Once in a while we get a request for photography only. This is fine. But it is perilous because the best photography can be greatly compromised by weak design. This is why we are comfortable with taking the entire job in house at Monkey and Snake.If Ariel is designing it then it will be top notch.
But we get lucky when our photography is matched up with design work that is somewhat close to what we would have done. On this shoot for ‘Hot Italian’, a night club/pizza bar/anything Italian boutique/ scooter and motorcycle store in Sacramento California we did all of the imagery for the building exterior, interior bar, walls, menus, tags, web site, etc.
This club is all Italian. All of the merchandise and even the owners are Italian. So the designer and producer were obviously Italian. I love working with the Italians.The shoot was a blast and we had loads of fun.
When surrounded by Italians the mood is naturally festive, wine and food abound. Since I do not speak Italian and their English was about as good, one would think that we would have had a problem communicating. But I have found that when working with creatives in any language, art and the expression of ideas hold no boundaries.
So there were lots of hand gestures and laughter all through the shoot. Like learning to dance with a new partner, our first shot of the day was a learning experience.
By the second song we were in flow. And at the end of the night we had forgotten that we couldn’t speak each others language.
Today the Hot Italian is doing fabulously well. The menu is expanded and the merchandise is moving.
A niche boutique doing well in this economy? It was a great concept followed through by people who committed to a smart business model that included an aggressive promotional plan that they have greatly profited from…. Just about as good as if we had done it for them.
