Project Edit: Steve Boyle’s Targeted Edit

Philadelphia-based photographer Steve Boyle came to Wonderful Machine a few months back looking to add two new galleries to his website. He had long-term plans to update his entire website, but, in the meantime, he wanted to highlight two new high-profile projects he had completed. We determined that our Project Edit was the best way to meet his needs. This consultation is a great way to tackle a targeted edit with a clear objective. Steve utilized this service a couple of years ago in collaboration with Wonderful Machine Producer Andrew Souders with outstanding results. Based on my experience as a photo editor with a background in commissioning portraits and narrative content for magazines, I knew we’d be able to dive into the edit immediately and make quick progress.

Project Motivations

Steve primarily shoots with Sports/Fitness, Outdoor/Adventure, and Portraiture photography. His work is both intimate and visceral, often capturing the intensity and physicality of world-class athletes in the moment. For this Project Edit, Steve needed to organize and select images from two very different assignments. One was a gallery of an extended portrait series of a former Olympic fencer turned doctor, Kamali Thompson. The other was a Portraiture and Corporate photography assignment for Dropbox. These projects had distinct demands, styles, and aesthetics, and showcased the range of work that Steve produces. The two new galleries were only for temporary use, due to the imminent remodel of his website. It was, however, necessary to ensure Steve highlighted the best images in each series to showcase his work.

Edit Pre-amble

The first step to assisting a photographer with a Project Edit is to develop a comprehensive understanding of their work, style, and personality. Each consulting service Wonderful Machine offers also begins with a consulting questionnaire. This is an opportunity for photographers to reflect on and share their approach, professional focus, and career goals more and allows us to accomplish more in a short amount of time. In this case, Steve had a very clear objective for this project. Steve’s website revealed his ability to document the intensity and dedication of athletes. My initial review of his website also showed me that he is a dynamic photographer capable of appealing to a wide range of clients.

Steve and I jumped on a meeting to talk about what he hoped to accomplish with this edit, and it became clear that each gallery would serve a different purpose. The series of images of the Olympic fencer, Kamali Thompson, was going to be an extended portrait that shared her success as both an athlete and a doctor. The other gallery would showcase a series of images shot in a corporate lifestyle approach that would show off the work culture of Dropbox.

First Edit

We decided the portrait series of Olympian Kamali Thompson was a more straightforward edit and was the best place to start. For this gallery, we wanted to strike the right balance between strong portraiture and slightly more conceptual and expressive images that give a sense of athleticism and movement. Much of Steve’s photography works with athleticism, movement, and physical intensity. He is, however, also a strong portraiture photographer who gives presence to the individuals in the images.

Steve’s work is often about the subjects just as much as it is about their impressive physical feats. In this gallery, we wanted to find the balance between these qualities. With a few slight revisions, we arrived at a gallery that captured the spirit and athleticism of this overlooked Olympic sport as well as the character of this unique athlete. The gallery pulled together images that combined portraits and dynamic images that offered a fresh perspective on fencing.

Second Edit

The second part of this project edit was a Corporate, Portraiture, and Lifestyle photography gallery for Dropbox. Steve’s work for Dropbox comprehensively documented work life at their corporate headquarters. There were a lot of assets for this project, and we also needed to incorporate additional portraits and motion pieces. This gave us a lot of room to experiment and play with the general look and feel that we wanted to convey. The tricky part of this edit was that, since Dropbox is a tech company, there were a lot of images of individuals working on laptops. To address this and create a more engaging gallery, we experimented with including some branded details and images of interactions between employees. Incorporating these images into the gallery created a more dynamic feel overall.

Conclusion

Steve needed help efficiently organizing images for temporary use. These two galleries served an important role in updating the content of the site before a more comprehensive edit took place a few months later. We got the job done quickly, efficiently, and with high-quality results that highlighted Steve’s best qualities as a photographer. Here’s a closing note from Steve:

My experience with the Project Edit was seamless and executed in a timely manner. Honore was receptive to my feedback and delivered edits within the scope originally quoted.

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Further Reading
Read more articles featuring Steve Boyle.
Case Studies: Project Edit

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