Steve Craft Travels for the AOA’s Annual Report Issue

It’s always nice when a client’s ask is simple enough for the photographer to be able to envision the final outcome well in advance of turning in the deliverables. Steve Craft’s recent shoot with the American Optometric Association’s in-house magazine, Focus, which he nailed down through an agency called Imagination, is a perfect example.  

I’ve worked with Imagination for about ten months now. The photo editor found me because I shot for the AOA years ago when they were with another publishing company.

They had a pretty specific idea of what they wanted: four headshots of four different people in four different locations. The locations were New York City; Lexington, Kentucky; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Tahlequah, Oklahoma. They sent me a layout and their design go-bys, and I followed the exact format they wanted.

In just over a week, Steve traveled across the country to meet with four people linked to the AOA at varying levels of their optometry careers for the publication’s annual report. Starting with the easternmost location and working his way southwest, the Arizona-based photographer covered a ton of ground in a short period of time, making sure to stop for some chicken while in Kentucky.

The shoot happened over a nine-day period. I flew to NYC and shot in the basement of SUNY College of Optometry, drove to Kentucky and shot in the lobby of the doctor’s office, then drove to South Carolina and shot in the living room of the next doctor’s house, then flew to Oklahoma and shot in the family room of the last subject’s house, and then flew back to Arizona.

One cool thing I did do was go to Corbin, KY to see the original home of KFC.

Each setup was much different than the last, a mix of offices, classrooms, and homes that had unique configurations. Fortunately, because the ask was so specific and the presentation already thought up, that made the shooting portion of the work much easier.

I spent about 2-3 hours per location and all four subjects were very helpful and accommodating. I had to move office furniture and home furnishings around to make the shoot happen in some locations due to space availability, but I put everything back in its proper place, I think.

It’s always nice to shoot a cover and I was happy with the final design of the publication. I shoot a lot of head shots, so it was nice to see some variety in the design of the final images.

In spite of the somewhat tight time frame, Steve got imagery that pleased both the client and subjects. A dependable photographer, Steve has done well to lock down this consistent collaborator, and we look forward to seeing more projects between the two parties!

The number one key for me in getting a good portrait is comfortability. If you can make your subject relax and forget about the process of having their picture taken, then the rest is easy. The reaction from the AOA was very favorable and I heard from the art director that the subjects were very happy with the way the shoots turned out and how smoothly they went. That’s always nice to hear. 

Credits:
AD: Nancy Roy
Assistant: Ethan Craft

See more more of Steve’s work at stevecraft.com.

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