Petcurean Go! Dogs and Cats!
Sunday, April 7th, 2019Petcurean Go! Packaging and Campaign
Petcurean Go! Packaging
Dogs, cats, kittens, puppies, sounds like the ideal talent for a photography project. As a complete dog lover, when a client says I want to talk about a shoot that has all of the above as subjects for an integrated campaign and packaging, you just say yes.
Last year I was approached by Matthew Clark of Subplot Design Inc. to produce a new series of animal portraits for their long-time client, Petcurean Pet Nutrition to use on packaging and promotion of their Go! Brand. Matthew had previously commissioned me to shoot their own Subplot portraits in black and white and then saw a photo on Instagram of my family pup, Shotgun, that was done as a lens test. Both of these were heading in the right direction for the look and feel needed for their project. The Petcurean brand is well-defined and the quality of the images, like their brand, is premium.
Leap forward almost a year and I can finally share the results of some of the fun we had. The clients helped with talent casting and I assembled a fantastic crew to make it all a success. Added to lots of planning and preproduction for one prelight day and then 2 days of fun with cats and dogs, we created the chemistry for great things to happen.
Matthew Clark, Founder and Creative Director of Subplot Design, “They say never work with pets or kids. Well, I have done both, sometimes together. And when it came time to photograph dramatic portraits of 10 dogs and 5 cats in 2 days, with a mix of amateur and professional pet models, with all the organization and creative talent required, who did I call? Rick Etkin“
“I have worked with Rick for over 25 years and he is the perfect combination of big-shoot-production-organization-experience with creative-detailed-obsessive photography.” said Matthew.
“And he’s nice, which actually counts for a lot in this business.”
Claire Jensen, Creative Services Director for Petcurean said I’ve been on many photoshoots throughout my career and I can confidently say that the GO! SOLUTIONS shoot that Rick organized and shot was by far one of the best.
The studio was beautiful and spacious, the crew was professional, welcoming, down to earth and fun loving. The food? Where do I begin. How many photoshoots are you on where the photographer bakes homemade bread the night before and brings it to the set for the crew and clients to enjoy for breakfast!?
Aside from the environment that was created for us, the talent and expertise that Rick and his team displayed was clear from the onset. Our end result was high quality images that will carry our brand to a new level on packaging. The images were exactly what we briefed on, and we couldn’t be happier.
If you get the chance to partner with Rick on a project, don’t miss it!
Despite the warning to never work with animals, with the extraordinary talent of Pawsabilities owner, Paul Jasper, the animal trainer working animal magic with the owners of the featured animals, the shoot was a total success with so many image choices for Petcurean.
I am pretty sure everyone worked with smiles on their faces for the entire 3 days. Dog licks and snuggles were being given freely, kitten cuteness was at 11. Who could ask for more?
The Clients:
Client: Subplot Design for Petcurean Pet Nutrition
Design and Creative Direction Matthew Clarke
Project Writing by Pete Pallet
Final digital post was by Matthew at Subplot.
The Crew:
Co-ordinator Lucie Lareau;
1st assist @_JayDelaney_
Digital and assist @KevinLanthier
3rd assist, PA and BTS photographer @lkbelletkin
Craft and catering by Tina Mohns.
The Technical:
The images are being used in multi platforms and media, from the packages to trade show display walls down to Instagam posts. The packaging is printed with black ink on silver foil. Hard edge light and contrast were needed and everything had to be shot against black duvateen. With all of the 15 four-footed talent, it was essential to stop all action, shoot fast and produce sharp huge files. This was accomplished using profoto A10s and nikon D850 with sigma Art 85mm for most of the session.
To see more images visit www.ricketkin.com
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