Though word-of-mouth may not seem as prominent a marketing tool as it once was, it’s still very effective. If you’re someone like Buffalo-based photographer Scott Gable and you’ve done photography work with steel companies, you have a good chance of getting on other steel companies’ radar, especially if an agency is involved. After connecting with an agency called Specialist UK and completing other steel-based work for them, Scott landed work with the steel manufacturer Tenaris.
We did a big project for Specialist UK, and they were very happy with the work. When they had a project come up with Tenaris that was a great fit, they called on us again.
Scott’s assets made their way to Tenaris’ website, and the company appreciated his interest in the subject at hand. On busy, bustling job sites, it pays to be damn near invisible and not get in the way of the employees. According to Sarah, Scott’s wife and producer, that’s one of his best skills.
Scott is very interested in how things work and are made, and his passion and interest in the subject come through in the work.
Scott is also great at shooting in tough environments as well as capturing people at work while remaining a fly on the wall.
You’re seeing imagery from two separate projects for Tenaris, one of their massive facilities in Bay City, Texas and another more intimate assignment centered around the company’s CEO giving a talk in Pittsburgh. As a repeat collaborator, Scott gets full creative freedom.
One part was a road show for the CEO to meet-and-greet the employees and press at new facilities that Tenaris had acquired in Pittsburgh. Those images were used mainly for social media.
Since the Pittsburgh site is quite similar to the ones Scott has shot in the past, that portion of the project was simple enough. But the sheer scale and complexity of the Bay City site gave Scott a chance to really flex his creative muscles and photographic skillset.
The Pittsburgh plants were very traditional and Scott has done shoots in metal foundries in the past, so it was pretty typical. The facility in Bay City was brand new and state of the art. It was amazing how clean it was, and how it was largely automated with robots — most of the humans worked in an enclosed control room.
Scott is an FAA licensed drone pilot, so he shot the overheads using the drone. The client really gave him his own discretion for these shots. Scott shoots things like this as if he’s shooting for his own portfolio.
A veteran of this niche within photography, Scott had no trouble clearing a full plate of tasks, many of them deadline based. No rest for the weary on shoots of this nature — not that Scott needs it, anyway.
Tenaris had super tight deadlines for some of the social media shares, and so Scott was doing some of the editing on the fly in the car between locations. Experience is key.
See more of Scott’s work at scottgable.com
Credits:
Producer: Sarah Grzeskowiak
Further Reading:
Read more about Scott Gable on our Published blog
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