A summary and review of various photography commissions in 2019

Published on Fri Dec 20, 2019 by David J Colbran

End of year review 2019

Every year seems to fly by so quickly and here we are again at my end of year review. This is a brief overview of my professional and personal photography work over the previous 12 months.

I really enjoy doing this end of year review blog post, as it is great going back through my work and reflecting on what I have achieved. I always try to move forward with my creative and technical skills and appraise my working practice throughout the years. Writing and collating these posts are definitely useful for me in that sense.

As ever, work has been really varied and busy, which is the bonus as a freelance photographer. Never really knowing what is around the corner in terms of commissions is so exciting. My client list and projects here reflect that. And because of this I've been streamlining business practices - making my admin much more efficient - as well as updating my equipment and learning new skills and techniques.

So, on to the photos ...

Exhibition photography

Busy start to the year working at the Liverpool exhibition centre for Google Chrome. They were promoting their Chromebooks at a mobile tech event and had gone with a Game of Thrones theme. The stand looked amazing, they had loads of games for visitors to play and of a group of actors that were great fun. Really visual and super people to work with.

A short break to Iceland to work on a personal project. I've always wanted to go and while my focus was getting some landscape photography done I also spent a lot of the time in the capital Reykjavik documenting their cityscapes and street art. Planning to return in the summer months.

Editorial photography

More work with Comic Relief, they support a local group called Positive Futures. I was there to document a feature at Tuebrook Amateur Boxing Club. Really important and interesting work - read more about this third sector charity photography in Liverpool

In March I was commissioned for some editorial photography by a Cambridge based PR agency, who represent a Swedish engineering company. They are currently installing hi-tec research equipment on the ship, the Sir David Attenbourgh (aka Boaty McBoatface) and it was for some feature portraits of an engineer on location. More about this editorial portrait photography on a previous post

Photography for the travel industry

Quite a few travel industry related commissions this year. Varied events - from travel industry roadshows, tour operator previews, travel agent networking events, holiday prize give-aways to store promotions. These are from a conference and awards evening held at Aintree Racecourse. To see more travel industry photography check the post via the link.

Another all-day event for a travel roadshow - for the tourism department of the Ras Al Khaimah - the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates. Networking images, exhibition photography and then images of presentations and activities. Really interesting learning about that part of the world and meeting some lovely people as well.

Property photography

Big project for a property developer here in Liverpool - they needed a new complex of apartments photographed - interiors and exteriors.

Of course loads of business portraits throughout the year - here is one from back in May.

Public relations photography

Worked in the Royal Hospital in Liverpool for a specialist software company who are trialing new mobile drug dispensary software there.

An unfortunate reflection on modern society, I've been commissioned to take photographs at two foodbanks this year. These are for an organisation called Fareshare who run several across the UK. This one is based in south Liverpool and receives support and produce from Asda. Really interesting speaking to some of the volunteers there.

Portraits

A commission from the trade union Unite to take lots of images of prospective candidate Kim Johnson for the Liverpool Riverside constituency. Loads of locations covered in a busy day with Kim - and she went on to get candidacy and won the December election - congratulations Kim.

Business portraits for a legal recruitment firm - they wanted some high tech looking images for advertising and marketing purposes. We used the relatively new building on Mann Island here in Liverpool.

Conference and exhibition photography

Worked on quite a few exhibitions in 2019 - capturing the stands and visitor interactions. These are for HP at a smart technology event and also an organisation called Catapult.

Final selection of images from a medical conference at the Bluecoat Arts Centre - another full day of activities with a small charity and some of their service users. Speakers, presentations and lots of activities - a really busy day but with some lovely people.

Already looking forward to 2020 a new decade and new challenges. Quite a few commercial photoshoots booked in. But of course, I'm always searching for interesting collaborations and new commissions, so if you have something in mind, give me a call and we can hook up over coffee and discuss. Thanks for reading this far :-)

Author: David J Colbran