“I FELT COMPLETELY SUPPORTED IN WHAT I WAS TRYING TO ACHIEVE”
Initial plans were drawn up to produce a photoshoot abroad using multiple models to provide the brand with a bank of assets to use across our sites and social media. This seemed like an ideal project to get MSP involved in, and to their complete credit, neither Matthew or his production director flinched when I told them that we would be looking at a 10 day turn around time, starting from a completely blank slate. I wasn’t entirely convinced it was going to be possible, but at no point did they seem phased, and work started on the planning straight away.
Matthew clearly wanted to bring ideas to the table and work with me to produce a great shoot, instead of expecting all direction to come from the client side. In addition, MSP offer a complete team, and sourced models, stylists, Hair & Make-up, lighting assistants, retouchers and production assistance. This shoot wouldn’t have been possible without this service, as it was far beyond the scale of anything we had previously done at Bootea. I was able to send over rough initial ideas on model types and locations to Anne-Marie, MSP’s production director, and she very quickly came back with multiple options, potential routes we could go down, and complete respect for the budget that we were working too. What could have been a very stressful time ended up being exciting as all the parts fell in to place and it was clear that we had a great team ready to go on the shoot.
The shoot itself was on a very tight timescale – just 48 hours to shoot 10 scenes with multiple looks across the 3 different models. Despite a late night arrival at the venue and very little set up time, the entire crew hit the ground running and from the first set up to the final wrap each day, it was a great atmosphere on set. I’ve worked on shoots previously where the mood has been tense and there has been anxiety about whether we were going to be able to deliver the shots we intended. As we progressed through the shoot, the images got better and better as the entire team, including the models, kept bringing in new ideas they were keen to try. I had a clear idea before we started the shoot exactly the photographs I wanted from the shoot, but the images as a result of experimenting on the day are far better than I had imagined. It’s exactly what I hoped to get working with a creative photographer such as Matthew. I also have nothing but respect for man who is willing to go neck deep in a cold swimming pool whilst holding £20,000 worth of camera just above the water level because he has a shot he wants to try. I’ll have to find a way to push him even harder on the next shoot if the resulting image from his water based experiment are anything to go by…
The images from the shoot were used to launch the new Bootea.com website, and have been extremely well received by both the team in the office and our customers. In addition to the Cyprus shoot, Matthew took care of our 2016 product shots, and his attention to detail and commitment to getting the items looking as good as possible was above and beyond. The Bootea product range is extremely varied, and some of the items were difficult to shoot and light, but all the images came back looking superb. Plus, there were 250+ to choose from, which should keep us going for a while. I didn’t know there were so many different ways to shoot tea-bags, and I work with them every day. We have been using them extensively across all of social media and have seen a noticeable uplift in engagement.
As a client I felt completely supported in what I was trying to achieve with the shoot, and every request was met with ‘ we can definitely do that’ and a bunch of suggested about how we could make it even better. It was definitely the most enjoyable shoot I’ve ever been involved in and we will definitely be using Matthew and his team for the next shoot. “
Tom Campbell
Senior Art Director
BOOTEA