Forward planning, knowing the brief inside out and preparing for all eventualities are all essential for a successful commission. Additional challenges can arise with outdoor shoots when the weather plays a huge part. During my two commissions from John Sisk & Son, the weather was certainly giving ‘main character energy’ while I was working in the North Pennines.
Shoot one was a commission by Sisk, in partnership with the North Pennines Landscape team and tool hire provider, Speedy Hire. I was tasked with documenting a corporate event at Tan Hill where volunteers were planting cottongrass plugs as part of the Company’s social value and sustainability programme. The images were to be used in corporate reports, on their website and across social media.
My multi-faceted brief included capturing close-up shots of digging and planting, while not showing any faces to illustrate the work being carried out while also photographing individuals and small groups to capture genuine interaction, teamwork and a sense of fun among the volunteers. One particular challenge to this shoot, apart from the freezing weather, was the fact Sisk had recently undergone a corporate rebranding. I had to ensure the old Sisk logo on all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was avoided as well as obscuring outdated branding and instead focusing on the new corporate identity.
Sisk again commissioned me a year later. This time the focus of the shoot was a peatland restoration project at the Warcop Training Centre, a remote Ministry of Defence (MoD) facility in Cumbria. The setting was logistically demanding, requiring a full MoD safety briefing followed by a convoy and a 45-minute hike in exposed terrain.
Once on-site I had to capture both high-quality candid shots and macro detail images of hands-on restoration work as well as wide-angle images to fully appreciate the scale of the restoration within the rugged landscape.
This commission is an example of a comprehensive service package including shoot-time, 100 miles of travel and post-production. I was required to deliver the final gallery of images in a quick turnaround time to meet the client’s approval and production timetable. One thing this commission taught me is to always be prepaired and have a hat in your kit bag! The weather can change in the blink of an eye!