If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what does that mean for pictures of things with thousands of words?
Terrible joke (that would make even a dad cringe!) aside, there is an unavoidable obstacle when it comes to shooting books. Kat Schleicher found this out while creating imagery for Porchlight Book Company.
I think one challenge is keeping it interesting by finding new setups and backdrops. It can be repetitive otherwise.
Kat has worked with Porchlight for about a decade, starting by shooting staff portraits, including one of her husband, who works at the small, tight-knit book company.
The company president and general manager were writing a book, and they asked me to take the author portraits for it. They must have been pleased with how they turned out, because since then I’ve regularly been asked to take staff portraits over the years. This rebrand project is the biggest job I have worked on with them. They do a lot of their own photography, but since they needed so much new content at once, I was hired.
That new content included some video elements, a medium to which Kat is admittedly new. She’s well versed, however, in the stop-motion realm and did get a chance to incorporate that into the final deliverables. Like many photographers nowadays, Kat sees herself continuing to expand her skillset into the video sphere. As for this project, she spent a lot of time watching Hanson Dodge Creative go about their video work.
I have been creating stop motion portraits for many years — back to my time in art school — but not regular video content. It’s fun to experiment and learn, but it is a lot to consider when you’re also trying to shoot stills. I like to work alongside video as often as I can to observe and collaborate. I see myself doing more of that in the future but taking over more of the directing.
One of the benefits of having to create both stills and motion shots is that it allows the photographer to try different things and cull a wider variety of imagery. As we touched on earlier, this is especially helpful when the subject matter is inanimate.
I love the soft lighting that I can get from working in a loading dock, so that’s where I did a majority of the book shots.
The marketing director had been laying out the books for me to get a top down shot from a ladder.
I was watching her rearrange books and I could see the motion and how that could work well in a still. I did a series of images in burst mode to capture the motion. I even created a few gifs from this setup.
Of course, the shoot wouldn’t be complete without a large number of, well, photographs. Per its website, Porchlight services bulk book buyers — think authors, publishers, publicists, agents, and other organizations — and has done so for more than three decades. Whether it’s promoting writers, supporting publishers, or providing copies for big events, Porchlight deals with lots and lots of books. So, Kat had to get images of lots and lots of books.
I had to shoot A LOT of these stacks. I started shooting very instinctively knowing that I had so much ahead of me. I think it goes along with the authenticity of the images. If it was too perfect and polished, I don’t think it would fit with the overall style or the feeling of being in the Porchlight offices, where books are scattered and stacked everywhere.
It sometimes felt like we were treating the books like you would a person: trying to make sure you capture their best angles and sides.
Fortunately, this project wasn’t just new challenge after new challenge. Kat was tasked with getting shots of the employees at work, with Porchlight asking for images that give off a familial yet studious vibe. Since she’s worked with the company many times before and is an accomplished portraitist, this aspect of the assignment went quite smoothly.
Porchlight wanted authentic photography and images that told the story and reflected the culture of their company. They did have some style guidelines, but I also was given quite a bit of creative freedom, since they’re familiar with my work and style and I’m familiar with their aesthetic and culture. They trusted me to deliver.
They are great to work with because they are kind, generous, trusting, and all-around good people. The employees really care about each other and the business they built together.
I definitely try to show the warmth of the people in the office environment. I used the available light when I could to be authentic to the company and capture the people as they are. A lot of the work is me just roaming around the office while they worked.
During four shoot days spread across several months, Kat delivered exactly what Porchlight wanted for its biggest rebranding overhaul in years. She even acquired another book client since this shoot wrapped up! As a way to put a bow on our conversation, I asked Kat about her favorite books. She provided a list of influential novels from young adulthood when reading had the biggest impact on her life. If the taste is any indication, she’ll be getting a lot more book-based clients in the not-too-distant future.
The Diary of a Young Girl — Anne Frank
Lord of the Flies — William Golding
1984 and Animal Farm — George Orwell
Charlotte’s Web — E.B. White
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn — Betty Smith
The Bluest Eye — Toni Morrison
To Kill a Mockingbird — Harper Lee
Brave New World — Aldous Huxley
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — L. Frank Baum
See more of Kat’s work on her website.
Credits:
Agency/Video: Hanson Dodge Creative
Client Marketing Director: Blyth Meier Photo
Assistant/Intern: Veronica Rosas
Further Reading:
Read more about Kat Schleicher on our Published Blog.
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