery & on coming traffic, all the while making sure your equipment is non obtrusive and portable enough to move at a moments notice.     

Beyond Asphalt

As most assignments go, you don't always know what's in store for any given photo shoot. I recently had a location assignment to photograph an asphalt company and follow their road construction crew around for a day.

It couldn't have been better day for an outdoor shoot. The morning started off with a warm glowing haze on the horizon alongside a clean, cool, Indiana breeze. Creating some illustrious contours, the the sun made it's presence known in the early hours of summer as it spilled over the backlit mountainscape of bronze asphalt. In northern Indiana, this is about as close as you're going to get to actual mountains. 

Light is the language of photography. And as a commercial photographer, I'm constantly observing & studying the properties of light. Whether I'm using the sun as my main light source or as a backlight, when shooting outdoors, I'm particularly cognizant of the sun's position at all times, using it to shape and creatively light my subjects. Whether it's a portrait or an object, knowing how to work with and shape light is absolutely crucial. 

I created a lot of imagery that day. But I'd say the hardest portrait to create was Peter (seen holding the stop/slow sign). I saw him from afar and just thought to myself, I have to make this guys portrait. He look like he had character and personality. Luckily, he was an awesome guy to work with and very receptive to having his portrait made. Despite the small amount of time we had to work together, we managed to have a good conversation and mutual respective for one another. 

We literally had less than 3 minutes or less between each set of moving traffic. You have to remember, we're in the middle of the highway. He has traffic stopped in one direction, so traffic from the opposite direction can get through. So I had to work extremely fast; moving my equipment into the middle of the road, creating dynamic portraits and then moving the hell out of the way. I did this at least 3 times before I had the shots in my minds eye.  

When doing a photo shoot like this, you have to remember, that these guys are not used to being photographed, especially while doing their job. Despite their serious expressions, these guys were fantastic to work with. I believe we established a mutual respect for one another, and I sure respect the hell out them for working in the elements the way they do. This line of work can be extremely dangerous due to extreme temperatures, and operating large machinery.  

As a commercial photographer, you have to be ready for almost anything. Though I specialize in product & architectural photography, I also believe that learning the disciplines of other types of photography can really help you on any given shoot. This outdoor industrial shoot is a perfect example of cultivating skillsets from various genres of photography and bringing them together on set to create a strong collection of imagery that simultaneously shows creative vision & technical proficiency. 

Knowing how illuminate someones face to create that classic painterly rembrandt triangle was not by accident. Being cognizant of the sun's position and using it backlight my subject and create a beautiful rim light that works harmoniously with my off camera flash, was not an accident. Shooting in the middle of the day, and still being able to create that amazing shallow depth of field to separate my subject from the background, was not by accident.

Hiring a professional commercial photographer can make all the difference on your next project. If you're serious about creating great imagery Contact Brian for a custom estimate based on your needs.

Brian Rodgers Jr. | Commercial Photographer/Digital Artist | Digital Art that Rocks LLC
www.digitalartthatrocks.com | Contact Brian
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Why Professional Portraits Are Important In Today's Digital Marketplace | Digital Art That Rocks LLC | Mishawaka, IN

Why Are Professional Portraits Important? 

In todays world, a large majority of "first impressions" are often digital. Both professional & business related interactions often start online whether it’s through a company website or social media. Your professional headshot goes a long way in delivering a consistent digital identity & personal brand across all platforms that you choose to utilize. A professional headshot can help you establish credibility & trust when you’re connecting with other professionals on social media networks like Linkedin. Approach these digital interactions as you would any first impression.

Personal Branding 

People don’t buy from companies, they buy from brands. Everyone has their own personal brand. Even if you work for a large company, sales are often generated as a direct result of a one on one interaction with a personal brand within that company. Whether you’re happy in your current position or you’re looking for new career opportunities, your personal brand is the catalyst for professional growth.

Digital Identity

Your digital identity is a representation of your online self. A great headshot goes a long way in creating a respectable online presence and a personal brand that people trust. Think about people you know and trust. Chances are, you have a clear and distinct visual of what they look like. It’s hard to trust someone you can’t visualize.

Perceived Value

Imagine this. You're thinking about taking your spouse out to a nice meal for your anniversary. You decide you want to find a nice Italian restaurant. With a quick search online and you've found two local Italian restaurants. But one has a way more intriguing website than the other. They've got these beautiful images of the building's exterior architecture & dining areas, everyone in the images look like they're having a great time. The food photography looks like imagery you'd see in a Food Network magazine. They have this amazing portrait of the Italian chef who's parents started the restaurant back in the day. And the other guys....well their photos are terrible. They look like snapshots taken from a cell phone or point and shoot camera in terrible lighting. Not only that, their website isn't mobile friendly which is a big deal, because chances are, you're searching for restaurants on your mobile device. So where are you going to take your spouse for dinner? Which one looks more appealing & appetizing?

Let me answer for you. Based on the websites you just viewed, you're going to choose the nice Italian restaurant with the best digital identity. The place with the amazing chef portrait validating the authenticity of the establishment on their "About" page. The Italian restaurant with better food photography, and the nice interior space where everyone is having a great time. Why is this? Because you had a great first impression based on the restaurant's digital identity. You haven't even stepped foot onto their property. Yet you've established an emotional connection with the beautiful imagery and a perceived value of that restaurant. Even though the interaction was purely digital, your first impression was a good one.

What does an Italian restaurant have to do with a portrait? Much like the Italian restaurant's digital identity, your portrait is a digital representation of your online self. Often times your first impression is happening whether you are aware of it or not. If you're using social media, or your portrait is on a company website than it's safe to assume that your digital headshot is communicating with potential sales leads, new business ventures, new clients/customers, maybe even new job opportunities. But what is it saying about you?

Why Your Cell Phone "Selfies" May Be Hurting Your Personal Brand

Chances are, if you're using a so called "selfie" as your portrait on professional networking sites or company websites, you are being perceived as unprofessional and may be missing opportunities. Or perhaps, you're a CEO and have a missing headshot. What does that say about your company & personal brand? It may come off as untrustworthy & unsure. That mediocre Linkedin headshot taken with your cell phone camera doesn't matter....until the next big company is looking for real talent. 

Final Thoughts

In today's age, your portrait/headshot is extremely important to your personal brand & digital identity. A great headshot should project confidence & professionalism. Having a great headshot for your personal brand can lead to some amazing opportunities in the future.

Here are some things to think about:

1. How do you want people to perceive you in person & online? Do they currently align with each other?
2. Are you using social media to search for career opportunities or advancement?
3. Do you run your own business? How do you want people to perceive your business? It starts at the top.
4. Do you want job recruiters to show interest in you? A great headshot can grab their attention.

Next Steps

Contact Brian Rodgers Jr. at Digital Art That Rocks LLC today if you're interested in seeing what a professional headshot from Digital Art That Rocks can do for your business!

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to my friends at Benifiel Dentistry

Brian Rodgers Jr. | Commercial Photographer/Digital Artist | Digital Art that Rocks LLC
www.digitalartthatrocks.com | Contact Brian
Instagram | Google + | Twitter | Youtube