What a brand campaign needs from a photographer
Utah has more brands per capita than it has any right to. Silicon Slopes software companies in Lehi, outdoor brands in Ogden and Salt Lake, skincare and supplement companies along the whole Wasatch Front, a serious ski industry in Park City. Almost all of them are buying the same photography: bright, smiling, over-lit and indistinguishable from one another.
What I bring to a campaign is the opposite of that. Portraits with weight. Black and white when the brand can carry it, restrained colour when it cannot. People who look like they were caught thinking rather than told to laugh at nothing. If your brand's identity is "friendly and approachable" I am probably not your photographer, and I would rather say that here than after a day of shooting.
Campaign work I take on
- Founder and leadership portraits for company sites, funding announcements and press kits.
- Campaign imagery for skincare, cosmetics, apparel and wellness brands. Beauty campaigns get their own page.
- Athlete and ambassador portraits for outdoor and ski brands, on mountain or in studio.
- Hospitality and restaurant campaigns where the people, not the plates, are the point.
- Non-profit and institutional campaigns: hospitals, universities, arts organisations that need honest portraits of real people.
What I do not shoot: product-on-white, food, architecture and interiors, events. There are excellent commercial photographers in Salt Lake who specialise in each; I will name them if you ask.
How a campaign runs
Before
You send the brief. I send a treatment: how I would shoot it, where, with whom, and what it costs, split into creative fee, crew, expenses and licensing so you can see every line. We refine on a call. I scout and send frames. If talent needs casting I work with Salt Lake agencies or your own people.
On the day
I shoot tethered so your team sees frames on a monitor as they happen. Selects are marked live. Nothing is a surprise later. A campaign day is ten hours including setup; I move quickly because I have done this since 2010 and I light simply.
After
Proof gallery within 48 hours. Retouched finals within two weeks, or faster if the launch date demands it. Files delivered in every format your team asked for: layered TIFFs for the agency, JPEGs for web, vertical crops for social.
Licensing, in plain English
This is where commercial photography gets confusing and where I try to be very clear. I own the copyright to the photographs. You buy a licence to use them. The licence states three things: where (web, social, print, out-of-home, broadcast), how long (one year, three years, perpetual) and where in the world. A Utah brand using images on its own site and Instagram for two years pays much less than a national out-of-home campaign, because the images are doing much less work.
Perpetual, unlimited licences are available and priced accordingly. Most Utah brands do not need them. I will tell you what you actually need rather than sell you the biggest package.
One more thing: I ask to keep a portfolio right, which means I can show the work on this site after the campaign launches. If your launch is confidential we set an embargo date.
Locations for Utah campaigns
Studio in Salt Lake City. The Bonneville Salt Flats for anything that needs an empty white horizon (they require a BLM film permit for commercial work; I handle it). Park City and the Cottonwoods for ski and outdoor. Downtown Salt Lake's mid-century blocks, the Granary District and the west-side industrial areas for urban. The city's film permit is inexpensive and takes four business days; details on the permits guide.
Rates
Campaign photography is quoted per project: creative fee by the day or half day, crew and expenses at cost, licensing by usage. Typical ranges are on the pricing page. Agencies: send the scope and I will return a formal estimate within two business days.
Questions I get asked
No. I photograph people. For product, food, interiors or events I am glad to recommend Salt Lake photographers who do that work well.
I keep the copyright; you buy a licence defined by media, duration and territory. Most Utah brands need web, social and print for one to three years. Perpetual buyouts are available but rarely necessary.
Yes. I have a small crew in Salt Lake City and relationships with the local model agencies. Everything is itemised on the estimate.
Regularly. Send the brief and I will return a formal estimate with the creative fee, crew, expenses and licensing on separate lines.
Yes. Travel is quoted at cost. I shoot across Utah frequently and out of state several times a year.
