“It's nice to get your teeth into a good commercial job”,
I thought, having been commissioned to photograph one of Wilson Fink's shiny new kitchens by Mark Slater fellow member of Bowdon Business Club, As the kitchen is probably the most used room in the house, I wanted to give him a new spin, less predictable than the usual kitchen photographs. Utilising my Advertising Photography and Family Portrait skills, I suggested we include the family who lives there, doing something they normally do in their own kitchen.
The job was over 7 months in the planning, what with waiting for a sofa, then the COVID-19 pandemic, then a birthday, then a holiday, followed by quarantine and a boiler break down. The father of the house even broke his neck in Majorca!
I wanted good weather, so at the eleventh hour, the shoot was put back by a day. Eventually, it all came together, and, as well as the 'standard' images from several viewpoints, I also caught the family enjoying baking cookies. They were scrumptious, too!
I brought my studio lighting with pale amber gels to supplement the daylight. I even brought a fake branch to cast believable shadows over the lovely seamless Corian worktop/table.
We finished with a nice portrait of the father and his daughter with their delicious cookies proudly displayed.
Ian was once called a ‘Master of light’ by a Brazilian assistant he had in the nineties. This job presented a tricky technical challenge with actual daylight combined with simulated daylight from studio flash. ‘Real people’ rather than models, need to be controlled to some extent, but not ‘posed’ or they can look false. Not only did Ian provide images with the family, but also more conventional images from all angles with the room empty of people, as well as showing details and the connected utility room. The verticals were ‘corrected’ in post-production.
Ian’s approach to interiors is to be as faithful to the mood the designer or architect intended, using extra lighting usually to simulate daylight. He can follow a shoot list or can make intelligent decisions about what are the important features.
f you have a project needing expert lighting you would like to discuss, call Ian Cartwright on +44 161 485 2318 or +44 7712 863 864 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Caramel Photography
Cheadle Cheshire SK8 6NL England, UK
Contact: Ian Cartwright
...caramel is sweet
