A food blog dedicated to the Kansas City commercial photography studio - Alistair Tutton Photography
Kansas City finally embraced football (the round one, from England) last year and built the new Livestrong stadium. It’s an incredible facility and the Sporting KC team responded by delivering an almost unbeaten at home season. It’s pretty exciting watching all the new soccer fans that have been created as well as the die hard supporters.
Credits:
Sporting KC
Populous
Turner Construction
Assistant - Adam Caselman
Another one of our fantastic collaborations with Populous took us to Omaha and the brand spanking new baseball stadium there - after decades of using Rosenblatt as the home of the College World Series a brand new, purpose-built facility was constructed right in the heart of downtown Omaha, and it is beautiful.
It’s a lot of fun not just getting to photograph these stadiums but getting to photograph them on game day is fantastic. If you haven’t been to the College World Series make sure you get out there and enjoy it at least once - the atmosphere is wonderful.
Credits:
Populous
HDR Architecture
Assistant - Adam Caselman
I finally got a chance to work with Gould Evans - and it was on a fantastic project. They recently completed the student union center for UCM - go Mules! And it’s an incredible facility. A lot of the project was centered on historic re-use with the old swimming pool being repurposed for a student lounge and the old gymnasium floor being recycled as a wall finish. We had a ton of fun playing with the climbing wall and didn’t even hurt ourselves.
PS The best part of the shoot was that we got to work with Adam on it - he’s now here as the full-time assistant/retoucher - and he’s really cool.
Credits:
UCM
Gould Evans
Assistant - Adam Caselman
T-Mobile has been working with Wong Doody Crandall Wiener to develop a new concept for their retail stores and we got the chance to go and photograph them for the designers and for the corporate folk back in Germany. This involved travelling to New York to shoot in the Times Square store and also going to Seattle, T-Mobile’s US HQ, to photograph the corporate store. Lots of late night lock-ins survived with the use of gummi-bears and coke zero.
PS Thanks for the entertainment on our night off Jeff Smith - that was a whole lot of Seattle we got to see!
Credits:
T-Mobile
Wong Doody Crandall Wiener
Assistant - Adam Caselman
My neighbours (English spelling) are wonderful - they’ve been there for a couple of years and they are really nice guys. They’re also in a band. So I trade photography for them playing our annual studio piss-up - it’s kinda a win-win as I love working with them on their covers and I love hearing them play. For this one we did some simple images on a white backdrop and they’re working with an illustrator, Chance Bone, to add some unique feel to the final photography. We’re currently working on a new concept shoot with them that’s shaping up really nicely and they just did a project providing audio for a video for the Buckle.
Credits:
Antenna’s Up
Illustrator - Chance Bone
The first time we got to meet Tech and all the folk at Strange Music was with the Salue video for Big Scoob. In this one we didn’t do anything but open the doors of the studio for them to shoot the video. It was really good fun to hang out with everyone and watch the video unfold. 
Credits:
Tech N9ne
Strange Music
Location - Vox Theatre
A few months ago I had a fantastic opportunity to go to Mississippi and photograph a Jet Test Center for Burns and McDonnell; it was an absolutely fantastic project, with a truly unique feel to the interior. We posted it on our blog, put it into the portfolio and didn’t think anything more of it. Then it wound up on notcot.org (thanks Brent Anderson) and got about a thousand hits in 24 hours, which felt nice. Then the next week Wired Magazine called wanting to feature the photo. Ironically it was the UK’s edition of Wired Magazine, so I got to translate for the mother country and even chatted with the writer, not knowing I would end up being quoted in the article.
Definitely a first, and my Mum finally got to see some of my work first hand. 
Credits:
Wired Magazine - UK
Having spent some time enjoying our images from Tech N9ne’s latest album cover for 6’s and 7’s we were reminded of one of our other favorite shoots, our all-nighter with Tech in the Gates off main. Shooting the album art for Tech’s Gates Mixed Plate album was great fun. Frankie, from Liquid 9, had a really specific vision for this set of images and we really enjoyed delivering on it. Favorite part? Easy, hanging out with the video crew at DB Coopers at 6am. That and winning some awards for the images.
Credits:
Tech N9ne
Strange Music
Liquid 9
Assistant - Ryan Yoakum
Retouching - Liquid 9
While we enjoy shooting a variety of subjects, food has a special place in our hearts..or is it our stomachs? We recently had the pleasure of working with Megan and Colby Garrelts of Blue Stem restaurant. We were looking for an opportunity to capture not only final shots of finished desserts but images of the stages of preparation. Maybe it’s my architect’s brain that enjoys the building of things, the process of getting to the final result but taking photos of the stages of a dish really intrigues me…and let’s be honest…makes me hungry.
Enjoy the images below, I guarantee you’ll be ordering dessert with your lunch after this. 
Credits:
Blue Stem
Having made it past my 90 day probationary period with Alistair I thought I would lay out where I have come from and where the experience I have brought with me will hopefully take me.
My career has been spent working in marketing & communications roles in a variety of industries. I’ve worked in restaurants, publishing, radio, construction, and motherhood just to name a few. I have found that each industry and each job has taught me something valuable that I can take with me to my next vocational destination. Here’s the main skill from each industry and how I can apply it today at Alistair Tutton Photography.
Industry: Restaurants
Position: Waitress
Skills Learned & How They Apply Today:
Humility - I am not above any job that needs to get done. Whether it’s making cold calls, scheduling travel, producing invoices, building decks or handling pet-related issues. I don’t mind pitching in to see that it all gets done and gets done well.
Diplomatic Customer Service - I can smile and try and see a difficult situation from the other person’s perspective and work a solution from that vantage point.
Industry: Publishing
Positions: Marketing Director & Some Sort of New Age Social Media Title
Skills Learned & How They Apply Today:
Pick Your Battles - Don’t waste valuable debating energy and time on an idea or a point that isn’t worth the time you are putting into it, instead save that time and energy for the big battles that need it.
New Doesn’t Mean Necessary - Just because everyone is doing it and the media tells you that something is “hot” doesn’t mean it’s right for you, your business or your goals. Do what works even if it’s not the cool new thing, if it’s successful that alone makes it cool.
Industry: Radio
Position: Promotions Director
Skills Learned & How They Apply Today:
Flexibility - Changes are inevitable and last minute ones are inescapable. Learning to think on the fly and not be afraid to reach out and ask someone for their help allows you to land on your feet no matter how many times you flip in the air.
Courage - Ask for something -whether it’s a sale, a donation, a giveaway, whatever - the worst someone will do is say no, and 9 times out of 10 they will even do that nicely and apologize to you that they can’t help.
Industry: Construction
Position: General Manager & Marketing Director
Skills Learned & How They Apply Today:
This is Business & You Get What You Pay For - It’s ok to let a job go. If it’s not right and the amount someone is willing to pay is only going to hurt the end result leaving neither you nor the client happy, it’s ok to walk away. Business is business and if it were charity we’d call it that. If you don’t set parameters or limits no one knows your expectations so no one will ever meet them - leaving everyone disappointed.
Industry: Motherhood
Position: The list is too long for this space
Skills Learned & How They Apply Today:
They are numerous but the most important one, juggling - Through motherhood I have learned to do numerous things at once. Listening all the while to make sure I get the information I need to deliver on what’s expected. I also learned I have to write stuff down…because having children kills more brain cells than drugs.
These are just a few of the skills I have learned over the years that I plan to use to help me be successful here.
We’d like to just thank all of you who came out to our big anniversary bash last night at the Vox. We are proud of all the work we have done and it thrills us to be able to share it with you.
We’d also like to thank everyone who donated and bid on auction items to benefit Joplin, MO. We were able to raise over $3,200 total and that makes us proud.
We wish all of you a very happy, safe and relaxing fourth of July weekend and hope to see all of you soon.
Cheers!
Alistair, Kate & Adam
We are always proud to work with Houlihan’s. We have spent time photographing not only their flagship Houlihan’s restaurants but also their J. Gilbert’s and Bristol restaurants. We actually just returned from a week long road trip with one of our favorite guys, Dean Woods from Houlihan’s. We were capturing the beauty of the private dining rooms in both the Glastonbury, Connecticut and Columbus, Ohio J. Gilbert’s. Our most recent tear sheet shows one of the images we captured at the local Overland Park location of J. Gilbert’s. The ad ran in KC Weddings Magazine and we couldn’t be more jazzed.
It’s always fun to see the final product of our photography and when it involves food photography it just makes our mouth water. Be sure to keep on a lookout here for the most recent images from J. Gilbert’s but in the meantime enjoy the ad below, we sure do!
Credits:
KC Weddings
Last week we posted the finished shots from our work on Tech N9ne’s latest album ‘6’s & 7’s’. This week we thought we’d stick with the musical theme but switch genres. One of our favorite local Kansas City indie bands happens to also be neighbors of mine, Antenna’s Up. We spent some time with them recently in the studio getting these shots of the band. They are a great group of guys, a great band and great fun to shoot around the studio with. If you get the chance to check them out live, you definitely should they are well worth the price of admission. 
Credits:
Antenna’s Up
This is one of those shoots that was difficult to keep to ourselves. But we did it and kept it under our hats until today, 6/7/11 when Tech N9ne’s latest album 6’s and 7’s hit the streets. Now we can finally share the album art with you. We actually had the shoot quite a while ago, it took a huge amount of gear to create that sharp red/ soft blue split that you’ve seen on the cover art on all the billboards and we carried it through on all the album art. Congrats to Sarah Thompson Lift on some incredible work with Tech on styling, congrats to Liquid 9’s Franklin Oviedo and Josh Lambert on their superb art direction and awesome retouching. Of course a HUGE congrats to Tech on another incredible album. It was really good fun working with him again and we’ll put up some more images as the week progresses. And we LOVE that our work is on huge billboards around town and on Tech’s trucks, vans and touring vehicles. We couldn’t be prouder. 
Credits:
Tech N9ne
Strange Music
Liquid 9
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Andrew Hoxey
Retouching - Liquid 9
With the release of Tech N9ne’s latest album 6’s & 7’s this week we wanted to share our excitement in a BIG way. Here is a shot of just one of the many billboards around town featuring the cover art shot by Alistair here at The Vox. And if that’s not exciting enough we’ve got a shot of Tech’s huge tour truck. They are breathtaking even if we do say so ourselves. Be sure to take note as you drive around town this weekend, we sure will. 
Credits:
Tech N9ne
Strange Music
Liquid 9
Assistant - Andrew Hoxey
Retouching - Liquid 9
Another stunning home I photographed for Kansas City Homes and Gardens Magazine - this time downtown in Kansas City on the Westside. This project was a complete refurbishment by Ryan Gale at C & G Construction, and is his personal residence. He stripped the interior to the brick shell and joists and completely built up and through that shell to deliver this wonderful home. One of favorite features was the private phone to the kids treehouse.
Architectural photography often times allows me access to some of the coolest examples of creative reuse of space and this is definitely one of those times. 
Credits:
Kansas City Homes & Gardens
C & G Construction
I have a really long and wonderful relationship shooting architectural photography for Kansas City Homes and Gardens Magazine - they get access to some incredible homes and it’s always a wonderful shoot so this project was no surprise. It’s a kitchen interior that was part of a Hufft Projects renovation of the entire Fairway, Kansas home. The home owners happen to be the owners of Carthage Marble and needless to say the kitchen’s marble countertop was an absolute masterpiece. The other beauty of the kitchen was the soft finishes of the dining area.
Credits:
Kansas City Homes & Gardens
Hufft Projects
Carthage Marble
1. Send as your first introductory email one that asks “when can I come in for an interview?” without first expressing interest in the position by sending in a resume.
2. Failing to follow up with a ‘thank you’ or 'no thank you’ email (or preferably written note).
3. Failing to respond to an email about a second interview but using your internet time to follow me on twitter instead.
In today’s economy it is being said - and rightly so - that it’s harder than ever to get a job. You know what it’s easy to do? NOT get a job. I am in the process of interviewing and eventually hiring a new retoucher/assistant here at Alistair Tutton Photography, and let me tell you it’s amazing how many applicants ignore the easy, little things that make the big impact. From the first introduction to the final job acceptance or even turning down a job it’s the little things that are the huge differentiator between you and the 'other guy’. When making that first contact, don’t assume they are going to interview you. You may feel you are 'God’s gift to your chosen profession’ but be humble enough initially to accept that you need to make an impression worthy of the call back for an interview. Sending someone an email with no resume or work samples and simply asking when you can interview not only rubs me the wrong way but strikes me as extremely ineffective. I want to know something about you besides your name before I decide you might be right for the position.
Once you do get the interview be sure to send some sort of follow up communication. I prefer the impression that a hand written, mailed note delivers but at the very least send an email thanking the person for their time and either expressing continued interest in the position or letting the person know that after meeting you don’t feel that you’d be a good fit for the position. Everyone appreciates someone who saves them from wasting what little time we all have in a day. If after an interview you determine it’s not the job you are looking for don’t be afraid to send a note saying so. As an interviewer I am far more likely to hold no communication against you before I am communication that removes one more thing from my 'to-do’ list. As the hirer I want to know that I should still consider you, that you are still interested and that you appreciate the time I gave you during the interview. An email of this kind would take less time than checking and reading your Facebook friend’s status updates.
Once you have interviewed for a position and had more than one email communication about it during which time you continued to express interest in the job don’t ignore emails from the potential employer. If you aren’t interested, say so. If you are trapped under a large rock and cannot get to your computer to respond to email don’t let me catch you updating your status on social media or sending me a notice that you are now following me on Twitter. I have trouble believing you are unable to return my email due to some catastrophic lack of WIFI when you are busy tweeting, facebooking and checking into every location on Foursquare. Think before you act.
Be respectful of other’s time. Be attentive to communication. Be smart about providing what someone needs to understand your skills and experience. This ain’t rocket science - unless of course you are a rocket scientist and then I take that back, Pay attention and DO sweat the small stuff, because these days it might be only the small stuff that sets you apart from your competition.
For all those who spent a moment to cross their t’s and dot your i’s you have my appreciation and for the final selected candidate know that you rose above the crop, by a lot for some.
Ironically it’s not all about photography at the studio, we try to stay very involved with the local community around the Vox Theatre. Recently I was approached to work with other local business owners to try and get a Rosedale business owners group up and running (Rosedale’s the neighborhood where the studio is located). It’s been both a challenging and really fun process, where I’ve been able to meet some wonderful business owners and civic leaders and it’s a very rewarding part of the job. Recently Kansas City, KS got the good news it would be the community benefitting from Google’s installation of a 1GB/S data network and so we hosted a meeting to discuss it and got some great attention from the local press. If you want a giggle feel free to look at my on-air persona…Media Links: Channel 4 Channel 41 Kansas City Business Journal
Everyone wants the ‘magic bullet’. Everyone wants to know the one thing they can do to increase business and revenue. Guess what…I have it - CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Let’s face it — the immediacy of the electronic world we live in has made us impatient for recognition. When we send an email, leave a voicemail, comment on a blog, tweet, text, post to Facebook or update our status on LinkedIn, we desire instant gratification. We want the person we intended to receive our message to acknowledge it with an answer to our comment, question, issue or concern immediately — if not sooner.
Is this fair? No. Is it polite to be this impatient? No. But that doesn’t stop us from getting frustrated, aggravated and for some, downright ticked off that our voice is being ignored. Or is it? Are we actually being ignored or is the person on the receiving end just as busy and overworked as we are? Do they even have the answer to our question, resolution to our problem or response to our comment, or do they have to get that from someone else? Perhaps they are taking the time to formulate a well-thought-out response instead of firing back without thinking first, which is another issue we all seem to face. (But that’s a topic for a future blog post.)
As the person waiting for the response, we need to take a moment to see things from the other person’s perspective. While the issue/comment/question/concern might be the most important thing we have to worry about right now, it probably isn’t the same for the person on the receiving end.
With that being said, when we are the receiver we need to acknowledge the sender. That person has one main need — to be heard. While “satisfaction” might rank up there, initially they just want to know that they have been heard. If you work in a world where a committee decides everything and communication requires approval from several people, you still should respond to the sender. Temper the sender’s impatience with an acknowledgment — for example, “I received your message and will get back with you as soon as I have an answer.”
Consider how many sales and potential new customers are lost just because the customer feels they haven’t been heard. The most successful organizations have made communication and acknowledgement a cornerstone of their corporate culture. Take Zappos, for instance. This brand has thousands of loyal clients and customers, and everyone else wants to know the secret. It’s not magic — all they have really done is made the most fundamental of human needs a priority.
Great customer service doesn’t just make the retail world go round. Every organization, association, corporation — every person, for that matter — can benefit by acknowledging the need to be heard in their clients, customers and members.
How do you make sure you are acknowledging your fellow humans?
