In my opinion, if we're honest, most photographers are control freaks and anyone who says otherwise is either telling porkies or doesn't care about the work. In the days of shooting on film I had a good relationship with the printer at my lab and he knew how I liked my completed images to look. With the advent of digital one of the things that's been most welcome is having complete control over an image from start to finish. It's certainly changed the way I work, how I approach a project and most of all the look of my photography. I've found it easier to visualise how an image is going to look when it's completed yet I like the surprises that post production can bring.
So when a client calls me and asks "can you come and take some photographs but we'd like to do the post production" there's usually a sharp intake of breath and some stuttering on my part. In this instance Metrodome Distribution wanted a special cover for the DVD release of Down Terrace a British gangster movie that's also about family. They had a very clear idea of how they wanted the image to look to the extent that they suggested the tungsten colour balance of the lighting and thanks to some superbly placed expletives from Jezz our lead actor Robert Hill who came up from Brighton where the film was shot looks suitably menacing. Down Terrace has travelled to a variety of festivals including Raindance and has also been catching some favourable rays from Little White Lies, Reuters and The Sunday Times. You can see it, as I will, on the big screen at the ICA starting at the end of this month. It will be released on DVD on 23rd August.
