Lights, camera, action!

This week a photoshoot has been taking place at QM. All of the new images will be used for QM's marketing communications, such as brochures, bus adverts and online adverts. Girls were invited to participate and nearly 60 girls volunteered, over the course of two days the girls were assigned to a particular shoot, each in a different location around the school. While most girls were taking a role in front of the camera, Emily (Year V) took the opportunity to shadow the photography team for an afternoon so that she could learn more about what goes into the production of the images.

Emily shares her experience with us...

"This week I got the opportunity to work shadow and volunteer at the latest QM photoshoot. Seeing the time and creativity that went into making each shot perfect and learning more about the whole process (from market research, to designing the mood board, to creating and editing the images into the brand template...) was a fantastic experience. It was also great to meet the whole photography team, find out more about their roles and the routes they have taken. I received some very valuable advice.

Initially I got to meet the photographer and his assistant who explained all the equipment they were setting up and the process behind how each shot is taken. He showed me the suite of rough mock-ups that he had already made of the photos taken so far to demonstrate the aim of this shoot and how this collection of designs, all incorporating slightly different colours and tones, seamlessly comes together.

What stood out to me was the incredible background lighting and the huge effect the haze machine had on the whole image. Also, by having girls in the background of each image it added movement and depth which was really effective and also made it look more realistic. He also explained that in total one photo takes around one day to create; shooting it and editing it and he showed me how he uses the platform to get the shade, depth and precision, as envisioned.

I also got to speak to the Product Manager who was in charge of doing the market research to find out what the QM community was looking for in the images as well as building the brand communications booklet for the shoot which contained the mood board, QM logo and typography and plans for each of the shots. It was fascinating to hear that her favourite part of the job is seeing every project through from the beginning to the end and keeping it varied by working with many different clients.

Then the shoot began. Images had already been taken in the Sports Hall, boarding houses and Science Labs, and this particular one was taken in the Theatre so it was all about getting the right atmosphere (haze from the haze machine and warm lighting) in addition to getting the right angle of the main girl who was the focus of the photograph. I really liked the process because it was all about constantly taking photos, looking at the image straight away on the laptop, getting the team’s advice on what they liked and didn’t like, adapting the lighting, distance, angle, hair, make-up or whatever they wanted to change and then keeping going until every aspect came together. I also loved the relaxed and creative atmosphere - there was pop music quietly playing in the background from a speaker to make it feel more natural and fun.

Overall it was a helpful and fun afternoon, I can’t wait to see how all the images come out."