CALUMET

There are a lot of lessons that you can learn from shooting product that apply to shooting people. I approach product very architecturally, this is very similar to the way I shoot people.

Growing up in South Africa, Greg Carter developed a taste for adventure. "It's still like the Wild West back in South Africa. There are very few rules and it creates a survival sensitivity that translates into out-of-the-box thinking in the American context." So perhaps it should come as no surprise that when Greg moved to America in 2000 at the age of 30, he headed out west to California to take a job as a studio manager at NuVisions, one of the pioneers of high-end digital capture and pre-press services in Orange County.

While Greg had no shooting background or photographic experience, he had always thought of himself as a visual person. "If I needed to explain something," explains Greg, "I would always draw a diagram." His job at the studio was to manage the day-to-day operations and to educate his clients about this new thing called digital. He also had plenty of opportunities to watch the staff photographers and learn from what they were doing. In time, NuVisions developed an aggressive marketing strategy to grow the photographic side of the company, giving Greg the opportunity to pick up a camera.

"When I decided to give shooting a try in 2003," recalls Greg, "I had no idea what I was doing. It was really nerve-wracking, but I discovered that I got a huge kick out of it. There's definitely something to be said for throwing yourself in deep, and the accelerated learning that results."

The decision was made to expand the photographic offerings beyond the studio and product photography. "Most of our existing clients at the time were already using lifestyle and action photographers," claims Greg, "so we thought that that might be a good way to go. Of course, we didn't have any of this type of work in our portfolio, let alone a photographer who could shoot it, so I asked one of our clients, a women's athletic apparel company, to borrow some of their products and let me do a couple of test shots on a model at no cost to them. They agreed, they loved the shots and I got my first commercial shoot."

In the beginning, Greg was very careful to make his shots look naturally lit, but as he got more comfortable with the strobe equipment, he realized that he could create some dramatic results. According to Greg,

"I would go out on location with my lighting assistant Jim and we would experiment as much as possible with different setups and techniques. I think our clients really appreciated the fact that we were quite experimental in those days. Since then, we've refined our lighting quite a bit."

The lighting style that Greg developed could also have its roots in his South African upbringing. "Growing up in Africa," he says, "I was always aware of the intense natural beauty right next to intense poverty and suffering. These experiences might account for the way in which I gravitate more towards dramatic and intense lighting."

Regarding the subject of personal style, Greg is the first to admit, "It is true that you will eventually get hired because of your style. But don't worry if you can't find your own style - it will come. The more you shoot, the more it will begin to emerge. Often other people will recognize it before you do."

As far as advice to anyone contemplating a career in commercial photography, Greg stresses a firm understanding of the business side of photography. "It's like most things," says Greg, "you need to be realistic. Before you can start being creative and immersing yourself in your craft, you need to take care of business. While it may not be what you become a photographer for in the first place, without it you can never be successful, and it is the number-one reason why photographers fail. My advice: if you can't take care of the business side of being a photographer, find someone who can help you, such as a business or a rep. At NuVisions (nvm2c.com) I am very fortunate to have a terrific marketing, graphic design and post-production team. We deliver ideas and images that showcase the large brands we service."

Greg Carter | nvm2c.com

You seem equally adept at working in the studio as on location. Do you have a preference?

I love the outdoors and it’s a lot easier to be spontaneous when you are on location. However, it can be unpredictable. I once scouted a location that I thought would work brilliantly for a running shoot. It was on the edge of a wetland and when

In addition to your sports-apparel work, you also do quite a bit of product work in the studio. How would you compare the two?

I enjoy the balance between the people and product and I get a different kind of enjoyment out of each. Shooting product for me is about solving problems. There’s a process to getting to the final shot that takes a lot of patience. You can chase a shot for hours until you finally get it. With people it’s totally different, things move faster, there’s a different set of considerations.
A typical product shoot in studio is usually very relaxed. The clients are sitting in comfy chairs, there’s good music and lots of food. It’s pleasant – usually. When you shoot models it’s hectic. There’s hair and makeup doing their thing. Stylists are running around with clothing racks and models are complaining that it’s too cold or too hot. And there sits the client, all stressed out because they’re paying all these people by the hour and it’s 10:30 and you haven’t even got the first shot yet. The perfect week for me is two days on location, one day for edits and administration and two days in the studio shooting product.
There are a lot of lessons that you can learn from shooting product that apply to shooting people. I approach product very architecturally, this is very similar to the way I shoot people.

Is that real water in your splash shots?

The splashes are very real. I've still got the wet trousers to prove it. Shooting water is tough. You really need to be set up for it. We are getting more and more proficient at it. The main piece of equipment that you need is power pack that have a fast enough flash duration to freeze the splash. We switched over to Broncolor about a year ago and that was the best thing we ever did. There's quit a bit of post production that goes into our water shots to make them look perfect. I used to shoot acrylic splashes but they seldom looked real. I love the way real liquid moves; you just have to be prepared to take a lot of shots – and get pretty wet!

You mention music as an important ingredient in your life. Could you elaborate on that?

Music has deeply effected every moment of my life and it's the one thing that I use to recall past moments in time. I wish I could say that I use music in the creative process of photography, but I'm not directly aware of it. It's just always there. If you took it away from me, I think I would notice it immediately and the creative process would probably suffer.
When I'm in the studio I have a rule that the models choose the music. If they give me the "I like everything..." answer, I'll go into DJ-mode and usually hit them with something they've never heard before. Having music on shoot days is a great ice breaker and if you can establish some common ground based on your musical likes and dislikes, it helps a lot. However, you've got to constantly monitor the music during a shoot. As soon as people aren't enjoying it, it's got to go. The wrong tunes can change the energy in the studio quicker than a stray fart, so I always make sure I have it covered.

Could you tell us a little bit how NuVision has grown and/or evolved?

Being a photography-based design studio, NuVision has been through several transitions over a period of 15 years. Most noticeable was our entry into the world of digital photography and a more serious approach to adding design to our strong grass roots production beginnings. Photography has grown rapidly with our emphasis on selected segments with profitable growth rather than being generalists with sales-for-sales sake. It has been a smooth journey, upgrading equipment constantly and developing a unique look and feel.