Photo Shoot Day

A day with a difference last week saw almost the entire company involved in a photoshoot and some filming at our Brailes offices, situated just 3 miles from Shipston on Stour and surrounded by the most beautiful views on the edge of the Cotswolds. We have lovely grounds and knew we wanted many of our photos to be taken outside. After much watching of the weather reports, a date was finally set for early Tuesday morning and Charlie Budd, aka the Tall Photographer from Chin Badger Media, joined us again with all his equipment.

We started with a quick scout around to find the best locations for taking individual shots of our team. Ties straightened, shoes polished and armed with a very long list, we were off. For the funeral directors, it was a case of ‘Hats on! Hats off! Move this way an inch, wait for the sun, wait for the cloud! Our pallbearers decided which hand should be sat on top of the other. Attention to detail as always!

Nothing could get in the way of the funeral happening later in the day so it was important we kept to schedule. Even the two youngest Locke’s helped out by topping up the biscuits and fruit in the staffroom, holding extra umbrellas for shade and fetching people from the office when it was their ‘turn’ to be photographed.

Moving on to group shots, we wanted some photos of our pallbearers following a funeral director and carrying an empty coffin. But something wasn’t quite right. We swapped some of the bearers and had another go, but then it clicked. No one was used to carrying an empty coffin, it was too light! Very quickly, some heavy items were added and hey presto, problem solved!

Our team was very patient whilst being photographed and as we all got into the swing of things, more ideas for photos were suggested. With permission from Ian, our friendly farmer next door, we all lined up, dodged the thistles, and balanced on a ridge in a field for a whole team photo to be captured against the backdrop of the stunning views down to Shipston. Halfway through the day, some friends and family joined us to take the role of potential ‘clients’ as we wanted to show what it looks like when people come to visit us.

It was a beautiful sunny day but very hot too. The list of required photos was getting shorter and we managed to squeeze in a quick ‘Ice cream o’clock’! We finished the day with Charlie taking a little aerial footage with his drone to capture our beautiful countryside surroundings.

One of the advantages of working with a professional photographer is getting a different viewpoint from someone outside of your business. We’ve used Charlie previously and knew he ‘got’ us as a small independent company that wants to show we care about people. Having spent some time looking over a ‘wish list’ of images, there were some ideas we wanted to share but didn’t have a clear idea of how to achieve them. Charlie’s guidance and understanding why we wanted a particular image and the story behind the shot really helped too.

We’re really looking forward to seeing the final photos and predict the hardest part will be choosing which ones to update our brochures and website with!