As a professional photographer, I sometimes find myself in "interesting" situations... It's York, Yorkshire, there's about 30 mins till sunset and I'm in the car with a client at the end of a long day of shooting inside and outside various properties in and around Yorkshire.

"Let's just get a quick photo of this property we're renovating, it would be a great promotional image for our website."

"OK" I say and so we get the owners permission and setup the shoot.

Normally I'd have my step ladder on me but this is an impromptu shoot and so I have to think out the box. Luckily there was a pallet of bricks that my clients team had on the drive way... perfect! You see when photographing buildings it helps to get elevation.

The images above were taken by the client who was entertained by my enthusiasm to clamber up the bricks. Well for me it's all about getting the right shot!

I'm just reviewing the images from yesterdays photo shoot at the excellent Starr Studios in East London. The shoot was a pre-wedding shoot and for now the photo's have to remain top secret! but I can tell you the clients were delighted with the results and it was a real pleasure working with them. Starr studios are an excellent creative venue in east London run by Vincent Starr.

I was assisted by the talented photographer, Maria Bow and the shoot was shot on Pro Canon gear with a range of L series lenses - amazing glass! Lighting was by Bowens and shooting was tethered with Capture One which enabled us to work closely with the hair and makeup artists.

Behind the Scenes:

In the image above: Top left: light meter readings. Right: Maria B and myself posing for a test shot. Bottom left: the flashes fire as Maria takes a behind the scenes shot.

Big thank you to Maria Bow, Vincent Starr, the clients (who must remain secret), and the hair and makeup.... a team effort!

Many of you already know that I work closely with Spartmedia - a professional movie and media company who produce, online movies and DVDs for promotions, training, advertising and entertainment. Many of their clients, like Helen Porter of Pink Ink Tattoos and Nick Kemp, have been longstanding clients of mine for photography. Now that they are also using movies to promote their work on the internet the fact that they have a great library of digital images from me means that their movies can use these images.

So here are a few examples:

Pink Ink Tattoos

• She used images from a promotional shoot she had with me in 2008 for the opening and closing credits
• I created some high quality photographs of her tattoo equipment to produce an animation explaining how the tattoo gun works

Nick Kemp Training

• In 2006 Nick commissioned a series of promotionsal shots which are used to great effect in the title screens. Notice the 2.5D technique where a still image is zoomed, shifted and rotated subtly against a background to create a sense of depth.
• At the end of the movie we use a number of shots that I took while covering a number of his training events. This montage reinforces the message and shows his potential clients what the training courses are like - which increases the uptake on the courses

The combination of professional photographs and movies is fascinating and becoming increasingly important in marketting and advertising as more people are switching on to the use of movies in websites. By working closely with Spartmedia I understand and know how to deliver great images that are tailored to use in these movies.

Hey there!

Well this is my new and rather cool blog - it was built by Ash B @ Sparticle Limited and I'm loving it.

The question is where do you start - it's like having a blank canvas or new diary... well there's so much going on, I'm involved in some very exciting projects and working with Multimedia companies and magazines. My work is constantly evolving as I get new ideas and inspirations so I'm going to use this blog as a way of informally letting you know what's new and what's going on in Zaretti Land :)

Please give me feedback (go to the contact page) and I may put your comments up here to share.

Take care and enjoy the site

Mark

Just a quick posting to say a big THANK YOU to the thousand people who have visited this site since I created it just over a year ago! Your continued support and enthusiasm is really appreciated. Those of you that have already worked with me know that I'm an artist, and it's the people who I work with and who appreciate my work that inspire and motivate me... so thanks again and continue to contact me with your feedback.
Take care
Mark :)