I have a couple really close friends, Andy and Tara, and over the past 15 years we have spent insane amounts of time together… beyond just hanging out around town we’ve also traveled all over tarnation (Rome, Florence, Cancun, Paris, Monaco, Las Vegas, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Maui… just to name a handful)
Over time we accumulated stories you would not dare to believe, we also accumulated a thousand ideas that made us laugh hysterically. One of the many things we talked about were some quirky t-shirt ideas. Well… after three years of work we finally got around to finishing the project.
I am excited to announce the new line of cute, whimsical t-shirts! Illustrated by Tara Wakefield. Here is just a look into the loopy sense of humor that is only born through many long hours of sitting in a car/airplane just shooting the bull!
I (don’t love) love – photographed by Ryan Muirhead
Model – Samantha Law
I asked my good friend and fellow photographer Ryan Muirhead if he’d be willing to pick his favorite shirt and shoot some photos.
Shooting product photography is one of the most difficult things for a photographer to do well, not because products are hard to shoot but whenever you’re shooting an assignment from another person – whether it be school or work – it’s always hard not to fall into what I call the “generic trap.”
The trap I’m referring to is to assume that the client/teacher is hiring/assigning you to document the product. That’s what catalog photography is and catalog photography is boring and lame and anyone can do it… of course sometimes catalog photos are necessary but why assume that’s what the client is after?
Instead, when you are hired to photograph a product you should assume you were hired to make a photograph using your unique style, that happens to feature the product. If you do that then your work is no longer a commodity.
I didn’t mention any of this to Ryan, I simply handed him the shirt and told him to have at it – supremely confident that his instincts as a photographer would lead him in creating something unique, and non-catalog-ish… and his delivery was perfect.
A lesson for photographers everywhere… don’t shoot the product, shoot your style.
That’s what Ryan did, and the results are pitch perfect!
Stop Picturing Me Naked, Please – by Jake Garn
Model – Brynlee Grossenbach
I shot my favorite shirt too. 🙂
Website http://www.pigtailtees.com
Pigtail Tees on Facebook http://www.facebook.com
Keep your eyes peeled because I think this may call for a photography contest sometime in the near future…
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