Case Studies

Rabobank Australia & New Zealand

The Client

Rabobank is an international banking and finance cooperative in the agribusiness sector focused on farming, food production and distribution. They invest heavily within agricultural industries and provide valuable educational programs for their clients.

The Brief

My brief is to develop a large stock library of images shot on location across Australia and New Zealand. The photos feature across a variety of advertising campaigns nationally and internationally. The aim is to emphasise the close working relationship Rabobank clients have with the banking staff. The images must convey an easy connection between the subjects in a backdrop of the farm, and show processes that are state of the art.

Challenges Faced

My job is to improvise, shooting sight un-seen, literally dozens of locations and hundreds of people whom I have never met. The various shoots are primarily in rural areas and can run for weeks at a time. A day could include multiple shoots and hundreds of kilometres of driving. I rarely get more than four hours at each location and there is a large volume of specific images required.

The logistics of pulling together these shoots is huge, both for the bank staff and for me, so I am deeply grateful their staff are so competent.

Solutions

Upon arrival at each location, I need to rapidly build connection with the people/families, especially the children, as I need them to willingly become involved and follow instructions. Then, in consultation with the farmers and the bank staff, we formulate a plan and map out suitable locations. With over 75,000 images shot prior to editing to date, this job has taken me right across Australia and New Zealand. I truly enjoy the generous folk I meet and getting to spend time learning about their operations.

photos copyright Rabobank Australia & New Zealand

Finch Restorations

The Client

Finch Restoration is Australia’s, largest and longest-running automotive restorer. They take on some extremely complex restorations and always deliver stunning work.

The Brief

Extremely high-end photographic documentation of completed projects is very important in this industry. Finch needs photographs of projects in their raw state as they arrive, studio progress photos for halo cars and then a comprehensive shoot of the finished restorations.

Challenges Faced

The vehicles that Finch deal with are often worth huge sums of money. Taking a vehicle off the property, specifically for photography, adds massive complexity to the process. The project would need to be finished and road tested, or trailered, detailed on arrival and above all else, kept safe. Then it would need to be driven or transported back to Finch. I'd need a staff member with me off-site during the shoot.

Solutions

The best option was to work out a way that eyefood could photograph the cars on-site. There was a storage room that had originally been built as a high-ceiling industrial coolroom. We marked off one end and built a black-wall studio space. We hung a false ceiling of polystyrene sheets that spans 8 metres and used a truss system for the black fabric walls. The result is that any vehicle that Finch is working on, in any state of completion, can be driven, pushed or towed into the space, detailed (or not) and then photographed.

The benefits are many.

The best outcome is the consistency of the look of the images adds cohesion to Finch’s branding. Projects can be finished and then shot immediately before departure to the client. Staff need only stop work as required to help move a vehicle. Cost is not prohibitive to do a quick documentary photoshoot.

All of Finch’s restorations, from motorbikes to trucks, filthy unrestored cars, to immaculate six-figure restorations can be captured under perfect conditions. There is even talk that we may compile all of the automobile photography into a coffee table book one day…

Simtrack

The Client

Simtrack are designers and makers of premium horse race starting gates, running rails, steward’s towers and other horse racing equipment. They are passionate, self-styled engineers, always searching for a simpler, safer and stronger solution to problems faced by the horse racing industry.

The Brief

Consolidate a complicated website into a legible, user-friendly interface that shows the breadth and quality of Simtrack’s range and speaks to their position as market leaders.

Challenges Faced

Simtrack’s history stretches back to the 1950s when Lindsay Sims AM built Australia's first horse race starting gate. They are presently world leaders in horse racing equipment with products in over thirty countries.

This was quite a big story to tell.

Like many businesses, Simtrack’s website had grown organically over the years, becoming a mishmash of style, tone and quality. Given their wide range of products and the necessary information that needed to be conveyed this was a complex challenge.

Taking on the role of project manager, researcher, copywriter and photographer, I was able to map out and implement a cohesive web experience.

Solutions

Discovering the real stories of the people behind this business was key to the big picture storytelling. From their problem-solving abilities to their relentless drive to continuously innovate over three generations, allowed for a highly confident tone for their message. I backed this up with images of deceptively simple resolutions to engineering problems faced by the horse racing industry.

New Royal Adelaide Hospital

The Client

This project was a joint venture between Hansen Yuncken and Leighton Contractors for the design and construction of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital for SA Health Partnership.

The Brief

Eyefood was commissioned to create a body of semi-abstract photos of South Australian flora for the Renal Unit of the new hospital. The imagery would contribute to the vibrancy of the area and aid way-finding for the users of the building.

Challenges Faced

The requirement was to have work that carried strong colour, simple composition and expressed vitality. In consideration of people in a stressful and vulnerable position, the images couldn’t be jarring or distressing. The imagery needed to be soft by nature and avoid overt repetition and blood reds. 

Working with the relevant stakeholders the final images were whittled down from a much larger body of images.

Solutions

I created a comprihensive body of work from which we were able to select a cohesive group of six images that sat well within the space. The final prints span twenty metres of wall space and define the area.

Angove Family Wines / Stones Green Ginger Wine

The Client

Established winemakers and wine merchants with multiple brands within their portfolio.

The Brief

Photograph forty lifestyle food and beverage images, to be used in a square format, for the recipe section of their website upgrade.

Challenges Faced

We needed to create a body of images that sat well together but didn’t look like they were all shot together. It is ambitious to photograph ten freshly prepared setups per day (over four days) covering a wide variety of styles and props. The hardest part of shooting food is the level of concentration and attention to detail required. The devil is in the detail and small things can be easily missed.

Solution

Photographically I was assessing each setting put in front of me with fresh eyes, aiming to pull the strongest composition from the combination of the props and the food. The planning and contribution from the food stylist are huge in this type of job and Emma Reeves excelled as always.

The team on this job were exemplary, we were focused on a great outcome and the strongest ideas won every time. The images far exceeded the expectations of the client and were subsequently printed as a point-of-sale cookbook in addition to the website.