We’ve been capturing images of Helzberg Diamonds retail locations for several years now and it’s been an absolute blast. It’s a tricky shoot to capture as the jewelry cases are so bright and the casework wood tone is so dark, coupled with the variety of locations to contend with (each mall has totally different rules and different limitations); but I love the final results we’ve created and I love getting to see all the different cities and work with all the different Helzberg teams. 

This was one of their outlet mall stores - a different product mix and slightly different fixtures. After the shoot the images were featured at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting this year, along with many of the other stores we photographed.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Client: Helzberg Diamonds

Art Director - Parke Wellman

Assistant - Adam Caselman

Retoucher - Adam Caselman

This is a project shot we’ve been playing for a while - just trying to get that perfect outline on the edge of the bottle, then that perfect sharp line reflection that shows the shape of the bottle, the soft fill for the label and then the back-lit glow from the wine itself. I loved this particular bottle design and it happened to be down at the local supermarket - no doubt we recycled the contents on the front porch too. The horizon line was part of the lighting design - where we just raised the flag enough that some light crept through and then lifted the bottle up a half inch - as you can see from the reflection we did actually raise the bottle - no photoshop in creating the line, just in taking the block out. I loved the final shot and I was really happy when it was a winner in this years local ADDY competition.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman 

Oh boy, it’s a party now! This was a fun shoot we did in the studio of a Johnnie Walker “Red Label” bottle, and a rocks glass. All we’re missing are some whiskey stones. We played around with different light modifiers at different angles to get the look we wanted on the label. We did the same thing with the rocks glass. 

In post, I blended the different comps with the different light angles in, and gave the label a little bit of a punch with a curves layer. I took out the outline of the Johnnie sticker on the front, and I took out the rear reflection in the glass. There were some rainbow artifacts in the glass, so I desaturated every part of the glass that didn’t have a whiskey color in it. Speaking of whiskey color, I matched the whiskey colors in the glass and in the bottle to each other. There was a little more reflection than we wanted, so I feathered in some black to cut down on some of that reflection. 

I’m a big fan of this shot. It just seems to pop off of the screen, which I would be alright with if it actually did. Who else needs a glass? I can’t drink alone.

- Adam

This is a shot Adam and I have been working on for a while - capturing perfect glass - a beautiful outline showing the shape of the glass and a mixture of highlights on the glassware - the soft broad highlight on the glass and the sharp line that runs down the side of the bottle. All this with the spot light on the label with plenty of fall-off and the backlit bottle to bring out the color of the beverage. Overall we did about six shots with a whole series of different highlights and modifiers to form the final composite.

I love tinkering like this in studio - always a good time.

- Alistair

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Independence…we finally achieved it.

After Garden City we rolled on and went to the other side of the state to Independence, KS (that’s right Missourian’s, there is an Independence in Kansas and it’s home to the incredible Neewollah Festival) and worked on another school. This time the brief was to capture images showing the sensitivity that DLR had shown in renovating an existing high school. Focusing on the entry areas and the transition areas that had been built fresh for the students and again using student to show purpose and scale. 

The tree in the exteriors really make that shot for me - there’s nothing like a true old growth tree to really bring architecture alive. 

The nighttime exterior was the tricky shot, as we really wanted to bring the facade to life; we lit it throughout the entire face of the building and made sure to put some uplight into the tree as well to ensure it was part of the image.

I’m really pleased with the final image, but I’m still wishing I could actually make it to the darn Neewollah festival one of these days…

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: DLR Group

Here is a shot we did where the client requested to have part of the siding replaced on the house. I kind of have to laugh at myself, because when the client asked if it was possible in Photoshop, I said, “Yeah, I can do that.” I spent the rest of the shoot thinking, “How am I going to do that?” Luckily, the client sent over some samples of the siding that they wanted to replace the old siding with. It wasn’t a big sample. In fact, I had to spend about an hour building up a pattern big enough to use on an entire side of a house. It had to be smooth enough that you couldn’t tell where the seams were, and the shake had to be in scale to the rest of the house.

After I got that done, it was time to map the pattern on to the house. The pattern that I had built so far was a straight on shot. There wasn’t any angle or depth to the pattern. So for each shot I had to give the pattern the same perspective as the walls of the house. Then, the overall contrast had to be matched to fit the lighting scenario. After that, shading had to be done to make the pattern not so obvious. The color even had to be matched to a specific color. I believe some sky was added in for texture, and grass was brought in over the dead grass that was originally there. For something that doesn’t look so complicated, it sure wasn’t easy. 

- Adam

This was a really fun trip out to North Carolina - I love our road shoots. We had a stunning set of houses in a brand new development; the weather was a little tricky, so we had to get lucky on a couple of occasions with some gaps in the clouds. But the much bigger problem was that siding wasn’t exactly what the client wanted…and the grass was completely dead (but that’s an easier fix)…so Adam got to really work through some crazy steps to make the exteriors perfect. And of course this was on a tight deadline for a trade show ad. I’m really happy with the result.

- Alistair

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Creative Director: Dave Swearingen

Art Director: John Stephenson

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: Ply Gem

Agency: Blacktop Creative

Rock and Roll…finally…

We had a great photoshoot last year with the wonderful Kristen May of Fly Leaf for Revolver Magazine. We worked really hard with Kristen and her team of Simon Jackson and Chanel Jezek for the hair and styling and also with Jimmy Hubbard over at Revolver to ensure we got a fantastic style that would be absolutely 100% her for the final image. The lighting I wanted to use would emulate her appearance on stage with a spotlight giving some sharp contrast on her face while we got soft light in for the fill and the red highlight to emulate our great curtains at the Vox.

I added a bonus outtake showing off one of Kristen’s damn fine tattoos. Great folk to work with, and a lovely wrap photo to boot.

- Alistair

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Talent: Kristen May, Lead Singer of Fly Leaf

Hair: Simon Jackson

Styling: Chanel Jezek

Art Direction: Jimmy Hubbard

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: Revolver Magazine

Western Kansas - it’s Fun, who knew?

Last year we got to work with one of my favorite clients - DLR Group. They do some incredible schools and for this one we got to capture, what we were told, is the third largest high-school in KS. It’s a biggie alright. We had a lot of conversations with Jim French, the lead designer, and Bob Carlson to ensure we knew what the main focus was of the design and how we could record that.

After a six hour drive (across the beautiful flatness they call Kansas) we got to the school and immediately staked out the key shots. The top shot you’re seeing here was the one we decided to capture that evening…six hours later, a couple of pizzas, a stunning sunset, a few dozen well-placed lights we had the perfect shot, and three perfect frames to get the building lit properly…as shown by Bob’s one word response to it - “Spectacular”.

The other critical shot was the student breakout spaces. These areas were incredibly tight, but I really wanted to avoid using something silly like a 14mm to get it in one shot. So we brought the kids in (who were great FYI) and carefully lit the scene to bring out the best in the signage and mezzanine and then arranged the talent and briefed them on what we needed to make the shot work best. Then we stitched the shot together using the really fantastic 24mm tilt to capture two images - one of the mezzanine and one of the ground level. The alignment was perfect and the image looked so much better than going crazy wide could ever have done.

Thanks Garden City for hosting us and thanks for all the help from our talent - this was a wonderful shoot.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: DLR Group

Beer :30 Brewery Style

I love dawn, and I love photography, and I love beer…you know what makes me really happy…stunning photos taken at dawn…of a brewery.

I’m extremely proud of my adopted home town, and I think Boulevard Brewery is an incredible asset of this incredible town. So we were delighted to capture another photo of the exterior of the brewery recording the new expansion and it’s been wonderful seeing it in use by Boulevard.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: Boulevard

Stage 2: Toddler Puppies.

They grew up…and they are definitely cute…still. Aren’t they just the most incredible, beautiful, huggable things. At least I think so. I love the markings and the furry'ness, and did I mention how cute they are. Ok, so they take direction even less now but, who cares?

Yep, I love dogs. 

Credits: 

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Stage 1: Young Puppies

I love puppies, really love them. I don’t get to work with too many young puppies unfortunately, but this was truly incredible. These husky puppies were only four weeks old  that are absolutely beautiful.

Sure they don’t take direction very well on-set.

But, wow, are they just the epitome of cute? 

Be sure to check back in a day or so for Stage 2. 

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Don’t Try To Pull One Over On A Brit.

I’m English. So I know scones. I really know them. And these scones from Dolce Baking Company are the most incredible scones ever. Ever. You should try them with a cup of tea. Crumbly, yummy goodness.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Location: Dolce Baking Company

Another TOP SECRET Project. Refreshing.

This is one of those top secret things - this project never happened. Yep, we styled a beautiful “black and tan”, we captured a delicious photo, but, unfortunately, for reasons entirely separate from us the client couldn’t run the final program.

But I still wanted you to see a delicious pint of beer and beer. Yum. 

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Retoucher: Alistair Tutton

Legos and Fish…What Could Be Better?

Another wonderful new addition to Kansas City is this project - a collaboration between ZGF Architects and our long-standing, and wonderful, client, Burns & McDonnell. It’s a beautiful insertion, into a much loved civic space at Crown Center, and Kansas City’s response has been incredible. Thousands of people have been visiting the Lego Land and Sea Life exhibits and it’s a great addition to our offerings to visitors.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: ZGF Architects

Client: Burns and McDonnell

Location: Crown Center

Location: Sea Life Aquarium 

Location: Legoland Kansas City

We’re With The Band.

Antenna’s Up are some old friends of mine, who, until very recently, were my very lovely neighbors. They just released another incredible new album and as part of the album artwork they needed new photos. So…we worked with them to develop this concept and it’s now all over their artwork.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: Antenna’s Up

Field Trips Are Cool. 

Science City has an incredible educational facility, called the Engineerium that was designed by Burns & McDonnell. We recently had the chance to get photographs of the space in use with a school group getting their hands dirty on a robotics project. It’s a superb resource that is definitely being well-used.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Client: Burns & McDonnell

Location: Science City

Hungry???

I have no idea how to make a cinnamon roll, let alone a roll as incredible as the one’s that Dolce Baking Company makes. They are a-mazing. So here’s a beautiful step-by-step series of photos of how to make the most a-mazing cinnamon rolls ever.

Enjoy!

Credits: 

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Location: Dolce Baking Company

Fun with Fireworks!

Adam and I were looking for a fun way to celebrate the 4th of July, so we decided to set off some large smoke bombs and fire of some sprinklers…luckily we only set the backdrop on fire once. 

Also, Adam really can cross his eyes like that…the things we learn at work.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Friday Is For Cakes!

I love cakes! That is all. It is absolutely amazing knowing the people at Dolce and the best part is we not only get to take photos of something this beautiful, we get to munch on them.

Yum. 

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Retoucher: Adam Caselman

Location: Dolce Baking Company

Science Is Cool….To Photograph.

One of the best features of Union Station’s Science City Exhibit is the new Science on a Sphere…again one of our fantastic clients, Burns & McDonnell, designed this project. It’s absolutely breathtaking. The operator can literally show all kinds of incredible scientific facts on a sphere using a series of projectors that display images directly on to the globe. We even got to take it for a spin - seriously, this thing is wonderful.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Client: Burns & McDonnell

Location: Science City

Beer :30.

Beer…yummy. Here’s some shots we took in studio recently for fun. I love the look of the Guinness surge and we worked really precisely to get the lighting where we wanted - lots of shape on the glass and then a little spray to style the glasses for a final touch.

Credits:

Photographer: Alistair Tutton

Assistant: Adam Caselman

Product: Guinness

Product: Stella Artois