How many images would you take in a typical shoot?
On average, I will take about 2500 images on a normal shoot, which can last two to three days, but out of all those, you know when you’ve got ‘the shot’ on a hole.
When I arrive at a golf course, if it’s not somewhere I’ve been before, I need to spend some time getting to know the course and setting up the shots, especially when considering morning or evening light – I like to work with drama, usually clouds, shadows and light, so understanding how to maximise these elements is really important. I quite like to play the course before I photograph it – I’m taking images of a golf course for golfers, so it helps to know how it plays. If I don’t have time to do that, I will walk, or ride, around the course to get familiar with it.
Given your preference for great light, what happens when you’re on a shoot and the light is poor?
I will do as much as I can with the conditions that I have, but in the end, to deliver the kinds of images that my clients can utilise, if I have to add in a dramatic sky during post-production, I have no problem doing that – these are commercial images, not unedited ‘reportage’ style shots.
So how much time would you spend shooting and how much in post-production?
It’s about a 50/50 split. My background in art direction gives me a huge advantage here in that I know visually what makes a great image and as hard as I try to get the image in the camera, I know what technology will allow me to do to enhance that image when I’m back in my studio.
8th at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia